[Updated] Chuang 2021 – Favourite Trainees

Back when the first episode of Chuang 2021 aired, I wrote an impressions post and listed my favourite trainees at the time. Thanks for the 700+ views on that post. ^_^

The second stage performance aired this weekend, so I thought that I would write an updated list.

#1 – Bo Yuan

I mentioned Bo Yuan in my first post, but he wasn’t at the top. However, after seeing more of him on the show and his vlogs, he is #1.

Skill-wise, I definitely that he is within the top 11. He made it to A class in the initial ranking and theme song, both of which were decided by the trainees/mentors. Honestly, skill does not guarantee a spot because trainee shows are popularity contests. I believe that Bo Yuan has trained for six years. He deserves to debut.

People talk about his age (he is 28) but I like his maturity. He has amazing leadership skills and will make a great leader for the group. He takes care of the younger trainees.

I think that Bo Yuan can be a little more confident about his appearance. I think he is one of the most attractive trainees on the show, if not the most.

Bo Yuan climbed up from #46 to #36 to #20 to #7 (latest). I’m so happy that more and more people are noticing him. I hope that he maintains his rank and gets to debut. ^_^

Otherwise, I will be devastated. Like, for real.

P.S. Bo Yuan loves Jrock and is a weeb.

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#2 – Yu Gengyin

I didn’t pay attention to Yu Gengyin in the initial ranking, but that changed completely when the first stage performance aired. Like Bo Yuan, Yu Gengyin is within the top 11 when it comes to skills. He also made it to A class in the initial ranking and theme song. He has also trained for several years and makes a great leader. He also takes good care of the younger trainees. I think these are the qualities I like in trainees. I like trainees with leadership skills, maturity, and talent. Yu Gengyin is also at the top when it comes to attractiveness.

Honestly, I cried at the first elimination episode because his rank was low (#22). He was dissatisfied with himself. He is underrated and deserves more attention. I hope that people will notice him and vote for him.

His vlog was one of my favourites. It was weird, but in a good way. I also loved him in Werewolf.

P.S. Yu Gengyin is a JJ Lin fan.

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#3-5 – Mika/Rikimaru/Santa

When it comes to trainees, I look at talent first and foremost. Then, I look at qualities like personality and appearance. These trainees have everything. Although their ranks have been fluctuating, I believe that these three will make it to the final group. They have enormous fanbases and have consistently remained within the 11.

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I also like Oscar, Lin Mo, Caelan, Liu Yu, and Nine. I like Zeng Hanjiang but his ranking is low. I was really impressed by Luo Yan in the original rap performance, but his ranking is super dangerous right now.

Heaven Official’s Blessing – Special Episode Screencaps

I reached a blogging milestone and hit 101k views! ^_^ Thank you for checking out my blog.

The Special Episode for Heaven Official’s Blessing, also known as Tian Guan Ci Fu, recently came out. It takes place after the first season.

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Xie Lian complimented San Lang. ^_^

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There’s a ton of Boys Love content in China now. Not to mention, BL is super popular. Although, the closest to a kiss we will see is probably an indirect kiss via drinking from the same bottle (which happens in this donghua and even in a yogurt commercial). It also happened in the Chinese drama, Guardian, but with a lollipop.

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Yes… San Lang left Xie Lian a ring.

I loved this special episode because I loved seeing moments of just the two of them. It was very intimidate.

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The ending song was a treat because we saw the events from San Lang’s point of view. This is his true form; his real name is Hua Cheng and he is a Ghost King. He looks older, is taller, and has an eyepatch. The wedding scene is from the first episode and the other photo is from the time Hua Cheng painted Xie Lian. He painted in his true form!

One thing that’s interesting is that in the original, San Lang calls Xie Lian “Gege” which means “older brother.” However, it’s changed to his name in the official English translation. I suspect it’s to avoid confusion or to prevent Westerners from thinking there’s incest involved or something like that. I feel that “Gege” is more intimate. There’s definitely no incest – think about how some people call their significant others “Baby” or some other nickname.

Anyway, this Special Episode is a must-watch if you’re a fan of the series!

Chuang 2020: My Thoughts on the Final Ranking

I’m very happy that Curley Gao won C position! She deserves it!

I’m also happy that Chen Zhuo Xuan and Nene made it in the final group. While they didn’t make the top 3, I’m glad that they still made it. I didn’t have any worries about Curley, Zhuo Xuan, or Nene not making the group because their rankings have always been within the top 7.

Still, I think that Zhuo Xuan and Nene deserve to be in the top 3. Zhuo Xuan’s performances in the final were amazing. She showed us a different side of her that we have never seen before. If she didn’t face so many setbacks and was able to show her full potential during the show, I believe she would have placed higher.

Ranks 1-6 were stable, but I was worried about rank 7. One moment it was Xu Yiyang and then the next moment it was Zhang Yifan. In the end, Yifan was rank 7 and Yiyang did not get to debut. There’s a lot of outrage on platforms everywhere: Weibo, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

I hear the difference between the votes was very small, so Yiyang had a chance. I personally voted for Yiyang. In terms of vocal and dance ability, I think that Yiyang is better.

There were also a couple of things that were off-putting about Yifan prior to the final. 1) Yifan saying that the group will carry her to victory and 2) Yifan saying that she cannot do it (yell a song lyric) and Yiyang encouraging her to do it. From these scenes, it looked like the group was babysitting Yifan when everyone had a lot on their plates already.

However, I also feel sad for Yifan for all the hate she is getting. A lot of netizens are saying that Yifan made it in the group because of her rich mom and because her company is huge. I don’t know if this is true or not. Even if she did win because of money, it’s not fair to direct the hate at her. Yifan still worked hard. It was others who voted for her.

I am sure that Yiyang will be successful, even though she didn’t make it in the group. I’m also sad that Liu Xiening is separated from Yiyang.

While Nene didn’t get to stay with Wu Yalu and her other close friends, she has the opportunity to become closer with Curley and the other girls.

My Favourite Trainees in Chuang 2020

Chuang 2020 is a Chinese trainee survival show. There are 101 girls in the beginning. The remaining seven trainees will form an idol group. Tao, Luhan, Victoria Song, and Mao Buyi are the mentors. Kris Wu was a guest mentor for one episode.

My friends and I are so invested in this show. We remind each other to vote every day. We can only vote for two girls per day on the WeTV app so I rotate my votes. Here’s a list of my favourite trainees:

1. Nene

Nene is from Thailand. She started learning Chinese a month before she came to the show and her Chinese is really, really good now. I knew Nene from the Thai drama, 2gether, so I actually liked her before Chuang 2020.

Nene had a rough life because she had to support her family. She even lifted bricks in Thailand. I can tell that it is her dream to become famous and that she is passionate about performing on stage.

Nene has consistently ranked #3 for a while. She’s really liked by Chinese fans and fans everywhere.

2. Chen Zhuo Xuan

One of the reasons why I started watching this show was to support Chen Zhuo Xuan. She played A-Qing in the Chinese drama, The Untamed. In the first episode, she sang a cover of Wu Ji and it sounded so beautiful. I love her voice.

Chen Zhuo Xuan has consistently ranked #2. In one of the previous episodes, she was really brave and asked the sponsors why she had not gotten commercials while other girls did. This was controversial but I’m on her side. She’s ranked so highly yet she is being treated unfairly. She’s been cut out of advertisements because of her boldness. WE NEED TO VOTE FOR HER!!!

I know a good amount of people started watching Chuang 2020 because of Chen Zhuo Xuan. This is how the show is treating her?? I’m so mad.

3. Joyce Chu

I liked Joyce Chu before Chuang 2020 because she’s a successful singer from Malaysia. She writes her own songs and she’s really good at guitar and ukelele. I like her friendship with Nene. Her ranking is not that high, so we need to support her!

4. Curley Gao

Curley Gao has consistently ranked in first place. There’s no doubt that she has a strong voice. She participated in Sing! Sing China Season 2 in 2017, so you know she’s good at singing.

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I also like Zhong Feifei, Wu Yalu, Xu Yiyang, Xie Anran, and Jiang Zheng Yu. It’s kind of hard to put a number order to them because I like them all.

The full episodes with English subtitles are on WeTV and YouTube. New episodes come out every weekend.

Review: My Fantastic Mrs Right: Season 1 (2020)

Episodes watched: 6/12

Synopsis: Mi Xiao Qi drops from the sky and lands in Bei Yue Kingdom of Kun Peng Continent. She’s a young woman, except she’s turned into a fat cat. When she transforms back into her human form, she must meet her fated lover and make him fall in love with her. Together with her fated one, they must find the four pieces of the magical jade. Otherwise, she will die!

Thoughts: This kind of drama seemed like my kind of show. I really enjoyed the historical comedy drama, The Eternal Love, so I thought that I would love this one too. The first couple of episodes were funny, but it became less funny later on.

My main problem with this drama is that there is no flow. The writing is all over the place. Things progress quite quickly and it seems so unrealistic. I feel like the characters do have good chemistry, but the drama does not do a very good job at portraying that. I understand that this drama is meant to be fun and silly, but the flaws take away from the enjoyment of the show.

On the flip side, I really like the characters. Xiao Qi in her cat form is adorable. The idea of the drama is hilarious, but the execution was poorly done.

Final verdict: 6.5/10 Dropped.