Li Yuchun, winner of the 2005 Super Girl singing contest, an American Idol-like competition for young women, finally saw her super powers, which had captured hearts of millions of teenage girls across China, reach their limit.
During a recent five-day trip to perform in Taiwan, Li, who enjoys great popularity among Taiwans young people with her notably boyish appearance, masculine stage presence and bold personality, was permitted to sing, but not talk, in public. In response to applause, roses and screaming fans who had followed her all along, the 22-year-old super girl could do nothing more than wave and smile.
According to a report in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, Taiwan authorities ban visitors from the mainland from doing anything beyond the stated purpose of their visits, which means Li had to shun publicity during her stay.
One day before she left, when local news media pushing for interviews with the rising singer finally caught her in front of the camera at a joint interview, they had to remove the logos from their microphones in order to avoid probable punishment imposed by the islands government.
On the previous night, at a concert in Taipei featuring nearly a dozen famous pop singers from both the mainland and Taiwan, Lis signature voice and stage presence won her hearty applause from the audience.
The overnight success of Li, a third-year student at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music one year ago, marked an important turning point in the meaning of stardom in China. Defying pop star formulas, Li steadily gained fame as she constantly cruised forward in the nationally broadcast singing contest for women with the slogan Singing Whenever You Want.
Last August, more than 400 million viewers, nearly one third of Chinas population and the largest television audience in the countrys history, tuned in to watch the season finale of Super Girl. Li won the competition with an astonishing 3.53 million votes through cellphone text messages.
Li went on to grace the cover of Time Asia last October as one of the magazines pick of 25 Asian Heroes of the Year.
While Lis tomboy image and natural stage performance, in which she exudes enormous confidence, challenge the traditional gender norms for women, she is admired by her peers in China as a role model for being herself, daring to sing and to win.
What Li did possess was attitude, originality and a proud androgyny that defied Chinese normsFor an audience reared on the bubble-gum, lip-gloss standards of Chinese girl pop, Lis disregard for the rule book produced an unfamiliar knee-weakening.
Time Asias report
Lis voice is not the best among Super Girl contestants, nor is she the prettiest. But I like her special stage charisma, candid character and pure love for music.
Xiao Xiao Fan of Li Yuchun
My expectations for my daughter are for her to be a good student and to have a healthy and happy life. I dont have much enthusiasm for things like money and fame.
Li Shengmin
Li Yuchuns father
It [the rule against mainland singers speaking in public] is ridiculous. Why cant they speak here when the Internet is so developed that we all can use webcams to communicate?
Yang Kuang-yu
Concert sponsor
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