A Bulgarian-Russian singer is making waves on a Hunan Satellite TV show

When he was 10 years old, Bulgarian-Russian singer Kristian Kostov remembers watching pop stars having fan meetings, which attracted crowds waiting for them and screaming their names.

"Is it real? How is that possible?" he wondered.

But now, things are happening to him after he joined Hunan Satellite TV's reality show, Singer, which kicked off on Jan 11 and lasts for 14 weeks.

When his name was announced by the show's team, millions of people searched Kostov on the internet.

His performance of the romantic song, Beautiful Mess, in the first episode won the 18-year-old singer-songwriter a fan base in China.

Now, he has about 200,000 followers on his Sina Weibo account.

"It's like a dream coming true. I've been a fan of the show, Singer, for three or four years. Last season was my favorite because Jessie J was in it. I am a big fan," says Kostov in Changsha, Hunan province, in his hotel room the day after recording the show.

"The fact that they say I am good enough for the show makes me go crazy. I almost cried the first time I saw the email from the TV show team," he adds.

Now, in its seventh year, Singer, the celebrity singing competition TV show, has been a great success for Hunan Satellite TV.

Each episode has celebrity singers perform live while the audience vote.

According to Hong Xiao, the director of the show, Singer, during the past seasons the show has built up a large fan base and distinguished itself with high quality live performances and exciting lineups.

This year, Kostov joined the show as the youngest performer, competing with six Chinese singers, including Liu Huan, Chyi Yu, and Yang Kun.

Hong adds that an international cast is one of the highlights of the show.

In the past seasons, the annual TV show has seen singers from around the world perform onstage, including English singer and songwriter Jessie J, Singaporean singer Kit Chan and Kazakhstan's Dimash Kudaibergen.

Hong also says that the show's international approach echoes the country's Belt and Road Initiative, and adds that he looks forward to working with singers from countries connected by the Silk Road.

Meanwhile, Kostov, who was born and raised in Moscow, was introduced to music by his Kazakh mother, who loved singing. And drawn to the sound of the piano, which his elder brother played at home, Kostov started learning the instrument at 3.

Kostov's mother then put him for music classes because she hoped her son, who was a shy boy, would open up.

It worked for Kostov because he then started participating in singing competitions.

His big break came in 2017 when he bagged the second place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, one of the biggest and longest-running annual music competitions in the world, which was watched by 200 million people on the internet that year.

Kostov, then 16 years old, performed the song Beautiful Mess.

He rearranged the song when he performed it during the show, Singer, by adding traditional Chinese musical instruments - the erhu and Chinese drum.

Speaking about why he added the Chinese instruments, he says: "I am half-Asian so I know a little bit about Asian culture.

"One of my teachers showed us the erhu during our history class. That was the first time I learned about the instrument," says Kostov, adding that he would like to sing in Mandarin during the show.

Though music has been part of his life, Kostov didn't take it as a profession until he participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, which won him contracts with record companies. And to focus on his music career, he decided not to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, which he won a scholarship.

After the Eurovision Song Contest, Kostov stopped participating in singing competitions for a year till the show Singer sent him invitation.

Speaking about his foray into China, Kostov says: "It is a whole new world to me. When I came here and saw the places, which I had only seen in pictures before, such as the Yuelu Academy in Changsha, it felt like being in a movie.

"I feel at home here, though I am 7,000 kilometers from home," he says.

One of the other highlights of the show is its original music.

The first-round of competitors in the show this year had many famous musicians, such as Taiwan singer-songwriter Wu Tsing-fong and Beijing-based pop-rock band, Escape Plan.

This year, veteran singer-songwriter Liu Huan also joined in the show, which made headlines.

Liu, 55, who has been out of the limelight for years, is best known for performing the 2008 Olympics theme song, You and Me, along with British singer-actress Sarah Brightman.

After his performance on the show, Liu said that he would launch a music foundation along with Hunan Satellite TV for original Chinese music.

"There are great singers in China but few great songwriters. So, when singers join singing contests or TV shows, they sing popular songs. This does not lead to the creation of new and good quality original Chinese music," said Liu.

"With the support of the foundation, we are looking to finance new and creative music forces."