lol this drama makes no sense but the ML, fast pace, and chemisty made this a 10/10 for me.
Yes, agree, I initially rated it 8 because of the plot holes and nonsenses and somewhat expected storyline, but these were bridged over by that hot chemistry, so I'm hiking my own rating up to 9.5 as well ! 😂😂 (I seldom do so, but this small cult item has been on my re-watch on Youtube and I can't help raving about it around the forums!)
Other members of the reality show were : Zhang Baiqiao (张百乔)、 Ao Ziyi (敖子逸)、 Xiang Zuo (向佐, aka Jacky Heung, married to Taiwanese actress Hayden Kuo since 2019)、 Huang Yi (黄奕, actress and singer)、 Huang Yubo (黄誉博, singer signed with LTao since 2023)、 Na Ying (那英, singer and musical judge, who has been married since 2012 to Meng Tong, the owner of VICS, a well-known nightclub in Beijing. )、 Medina (麦迪娜, also known as Madina Memet, wife of Jiang Chao with whom she has two children)
Not that all their songs were not totally original, but did you know that song was an adaptation by the Cantonese group of the French song by Patricia Kaas "Vénus des Abribus" using the same melody, different lyrics (1988) Nice homage and cross-cultural influence. Here is the original : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5spWnbFQG4 ❤
as a native speaker their accents are killing me tho lol
Yes, these three too, of course... Beyond goes far back. :)
I remember one song of 1991 that Xiao Zhan reprised last year, from Sally Yeh, that was a super hit then : "Walk gracefully once" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ8Hxm2W5Ts I was doing my first 6 weeks grand tour of China from north to south and west to east then (including cruising on the Changjiang with small family+ a group that got filmed for CCTV!), and that song was on every radio, in buses, stations, TV, karaoke, like crazy hymn! Such an uplifting tune, energy giving. Never forgotten: to me that's the essence of 1990s China!
Chinese music is a world to (re)discover for you now, perhaps?
Since Sally Yeh, just a tad later in the 2000s we also got S.H.E. who were singing both in mandarin and in hokkien. Surely you heard some of their songs too? Now, it's mostly Hebe who goes on singing, while Selina Jen retired due to injury ; Ella Chen went on as singer, actress, television host in Taiwan. According to Wikipedia, Hebe's "music videos have accumulated more than 658 million views on YouTube, and she is the Chinese-language female singer with the most views on the platform. Her music video A Little Happiness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFTZSSJyy7A) became the first Chinese-language music video to exceed 100 million views on YouTube. She was the second female singer in Asia to reach 100 million views on YouTube." Hebe Tien after S.H.E. and before going solo, performed with other groups, such as Fahrenheit, and I loved that Wu Xuanyi covered one of their hits together with singer-rappers Xiaogui (LG) and Wang Ziyi, in October 2020. Here for your enjoyment just as an aside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGlmjPsX41U Relaxed fun music.
But we shall see if more period music of the 1990s pops up in the drama. I don't expect a lot, since it's not a musical. Going back to finish ep.17 which I paused for outside reasons ;-)
Truth is that these body measurements can be elastic from one data site to another. I am only certain about Z.Tao's because he was measured in a military camp reality show once in 2021 in front of cameras. Despite it's clear he towered over many of his former Exo colleagues, he's "only" 180.5cm Weight: 70 to 75kg. Officially credited as 183 cm 68kg 🤣 But quite muscular, and tattooed to the gills !! Hailangs still love him, even though he's now firmly taken by patient "Penelope" Xu Yiyang.
Poor DGZ indeed, 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I knew this was going to make you react. Imagine DGZ (182cm, 66kg) trying to carry WZQ 🤣🤣🤣 Or Vin Zhang 183cm (6'0") Weight: 70kg (154 lbs) for that matter...
lol --- I admit he's rather typecast. But not too ugly. Despite not really my type either, sexy-wise. But I do like that he's not too skinny.
Strong enough to carry wounded Gu in ep.15 (---is WZQ lightweight? Checking. According to different sources, WZQ weighs 65kg (143 lbs) for 181, or 185cm(6′ 0¾″ ) ; HJY weighs about 90 or 80kg for 187cm (and I noticed he was born in Dandong, Liaoning, like Liu Yuning who is 2 years older than him.)
Haven't really noticed HJY constantly throwing off uniform to show off abs here, though. The style of clothes has to fit the period, so too the shades, wristwatches and jewelry? Also, the season : ep14-15 are set in stifling summer weather.
It's too late for suggesting replacement, isn't it? But always possible to fantasize about someone else in the role : Dai Gaozheng (nice 6 packs abs), Vin Zhang, Hu Ge....?
real reason : it's not a romance and one commenter on this page already was upfront on her dropping after first…
You are welcome. One additional also perhaps important reason: "idol" actors have people who dislike them very much. Sometimes they even have active anti-fans, although rating would be worse if a lot of those were at work here.
I like to "explore fandom groups" on the side to find out more about performers, including why some actors or actresses get hate, what "scandals" were thrown as aspersion against them, what their side of those stories are and what pros (studios who employ them, police...) standpoint is on the matter. Personally, I stay warmly neutral as concerns these human beings who grace our screens and imagination, so I am curious but not easily drawn into the negative rumors. But I haven't gone round exploring much of Huang Jingyu's colorful fandom yet. I do remember he was part of the 2016 BL adaptation of "Addicted, Heroin", webdrama, together with Xu Weizhou (Timmy Xu). They almost got burned then, when the webdrama was abruptly stopped, and supposedly they had to take a step back from screens for a short while (but their other dramas and movies were not banned). Xu is a successful rocker so always also focused on music, before coming back to dramas (I liked his pairing with Jing Tian in 2022 "City of Streamer") He eventually let fans know he was married, but Xu's wife is not a fan and not a celeb, so he keeps her firmly out of the limelight and c-ent's treacherous pitfalls. HJY was married too, but divorced peacefully in 2023. He had to be vindicated in 2020 by Chinese court from toxic slander on Internet spread from 2018, and unfortunately, some haters still target him. He's much into martial arts so played in many action dramas or movies like 2018 "Operation Red Sea". He's not much of a romantic actor, more suited to soldier, cop, and muscle showing style: somewhat typecast. But he's got a rather good voice as singer too, although he does not consider himself as a professional singer. Here's a sample of his singing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzCoDAyas8s
as a native speaker their accents are killing me tho lol
but it's not a musical, lol Still, if you recognize a song, do mention it in comments ?
I don't know everything : am from Teresa Teng and Cui Jian generation, moving on later along with Fei Yuching, Wu Lan Tuya, Phoenix Legend, Guangliang, Jay Chou, JJ Lin (latter two still high with new songs and tours, on my fave list), Carsick Cars, Black Duck, Pu Shu (and the fabulous medley of the Ordinary Road+Brightest Star in the sky by Jam Hsiao, Nicholas Tse and Wang Junkai, here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExSGYFBPuu0), Rene Liu, G.E.M., Han Hong, A-Lan.... I'm surely forgetting some in my list! --besides which, I am also into Anglospheric and other European music "archeology" from Viking songs to rock-pop German/Irish Patty Gurdy, Celtic Woman, and smack to now with latest Coldplay by way of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles and 'Stones, Susy Quatro, Janis Joplin etc. Ah yes, they are gone now, but Tina Turner and Whitney Houston should never be forgotten! Even listening to recreated Sumerian and totally created Elvish, Quenya and Sindarin songs, and chuckling along the undying Fish's songs (sample here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-mZ9pKvCmk) which I sang in filk circles-- But back to Chinese songs, I have long fallen for the fabulous OST songs sung by Zhou Shen, Chen Xueran and Liu Yuning, after Jackie Chan's fabulous Everlasting Love song from The Myth. But since I'm eclectic in my listening and music tastes, besides classical music from east and west, Chinese and Italian opera, I also relish deep voiced altos Chen Min, Jamyang Dolma, as well as gufeng and chinoiserie songs, fireworks sounding pop from Hua Chenyu, ballads from Mao Buyi, rap from Masiwei, C-pop from Z.Tao, new takes on old styles from Wang Heye, the Jing twins, Tia Ray, deceptive folk sounding songs from Dao Lang, and many more old and new luminaries + game music (from Honor of Kings, League of Legends, but also Genshin impact, Honkai Star Rail and now Black Myth Wukong!) Should I discover or rediscover something else ?
as a native speaker their accents are killing me tho lol
ep 15 the birthday party. Yes, I'd noticed 4 days ago in ep5 the mention of The Four Kings and of Richie Jen... Made a comment about it but it did not seem to ring much of a bell to the attentive watchers. https://kisskh.at/745353-the-first-shot#comment-18703701
as a native speaker their accents are killing me tho lol
How about the singing? Did WZQ botch his part in Auld Lang Syne canto part ? The other leads ares supposed to be Dongbei people so speaking Cantonese obviously should not be their strength!
Second part of ep.15 Among Qin Yi's henchmen, there's an old acquaintance from "Escape from the Triangular Slopes", actor Song Jia Teng, who played the casino manager "Yan Baimei" in Escape ; he plays "Shou Hou" here.
2 
4 
1 
Zhang Baiqiao (张百乔)、
Ao Ziyi (敖子逸)、
Xiang Zuo (向佐, aka Jacky Heung, married to Taiwanese actress Hayden Kuo since 2019)、
Huang Yi (黄奕, actress and singer)、
Huang Yubo (黄誉博, singer signed with LTao since 2023)、
Na Ying (那英, singer and musical judge, who has been married since 2012 to Meng Tong, the owner of VICS, a well-known nightclub in Beijing. )、
Medina (麦迪娜, also known as Madina Memet, wife of Jiang Chao with whom she has two children)
I could write at length but this is unrelated to drama....
A song of Grasshopper featured in The Forbidden Flower fabulous OST, btw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQz4JdTb3ls
With a visual of the singers from the 1990 first recording : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSJqMSpgTsc
Not that all their songs were not totally original, but did you know that song was an adaptation by the Cantonese group of the French song by Patricia Kaas "Vénus des Abribus" using the same melody, different lyrics (1988) Nice homage and cross-cultural influence. Here is the original : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5spWnbFQG4 ❤
I remember one song of 1991 that Xiao Zhan reprised last year, from Sally Yeh, that was a super hit then : "Walk gracefully once" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ8Hxm2W5Ts I was doing my first 6 weeks grand tour of China from north to south and west to east then (including cruising on the Changjiang with small family+ a group that got filmed for CCTV!), and that song was on every radio, in buses, stations, TV, karaoke, like crazy hymn! Such an uplifting tune, energy giving. Never forgotten: to me that's the essence of 1990s China!
Chinese music is a world to (re)discover for you now, perhaps?
Since Sally Yeh, just a tad later in the 2000s we also got S.H.E. who were singing both in mandarin and in hokkien. Surely you heard some of their songs too? Now, it's mostly Hebe who goes on singing, while Selina Jen retired due to injury ; Ella Chen went on as singer, actress, television host in Taiwan. According to Wikipedia, Hebe's "music videos have accumulated more than 658 million views on YouTube, and she is the Chinese-language female singer with the most views on the platform. Her music video A Little Happiness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFTZSSJyy7A) became the first Chinese-language music video to exceed 100 million views on YouTube. She was the second female singer in Asia to reach 100 million views on YouTube."
Hebe Tien after S.H.E. and before going solo, performed with other groups, such as Fahrenheit, and I loved that Wu Xuanyi covered one of their hits together with singer-rappers Xiaogui (LG) and Wang Ziyi, in October 2020. Here for your enjoyment just as an aside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGlmjPsX41U Relaxed fun music.
But we shall see if more period music of the 1990s pops up in the drama. I don't expect a lot, since it's not a musical.
Going back to finish ep.17 which I paused for outside reasons ;-)
I am only certain about Z.Tao's because he was measured in a military camp reality show once in 2021 in front of cameras.
Despite it's clear he towered over many of his former Exo colleagues, he's "only" 180.5cm Weight: 70 to 75kg. Officially credited as 183 cm 68kg 🤣 But quite muscular, and tattooed to the gills !! Hailangs still love him, even though he's now firmly taken by patient "Penelope" Xu Yiyang.
(You saw the minesweeper ? He was not credited in Escape.)
Or Vin Zhang 183cm (6'0") Weight: 70kg (154 lbs) for that matter...
Strong enough to carry wounded Gu in ep.15 (---is WZQ lightweight? Checking. According to different sources, WZQ weighs 65kg (143 lbs) for 181, or 185cm(6′ 0¾″ ) ; HJY weighs about 90 or 80kg for 187cm (and I noticed he was born in Dandong, Liaoning, like Liu Yuning who is 2 years older than him.)
Haven't really noticed HJY constantly throwing off uniform to show off abs here, though. The style of clothes has to fit the period, so too the shades, wristwatches and jewelry? Also, the season : ep14-15 are set in stifling summer weather.
It's too late for suggesting replacement, isn't it? But always possible to fantasize about someone else in the role : Dai Gaozheng (nice 6 packs abs), Vin Zhang, Hu Ge....?
If there are specific pictures you think are missing, why not adding them on your end ?
I like to "explore fandom groups" on the side to find out more about performers, including why some actors or actresses get hate, what "scandals" were thrown as aspersion against them, what their side of those stories are and what pros (studios who employ them, police...) standpoint is on the matter. Personally, I stay warmly neutral as concerns these human beings who grace our screens and imagination, so I am curious but not easily drawn into the negative rumors.
But I haven't gone round exploring much of Huang Jingyu's colorful fandom yet. I do remember he was part of the 2016 BL adaptation of "Addicted, Heroin", webdrama, together with Xu Weizhou (Timmy Xu). They almost got burned then, when the webdrama was abruptly stopped, and supposedly they had to take a step back from screens for a short while (but their other dramas and movies were not banned). Xu is a successful rocker so always also focused on music, before coming back to dramas (I liked his pairing with Jing Tian in 2022 "City of Streamer") He eventually let fans know he was married, but Xu's wife is not a fan and not a celeb, so he keeps her firmly out of the limelight and c-ent's treacherous pitfalls.
HJY was married too, but divorced peacefully in 2023. He had to be vindicated in 2020 by Chinese court from toxic slander on Internet spread from 2018, and unfortunately, some haters still target him. He's much into martial arts so played in many action dramas or movies like 2018 "Operation Red Sea". He's not much of a romantic actor, more suited to soldier, cop, and muscle showing style: somewhat typecast. But he's got a rather good voice as singer too, although he does not consider himself as a professional singer. Here's a sample of his singing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzCoDAyas8s
Still, if you recognize a song, do mention it in comments ?
I don't know everything : am from Teresa Teng and Cui Jian generation, moving on later along with Fei Yuching, Wu Lan Tuya, Phoenix Legend, Guangliang, Jay Chou, JJ Lin (latter two still high with new songs and tours, on my fave list), Carsick Cars, Black Duck, Pu Shu (and the fabulous medley of the Ordinary Road+Brightest Star in the sky by Jam Hsiao, Nicholas Tse and Wang Junkai, here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExSGYFBPuu0), Rene Liu, G.E.M., Han Hong, A-Lan.... I'm surely forgetting some in my list!
--besides which, I am also into Anglospheric and other European music "archeology" from Viking songs to rock-pop German/Irish Patty Gurdy, Celtic Woman, and smack to now with latest Coldplay by way of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles and 'Stones, Susy Quatro, Janis Joplin etc. Ah yes, they are gone now, but Tina Turner and Whitney Houston should never be forgotten! Even listening to recreated Sumerian and totally created Elvish, Quenya and Sindarin songs, and chuckling along the undying Fish's songs (sample here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-mZ9pKvCmk) which I sang in filk circles--
But back to Chinese songs, I have long fallen for the fabulous OST songs sung by Zhou Shen, Chen Xueran and Liu Yuning, after Jackie Chan's fabulous Everlasting Love song from The Myth.
But since I'm eclectic in my listening and music tastes, besides classical music from east and west, Chinese and Italian opera, I also relish deep voiced altos Chen Min, Jamyang Dolma, as well as gufeng and chinoiserie songs, fireworks sounding pop from Hua Chenyu, ballads from Mao Buyi, rap from Masiwei, C-pop from Z.Tao, new takes on old styles from Wang Heye, the Jing twins, Tia Ray, deceptive folk sounding songs from Dao Lang, and many more old and new luminaries + game music (from Honor of Kings, League of Legends, but also Genshin impact, Honkai Star Rail and now Black Myth Wukong!)
Should I discover or rediscover something else ?
Yes, I'd noticed 4 days ago in ep5 the mention of The Four Kings and of Richie Jen... Made a comment about it but it did not seem to ring much of a bell to the attentive watchers.
https://kisskh.at/745353-the-first-shot#comment-18703701