Alec Su (fourth from left) coaches the contestants in the talent and reality show, Chuang, together with the show's host, Uygur actress Dilraba Dilmurat, and three other coaches (first, second and fifth from left) Hu Yanbin, Aaron Kwok and Stanley Huang. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Four established pop idols act as mentors on a talent show looking to nurture a new breed of boy band, Xing Wen reports.
A few years ago Alec Su was a familiar name for Chinese audiences thanks to his many hit TV dramas including My Fair Princess, Romance in the Rain, and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. And in recent years, the Taiwan A-lister has become more widely known as a filmmaker after his directorial debut The Left Ear earned him a nomination for best new director at the 52nd Golden Horse Awards in 2015.
But no matter how versatile Su has been over the past three decades, people still remember that he was once a member of the boy band Little Tigers, or Xiao Hu Dui, after he broke into the entertainment world in 1988 at the age of 15.
Then, Su, together with Nicky Wu and Julian Chen made a splash with their boyish charms and catchy songs. And although the trio disbanded in 1997, the band is still regarded as one of China's most successful pop groups.
Recently, the former wunderkind coached young contestants for a talent and reality show called Chuang, where over a hundred contestants compete for the opportunity to form a male pop group.
To help the contestants, Su shared his experience of being a pop idol and what team spirit means.
"In a boy band, each one has his own strong points," says Su while coaching the contestants. "You should make full use of your strong points and help to bring out the best in your peers. This way, the group can become something amazing."
Su also says that once being the youngest member of Little Tigers meant he had to reconcile the demands of his music career and the desire to be a good high school student.
Su (second from left) sings a song accompanied by young dancers in the show. [Photo provided to China Daily]
"I often got left behind in the rehearsal room, but my two teammates Wu and Chen supported me a lot," says Su, now 46. "And they often bought me snacks and kept me company as I practiced my dance moves over and over."
That's why Su always highlights the importance of team spirit. And he says he hopes that all the participants in the show can inspire one another to improve themselves.
Speaking about his role, he says: "Coaching in the show is a two-way process－I can give them practical suggestions on how to be a good band member, and these young men can also inspire me with their vigor and vitality."
Besides Su, the show, which premiered on Tencent's video platform on April 6 and will have a new episode released every Saturday, has also invited Hong Kong actor-singer Aaron Kwok, Taiwan actor-singer Stanley Huang and Shanghai-born singer Hu Yanbin to be the other three coaches.
Huang, who started his career in a trio named L.A. Boyz in 1992, also coaches the contestants.
For Huang, being in a band is like playing basketball or soccer with a team－both self-motivation and collaboration are crucial.
Hu says that clear self-recognition is also key for contestants to find out where they are in the entertainment industry and then set achievable goals for their careers.
"I want to select persevering and hardworking band members, who will set a good example to young people," says Hu.
Sun Li, the show's director, says all the four coaches stepped into the entertainment industry at a very young age but have been in the limelight for 20 to 30 years.
"They make unremitting efforts to improve themselves, produce high-quality work and try new ideas.
"I see a mixture of both youth and experience in them, and that's what we want to present to the younger generations in the program," she says, explaining why they were invited to be coaches for the contestants.
"The four entertainers represent different types of male pop stars. And I hope that with their instructions, a promising boy band will be incubated by the show," says a netizen on Zhihu, a Chinese question- and-answer website, who further describes the four coaches' characteristics.
For the netizen, Su represents a docile, intelligent and assiduous teen idol; Huang a pop star with a strong sense of masculinity; Hu an acclaimed singer who composed many hit songs, and Kwok, once hailed as one of Cantopop's "four heavenly kings", a handsome, self-disciplined and multitalented entertainer.
