In China’s thriving music industry, the competition and stakes are high. To gain publicity, some male musicians enter a show called Idol Producer where 100 trainees from 31 different companies compete to debut in a nine-person boy group.
The contestants are graded and coached by six Chinese idols. The 2018 season features the following coaches: Zhang YiXing (National producer and member of EXO), Li RongHao (Vocal instructor), Jackson Wang (Rap instructor and member of K-POP group, GOT7), MC Jin (Rap instructor), Cheng Xiao (Dance instructor and member of Cosmic Girls), and Zhou JieQiong (Dance instructor).
With every episode, the trainees perform and are given a letter grade based on their performance. Not only are they judged on their vocal ability but also their dance, appearance, and memorability. Only the top 9 musicians are given an “A” grade. Those who receive below a C grade are most likely to be eliminated unless they display a tremendous improvement.
Due to the harsh criticism and training, some contestants even leave the show before being officially eliminated. Both Jiang Dahe (姜达赫 ) and Song Shuijiao (宋睡覺) left the show on their own accords.
The first episode of the show garnered over 100 million views in one hour. Critics believe this is due to Zhang YiXing’s harsh scrutiny to the contestants. Typically very reserved, EXO fans were surprised seeing Zhang YiXing’s strict criticism.
Watch the first episode of Idol Producer (with English subtitles) here:
This is so interesting!! Idol Producer kinda reminds me of American Idol! I can’t believe the first episode of the show garnered over 100 million views in one hour. The first episode was good!
It seems fit that in a country with so many people that the music stakes would be high. But I had no idea how popular music grading shows would be. I can’t believe one of them got 100 million views in an hour.
It’s interesting how in Idol Producer, you’re judged by more than just your singing. Also, it’s unbelievable that the first episode of the show had so many views.
It’s super impressive that the first episode received so many views in only an hour! I’m sure that the top nine are going to be amazingly talented, and I hope that they will be successful as a group.
I didn’t know that Idol Producer reached over 100 million views within the first hour! I am interested in this show now and want to watch it!
Wow! It’s really cool how Idol Producer reached over 100 million views within the first hour. This show sounds very interesting and these contestants are probably very talented.
Cool! Sounds like a Chinese American Idol!! Who knew that the Idol Producer reached 100 million views in the first hour!
It’s really impressive that Idol Producer got 100 million views in the first hour! I heard a lot about this show but never watched. Now that I have seen the first episode I will definitely watch more. I really liked Chen LiNong’s performance and personality and would love to see him grow as an idol!!
Wow! That is really amazing. 100 million views in only the first hour?! This show is very popular!
This show seems very interesting and exciting to watch!
There are so many Idol that I never heard of and now I might follow them.
It’s kind of cool that multiple countries have singing competitions, and I do find it kind of funny that they use the grading system we use for school!
This show looks really interesting! I didn’t know that China had a show like this. It reminds me of some shows that we have in America today like American Idol and The Voice. What I like about this show is that there are nine winners, because the grand prize is being able to debut in a nine person boy group. Great article Maya!
The show is a plagiarism of the hit show of MNET “PRODUCE 101” .
“iQiyi” didn’t buy copyrights but copy paste the show shamelessly. Tencent boughts the copyrights with MNET.
I completely agree! I love Produce 101, but I think it’s good to have a Chinese version of the show as well. Honestly though, I do agree that the two shows have very similar plots and concepts. Thanks for reading!