Super Girl (TV series) facts for kids

Super Girl (simplified Chinese: 超级女声; traditional Chinese: 超級女聲; pinyin: Chāo Jí Nǚ Shēng) was a very popular singing contest in China for young women. It happened every year. The official name was The Mengniu Yoghurt Super Girl Contest, named after the company that sponsored it. It quickly became one of the most watched TV shows in China. However, after its third season, the show faced some challenges and was paused by the Chinese government for a time. A documentary called Super, Girls! was made about the 2006 contest.

How the Contest Worked

Six finalists during a 2005 national round event in Changsha, Hunan. From left to right: host Li Xiang, contestants Lin Shuang, She Man Ni, Yi Hui, Jane Zhang (Zhang Liang Ying), Guo Hui Min, Li Na and host Wang Han.

The Super Girl competition was open to any female singer. It didn't matter how old they were, where they came from, or what they looked like. People from 4 to 89 years old tried out! For example, in 2005, over 120,000 people applied to be on the show. Many traveled long distances just to audition.

Auditions and Regional Rounds

During the auditions, each contestant had about 30 seconds to sing for the judges. They would then find out if they made it to the next stage. To make things a bit easier to manage, in 2006, they set a minimum age of 18 to apply.

After the first auditions, preliminary rounds were held in different cities. Viewers could watch these rounds and vote for their favorite singers. People voted using their phones by calling or sending text messages (SMS).

The Knockout Rounds

After the regional rounds, the competition moved to weekly live shows in Changsha, Hunan. This was a "single-elimination" tournament. This means that if a singer got the fewest votes, they would have to "face-off" against another low-scoring singer in a "PK" round. "PK" comes from "Player Kill" in online games, meaning it was a sudden elimination round. The singer with the fewest votes in the "PK" was then eliminated. The contest ended with the final three singers competing for the top spot.

Judges for the show came from different backgrounds. There were professional judges, but also "audience judges" who represented the viewers.

Show History

The idea for Super Girl actually came from a show called Super Boy. That show aired in 2003 on a local TV channel in Changsha, Hunan. It was a big hit! Because of its success, Super Girl started in early 2004 and quickly became the most watched show in Hunan.

On May 6, 2004, Super Girl was shown to the whole country by Hunan Satellite Television. The show became even more popular. It attracted about 10,000 contestants in each city where it held auditions.

A second season of Super Girl started on March 19, 2005. Auditions were held in five major cities across China. By the middle of this season, the show was watched by tens of millions of people nationwide. It became one of the most popular entertainment shows in China.

Why Super Girl Was So Popular

The final episode of the 2005 season was one of the most watched TV shows in Chinese history. Over 400,000,000 people watched it! At its peak, 280,000,000 viewers were watching at the same time. This was much higher than the audience for other popular singing shows around the world, like Pop Idol.

Cultural Impact

Super Girl had a big impact on Chinese culture. For example, on January 18, 2006, a special postage stamp was released featuring Li Yu Chun, who won the 2005 season.

Even singers who didn't win the top prize found success. Jane Zhang, who came in third in 2005, was invited to sing on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the United States in 2009. She was the only East Asian singer on the show's "The World's Got Talent" episode. Other contestants, like Ji Min Jia and Li Chun, also found success in the music industry.

The show also inspired other TV producers to create similar talent search shows.

How People Voted

One of the main reasons Super Girl was so popular was that viewers could vote for their favorite singers. They sent text messages (SMS) from their mobile phones. This made people feel like they were really part of the show. For example, during the 2005 contest in Chengdu, over 300,000 votes were sent for just the top three contestants!

Over 800,000,000 text messages were sent during the third season of Super Girl. Many fan clubs for the singers started all over the country. This huge public involvement was a new thing for TV shows in China.

Economic Impact

Super Girl also had a big impact on the economy. Mengniu, the company that sponsored the show, paid a lot of money to Hunan Television for the rights to broadcast it. The 2005 contest alone was estimated to have brought in about ¥766,000,000 (Chinese Yuan). The show's indirect business impact, like sales of related products, was estimated to be billions of yuan.

Advertising spots during the show were very expensive. In 2006, a 15-second advertisement cost about ¥33,400. This was much higher than the average cost for other TV ads.

2004 Season

The first season of Super Girl ran from May 6 to September 22, 2004. The top three winners of this season signed recording contracts.

Regional Winners

Top 3 in 2004

• An You Qi (安又琪) - Champion
• Wang Ti (王媞) - Second place
• Baby Zhang (Zhang Han Yun) (张含韵) - Third place

2005 Season

The second season of Super Girl aired from March 19 to August 26, 2005. Li Yu Chun won the grand championship, even though some people thought her voice wasn't the strongest among the finalists. However, the top three finalists from 2005 are considered some of the most successful singers from the entire show.

Regional Winners

Top 10 in 2005

2006 Season

The third season aired from April 2 to September 30, 2006. Shang Wen Jie won this season. There was some discussion about her winning over Tan Wei Wei, who was a professional singer. Some people wondered if Shang won because of her "Cinderella story" appeal.

Regional Winners

Top 10 in 2006

Images for kids

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  The final three contestants of the 2005 Super Girl competition. From left to right: Bibi Zhou, Li Yuchun, and Zhang Liangying.