On 10 May, Hunan TV’s long-running popular variety show Singer 2024 began airing. This year, the show adopted a livestreaming format and introduced foreign singers into the competition. In the first competition, Chanté Moore (USA) and Faouzia (Canada) clinched first and second place respectively, while domestic singer Na Ying secured the third spot, sparking intense discussions among viewers.
According to data from Hunan TV’s official Weibo (China’s Twitter equivalent) post, as of the 11 May, the programme garnered a total of 1,352 trending searches across the entire network, 142 on Weibo, and 167 on Douyin (China’s TikTok). The CVB (China Visual and Auditory Data) ratings soared 0.44%, marking the highest viewership record for Hunan TV’s Friday primetime variety show this year.
On the day of the competition, hashtags such as #Na Ying: Yehnala’s destiny#(那英 叶赫那拉氏的宿命) and #Strawberry Music Festival vs Grammy# (草莓音乐节大战格莱美) surged on Weibo’s trendy Hot Search lists. Singer Na Ying’s memes were widespread on various social media platforms including Weibo, Xiaohongshu (RED), WeChat, Bilibili (China’s YouTube equivalent), and Douyin. In netizens’ views, Na Ying emerged as a solitary figure battling against foreign competitors, prompting calls for support from the Chinese music industry.
On 12 May, Han Hong, a formidable singer who participated in Singer 2015, took to Weibo, stating, “I’m Han Hong, a Chinese singer, and I hope to join the fray.” Subsequently, numerous singers followed suit to sign up, though many lacked significant visibility. Within two days, Weibo’s trendy hashtags such as #Han Hong signed up in the wrong way# (韩红报名方式错了) amassed 300 million views, #Singer sign up list#(歌手报名名单) garnered 160 million views, and #Han Hong took the title but also sent resume#(韩红拿了冠军还要发简历) accumulated 130 million views.
In response, the official Weibo account of Singer 2024 reiterated its stringent scheduling system and fair competition rules, assuring that invitations are extended based on singers’ availability. Singer 2024 also stated: “Winning is only a part of the singer’s journey. Welcoming is the destination of music.”
By lunchtime on 13 May, shares of Mango Excellent Media, the listed company behind Hunan Television, surged by over 12%. The half-day turnover reached 1.6 billion Yuan, marking the highest since June last year. In 2023, Mango Excellent Media completed the acquisition of Golden Eagle Cartoon, and the ‘four platforms’ model comprising Mango TV, Hunan TV, Golden Eagle Cartoon, and Xiaomang e-commerce began taking shape.
