So much cuteness, especially in the last song. Can anyone find a more HQ version?
Ethnic minorities in Chinese entertainment: part II
One of them is Han Chinese, can you tell who?
Since the first post on the diverseness of China’s stars, many new artists have came out with their own unique looks and cultural flair. Several Uyghur artists have especially been taking on more mainstream roles recently, making the face of Chinese entertainment that much prettier.
Something to note amongst these stars is that very few of them are famous because of their ethnicity, but rather due to their general abilities. It’s also something that was brought to my attention in this year’s CCTV Spring Festival Gala. Despite the elimination of the usual group songs by ethnic minorities, this year’s gala had as many if not more ethnic minorities than usual in almost every category of performers, from host Sa Beining to singers like Jin Mei’er and Cai Guoqing and to pop performer Han Geng.
A roundup of Chinese artists who came into the spotlight (or at least my notice) since last post, per suggestion from Benji.
New Huan Zhu Ge Ge/My Fair Princess comes with stellar OST
Love sparks between Zhang Rui and Li Sheng both in acting and in singing for New My Fair Princess
Who knew when they picked the cast for the New My Fair Princess /Huan Zhu Ge Ge新还珠格格 that its leads would also be excellent singers? Just like in the original, the actors for 5th Prince Yongqi and Princess Returning Pearl XiaoYanZi , Zhang Rui and Li Sheng, turned out to be the best singers.
Zhang Rui sings the epic opening theme song Run Toward You 奔向你 by the composer of When 当. Li Sheng sings both the quirky rap Auspicious Song 吉祥歌 and the cover of Love at first sight/arrow 一見鍾情. They’re joined by Sukie Chung, who sings two of the ending themes, including the released theme Accidental Love 燕儿翩翩飞.
My favorite song so far, Sad Romance 沧桑的浪漫, is the Ziwei-Erkang theme song that’s sung by 5th Prince and XiaoYanZi’s actors Zhang Rui and Li Sheng. The two carries their wonderful acting over to singing in this soulful and romantic duet.
New My Fair Princess/HZGG cast does Valentine’s Day photoshoot
Little Swallow (Li Sheng) points to a piece of rice stuck on the 5th Prince (Zhang Rui)'s face.
The New My Fair Princess/HZGG cast wishes you a “Happy Valentine’s Day” by showing off their happiness as various couples.
Cast of New My Fair Princess/HZGG wishes you a Happy New Year!
In the new year, hope everyone is always happy like Little Swallow, and smart like Ziwei.
Although I haven’t done a lot of posts on them, the New Huan Zhu Ge Ge has released a variety of photos and videos in the past months. The youthful and talented cast recently did a variety of mini-shoots for Christmas and New Year’s. The drama is still currently filming, and is projected to air summer of 2011.
While it is questionable how necessary a remake for one of the most classical Chinese series is, I really hope that this drama succeeds because of the enormous cast power behind it. Even the four eunuchs and two maids in Little Swallow’s court have one Shanghai Theatre and two Central Drama Academy students among them, and I can attest that there have yet to be a Central Drama actor who can’t act well. The success of this drama hopefully will lead to equal successes for all of these budding talents, leading to more market for youthful dramas overall.
Festive photos and introductions of the characters and cast below the cut. (more…)