A poster shows a slender dragon playing an erhu, with billowy clouds rising together with it in the background.
It serves as a TV network’s own interpretation of how to kill two birds with one stone: announcing the latest season of its hit TV show while at the same time advertising traditional Chinese culture.
Hunan TV’s “Singer 2017,” the title of the fifth season of the Chinese singing competition series, “I Am a Singer,” incorporates Chinese symbols to some of the show’s publicity materials.
Bursting in vibrant colors, though some are in black and white, the posters show animals including the mythical dragon and inanimate things symbolically significant in China.
The poster will either grab someone’s attention because of the celebrity in it caught in a dramatic pose or the imaginative art work reflecting traditional Chinese culture.
It could also be both.
Among others, lions, deer, carp, cranes, rabbit, white peacock, clouds, mountains and a glimpse of traditional Chinese building vie for attention together with the celebrity.
In an alternative set of individual posters, the celebrity contestants appear like an enigma materializing in outer space, with a portion of them illumined.
In one group photo, they were all in black ensemble, looking mod and striking their own unique pose. The poster could be mistaken as an ad for a luxury clothing company.
Chinese netizens, however, explicitly expressed more admiration to the ones illustrating traditional Chinese culture, reported China Daily.
The pilot episode of “Singer 2017” aired on Jan. 21.
Six singers--one from Kazakhstan--and a Chinese rock band initially competed in this new season.
The 22-year-old Kazakh singer Dimash (born Dimash Kudaibergen) first hit the stage and performed the French song “S.O.S. d'Un Terrien en DeTresse.”
Following him, in this order: Chinese pop and RnB singer Tia Ray, 32; Malaysian-Chinese singer and composer Michael Wong, 46; Filipino-Chinese singer-actress Teresa Carpio, 60; the group Lion, with the 29-year-old Taiwanese Jam Hsiao as lead singer; Chinese mainland singer Tan Jing, 39; and Hong Kong singer Sandy Lam, 50.
Only Carpio rendered an English song, John Lennon’s best-selling single, “Imagine.”
Just like in the previous seasons, the audience voted, and the result for the first episode was: (Rank 1-7) Dimash, Lam, Carpio, Lion, Tan, Wong and Tia.