Super Girls

There is a craze going on now here in Beijing over the "Super Girls." They are the Chinese version of "American Idol." There were approximately 150,00 women all over China are vying to become the next "Super Voice Girl" and now they are down to three. The show has apparently broken records with immense numbers of viewers and text message voting. The final chance to vote for the Super Girl comes this Friday. The photo to the left shows the final three contestants and the host. I'm not sure who is who.

Maybe i might run into one of them this week....

As we were walking out of the hotel lobby this morning, we noticed a huge crowd of groupies armed with cameras, posters, autograph books, and flowers. They were lined up just outside the front entrance. The concierge lined up with other staff members to form a human wall, in case the groupies decided to storm the lobby. At first i thought it might be some American celebrity here filming a shampoo commercial or something, or a local fim star. Someone told us that the Super Girls are actually staying at our hotel until the final show Friday. Let's just say it is causing a slight stir around here...

So anyway, rather than walking out, we stood near the front entrance and watched all the hoopla. For a split second i imagined what it would be like if i were famous and how weird it would be to be greeted by massive crowds everywhere i went.

And you wouldn't be a real fan if you didn't hang about all day long. Pulling up to the hotel tonight around 10pm, we noticed a few die hard fans, still hanging out in the lobby hoping for a glimpse of of their favorite contestant. The Super Girl groupies are entirely made up of young women ages 15-21. i did not see a single boy/young man fan amongst the crowd of girl fans. Pretty super...

Reminds me of a film i saw years ago at the Seattle International Film Festival called Hu Du Men.
It's about a Cantonese opera singer who plays a man on stage. Every where she goes, middle aged women chase after her like little schoolgirls. If you can find this film, you should see it. It's really a wonderful film.

Although... the groupies downstairs are not chasing after a woman who plays a man onstage. They're certainly super crazy over the Super Girls! Wish me luck getting out of the hotel lobby this week. i should ask if there are alternate exits in the building...