Is this a talent show?
I don't think the Thais really stand a chance this season tbh. There's only 2 of them and like 17 Japanese trainees, many who are very exceptional and are basically more fit to be mentors than trainees themselves (e.g. Santa is the World's Street Dance Champion & Riki has choreographed for BOA, SHINee, Red Velvet,etc.) All of Intersection (Mika, Caelan, Kazuma) have debuted and are experienced, whereas the Thai trainees are a BL actor (relatively niche field) & a rookie actor with no previous training/experience in singing/dancing. Yes, they're doing decently well (12th & 15th as of now), but I doubt they'll make Top 11.
Rumor is Avex has an agreement with Tencent to debut as many Avex trainees as possible, so that's already 5. If there's one more foreigner, than means the group has more foreigner than Chinese trainees, which doesn't bode well for the group's future in China. Plus Hiroto is super popular (I feel it's just a matter of time before he shoots up the rank), so Nine & Patrick will have to compete with him as well, in addition to all the Chinese trainees. Yes, it could happen, but not likely I'd say. Their current position is nowhere near as strong as Sunnee, Mimi or Nene (all of whom started in a debut position and stayed there every episode of their respective seasons.)
I don't think the Thais really stand a chance this season tbh. There's only 2 of them and like 17 Japanese trainees, many who are very exceptional and are basically more fit to be mentors than trainees themselves (e.g. Santa is the World's Street Dance Champion & Riki has choreographed for BOA, SHINee, Red Velvet,etc.) All of Intersection (Mika, Caelan, Kazuma) have debuted and are experienced, whereas the Thai trainees are a BL actor (relatively niche field) & a rookie actor with no previous training/experience in singing/dancing. Yes, they're doing decently well (12th & 15th as of now), but I doubt they'll make Top 11.
Rumor is Avex has an agreement with Tencent to debut as many Avex trainees as possible, so that's already 5. If there's one more foreigner, than means the group has more foreigner than Chinese trainees, which doesn't bode well for the group's future in China. Plus Hiroto is super popular (I feel it's just a matter of time before he shoots up the rank), so Nine & Patrick will have to compete with him as well, in addition to all the Chinese trainees. Yes, it could happen, but not likely I'd say. Their current position is nowhere near as strong as Sunnee, Mimi or Nene (all of whom started in a debut position and stayed there every episode of their respective seasons.)
Yes, it would be really tough for the Thais with all the Japanese talent in front of them. It actually worries me a bit if Japanese trainees will start to be in the Chinese shows on a consistent basis. I liked seeing Thais (and Malaysians) do well here as an avenue for more exposure for SEA artists. But what happens if Japanese (or even Koreans) are a fixture? I remember seeing that interview with Nene's parents last year and they had a mountain of yogurt drinks at their place. Well, what they had to compete with wealthier fans?
I hope they won't overdo it... also if I look at Mika or Kazuma, not even mentioning Caelan I don't see "japanese" in them at all, which I think is rather helping them than being a disadvantage...
That's similar case to miss Gao which also ain't lookin Chinese even tho she is.
In same time I hope they won't overdo it because there are a lot of fun guys there like Oscar which also should be member of group, would also like to see Hu Yetao and AK in group. Liu Yu, and Zhou Keyu also seem fine and talented.
ps: Han Peiquan should be kicked out for being crybaby, and playin diva.
Would like to see vietnamese in chinese shows, all though there are two half-viets in taiwenese groups. I would have a greater interest in watching chinese Produce shows if they had vietnamese trainees.
Yes, that's one of the reasons why I am so intrigued by the success of the Thais in Chinese Produces. I could see a Vietnamese being pushed to top position by a Vietnamese fans. Right now, the Vietnamese fans are voting Santa and Liu Yu. During YWY2, I read that Vietnamese raised 50K for Xiaotang. If there were Viets, those votes would go to them.
But this becomes much harder with Japanese trainees in the mix which Sunnee, Mimi or Nene never had to face (not taking away the fact they were top level vocalists and visuals.)
CPOP because of the YWY and Chuang is really the number two destination now after KPOP for exposure in Asia. Winners are then tied into the Chinese movie and drama industries (Lee Soo Man's "Asia's Hollywood".) I hope it stays as an avenue for SEAsians.
Display MoreI hope they won't overdo it... also if I look at Mika or Kazuma, not even mentioning Caelan I don't see "japanese" in them at all, which I think is rather helping them than being a disadvantage...
That's similar case to miss Gao which also ain't lookin Chinese even tho she is.
In same time I hope they won't overdo it because there are a lot of fun guys there like Oscar which also should be member of group, would also like to see Hu Yetao and AK in group. Liu Yu, and Zhou Keyu also seem fine and talented.
ps: Han Peiquan should be kicked out for being crybaby, and playin diva.
Yes! This Chuang not only had Japanese but through the Japanese trainees it really broke away from the previous Chinese and Korean shows by having so many top contenders with mixed blood. The pure white guys are not having too much of an impact but Mika, Kazuma and Caelan certainly are. Somi was big in PD101 but there really wasn't any other mixes after her and none I could think of in the Chinese shows.
Curley Gao is no surprise for me when Dilareba and Guli Nazha are at the very top of China's A List. Their looks notwithstanding, they are not mixes.
I wouldn't worry about them overdoing it. Half caucasian celebrities are far more popular in Southeast Asia (especially Thailand and the Philippines) than in Northeast Asia like Korea and China. Japan has more mixes but not really in the upper echelons of their idols and actors.
I do worry about another avenue closing for SEAs if Japanese becomes a staple in Chinese shows (I don't want Girls Planet 999 where they were explicit in restricting a "global" group to only Korea, China and Japan 
)
WeTV Official Overall Ranking ranked Patrick and Nine as 1st and 2nd respectively.
https://twitter.com/CHUANG_Off…tatus/1368154420936986630
They also ranked #1 and #2 in 4 countries... Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Thailand
Source...
https://twitter.com/CHUANG_Official
Note: This is WeTV vote only, not included (buy)Yogurt vote
Display MoreWeTV Official Overall Ranking ranked Patrick and Nine as 1st and 2nd respectively.
https://twitter.com/CHUANG_Off…tatus/1368154420936986630
They also ranked #1 and #2 in 4 countries... Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Thailand
Note: WeTV vote only, not included (buy)Yogurt vote
Oh wow, SEA supporting! Korea too! But the bulk of the official vote will come from those silly yogurt drinks 
These are the parents of Nene, who won Chuang 2020. Look at the boxes behind them!
54C7FB9C-0B29-43DA-BCA5-C593E7319CB9.jpeg
Display MoreOh wow, SEA supporting! Korea too! But the bulk of the official vote will come from those silly yogurt drinks
These are the parents of Nene, who won Chuang 2020. Look at the boxes behind them!
54C7FB9C-0B29-43DA-BCA5-C593E7319CB9.jpeg
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That's right, the Final ranking will be determined mostly by Yogurt vote, e.g. look at Yogurt stock at Jaywalk (Wang Yijin's company) a big company, also SHN48 (of Zhao Yue) is really big.
Yes, that's one of the reasons why I am so intrigued by the success of the Thais in Chinese Produces. I could see a Vietnamese being pushed to top position by a Vietnamese fans. Right now, the Vietnamese fans are voting Santa and Liu Yu. During YWY2, I read that Vietnamese raised 50K for Xiaotang. If there were Viets, those votes would go to them.
But this becomes much harder with Japanese trainees in the mix which Sunnee, Mimi or Nene never had to face (not taking away the fact they were top level vocalists and visuals.)
CPOP because of the YWY and Chuang is really the number two destination now after KPOP for exposure in Asia. Winners are then tied into the Chinese movie and drama industries (Lee Soo Man's "Asia's Hollywood".) I hope it stays as an avenue for SEAsians.
I'm pessimistic if China's ''Asia Hollywood'' has a place for SEAsians besides Thailand. I can see indonesians be included since China and Indonesia relationship is improving(they are using chinese vaccines).
This may sound strange coming from me who always has low expectations in vietnamese joining any international venues, but I believe they have a better chance on korean shows than chinese ones lol.
A bit off-topic. It seems vietnamese audience are more into Vpop than Kpop or other overseas nowadays. Maybe that's a good thing.
I'm pessimistic if China's ''Asia Hollywood'' has a place SEAsians besides Thailand. I can see indonesians be included since China and Indonesia relationship is improving(they are using chinese vaccines).
This may sound strange coming from me who always has low expectations in vietnamese joining any international venues, but I believe they have a better chance on korean shows than chinese ones lol.
A bit off-topic. It seems vietnamese audience are more into Vpop than Kpop or other overseas nowadays. Maybe that's a good thing.
Well, Vietnamese were very prominent in Asia Hollywood -- which was originally in Hong Kong before moving to China.
Tsui Hark (Tu Khac) is making Chinese blockbusters (especially the Detective Dee series!) to this day :)
Maggie Q is probably the best known ethnic Vietnamese actress ever and she acted mainly in Chinese films before going to Hollywood.
Those two were A-List in Chinese cinema. So the potential is there in China I think. I really don't know if a Vietnamese can ever get to that level in Korea.
Display MoreWell, Vietnamese were very prominent in Asia Hollywood -- which was originally in Hong Kong before moving to China.
Tsui Hark (Tu Khac) is making Chinese blockbusters (especially the Detective Dee series!) to this day :)
Maggie Q is probably the best known ethnic Vietnamese actress ever and she acted mainly in Chinese films before going to Hollywood.
Those two were A-List in Chinese cinema. So the potential is there in China I think. I really don't know if a Vietnamese can ever get to that level in Korea.
Yeah I know Maggie Q. And Cat Thanh Vu G.O.F & Ta Du Dung Pink Fun from Thailand. But the thing is, all of them don't have any special involvement with the home country. Maggie has been in Vietnam for vacation and some photoshoots. The two half-viets consider themselves taiwanese than vietnamese.
What I meant about vietnamese has a better chance in korean shows is joining them. But who knows, maybe we will get a surprise in the upcoming Asia Super Young? I'm gonna keep my expectations really low.
A bit off-topic. It seems vietnamese audience are more into Vpop than Kpop or other overseas nowadays. Maybe that's a good thing.
I'm really glad to hear that! Thailand needs more of that. I think most Thais listen to Thai music, but I still feel the Thai fans are more willing to pay for K-Pop merch & concerts than local artists (just a feeling though, don't know if it's like that in reality).
I feel the reason that there's a lot of Thais in East Asian entertainment is because it's seen as the default producer of idols/entertainment content from SEA in the eyes of East Asians. Like there's tons of Thais active in K-Pop in Korea, lots of Thai celebrities in China (Thais usually make up most of the Top 10 Weibo Asia Pacific celebrities list), and Thai BL/drama is super popular in Japan right now. This is all quite surprising considering that most Thais don't really speak other languages like Filipinos (who speak fluent English) or Malaysians (who speak Chinese/English).
I think once we start getting artists from other SEA like Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam debuting in these markets, then it's only a matter of time before you get other Non-Thais SEAsians being active in the East Asian entertainment industry. But on the other hand, more than that, I wish SEA nations can create our own entertainment industries and our own 'SEA Hollywood' so that our kids don't have to leave our countries to go pursue their dreams overseas.
I'm really glad to hear that! Thailand needs more of that. I think most Thais listen to Thai music, but I still feel the Thai fans are more willing to pay for K-Pop merch & concerts than local artists (just a feeling though, don't know if it's like that in reality).
I feel the reason that there's a lot of Thais in East Asian entertainment is because it's seen as the default producer of idols/entertainment content from SEA in the eyes of East Asians. Like there's tons of Thais active in K-Pop in Korea, lots of Thai celebrities in China (Thais usually make up most of the Top 10 Weibo Asia Pacific celebrities list), and Thai BL/drama is super popular in Japan right now. This is all quite surprising considering that most Thais don't really speak other languages like Filipinos (who speak fluent English) or Malaysians (who speak Chinese/English).
I think once we start getting artists from other SEA like Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam debuting in these markets, then it's only a matter of time before you get other Non-Thais SEAsians being active in the East Asian entertainment industry. But on the other hand, more than that, I wish SEA nations can create our own entertainment industries and our own 'SEA Hollywood' so that our kids don't have to leave our countries to go pursue their dreams overseas.
I think if we do get to see a vietnamese in Cpop or Kpop, it's gonna be based mostly on pure luck and timing. Hanbin from I-Land is the closest to become the first vietnamese Kpop idol and I hope it happens. If not, I'm not gonna be so suprise either. Vietnam is still a developing country, and it will take some time before the music market is as developed as other countries.
Curley Gao is no surprise for me when Dilareba and Guli Nazha are at the very top of China's A List. Their looks notwithstanding, they are not mixes.
I wouldn't worry about them overdoing it. Half caucasian celebrities are far more popular in Southeast Asia (especially Thailand and the Philippines) than in Northeast Asia like Korea and China. Japan has more mixes but not really in the upper echelons of their idols and actors.
I think Uyghurs are kinda Eurasian by nature, so they're already mixed by default.
Not sure what the situation is like the the Philippines but half-white celebrities aren't that big of a thing in Thailand anymore. I think it's kinda of a relic of the past from maybe 10 years ago. Yeah, there's still some big ones like Mario, Nadech, Yaya, Bella, etc. but they account for maybe 5% of the industry (although it's true that they are some of the biggest names in T-ent.)
For example, let's take one of Thailand's biggest entertainment company and look at their artists: https://www.gmm-tv.com/artists/
I'd say out of these 100 or so people, maybe 5 are half-white. The majority of them are probably Chinese-mixed, but then again, the majority of Thais nowadays are Chinese-Mixed. It's be quite difficult to find Thais in the big cities with zero Chinese blood, so if you regard Thai-Chinese mixed as being 'non-pure Thais' then basically most of the country is non-pure. Given that more and more Chinese are coming to study in Thai universities (pre-Covid), settling down & setting up businesses here every year, I feel this trend will only increase in future (for better and worse.)
I think Uyghurs are kinda Eurasian by nature, so they're already mixed by default.
Not sure what the situation is like the the Philippines but half-white celebrities aren't that big of a thing in Thailand anymore. I think it's kinda of a relic of the past from maybe 10 years ago. Yeah, there's still some big ones like Mario, Nadech, Yaya, Bella, etc. but they account for maybe 5% of the industry (although it's true that they are some of the biggest names in T-ent.)
For example, let's take one of Thailand's biggest entertainment company and look at their artists: https://www.gmm-tv.com/artists/
I'd say out of these 100 or so people, maybe 5 are half-white. The majority of them are probably Chinese-mixed, but then again, the majority of Thais nowadays are Chinese-Mixed. It's be quite difficult to find Thais in the big cities with zero Chinese blood, so if you regard Thai-Chinese mixed as being 'non-pure Thais' then basically most of the country is non-pure. Given that more and more Chinese are coming to study in Thai universities (pre-Covid), settling down & setting up businesses here every year, I feel this trend will only increase in future (for better and worse.)
Hey, that's a really informative response. I always suspected that both Chinese and Koreans kind of assume that there is a lot of Chinese ethnicity in Thais which, as you noted, goes towards them seeing Thais as the "default" sellable content of SEA in those markets.
I've always been very interested in the Thai presence in both KPOP and in CPOP. Actually C-Ent. Nichkhun is just as famous for his Chinese dramas. Mike D is a leading man in CDrama. Of course, we know about the popularity of Lisa in China and the Thai members of China's nation GGs.
As someone who is Vietnamese-Chinese (Viet Hoa), it is so intriguing because I think Vietnam is culturally closer to China and Korea than Thailand but don't have the same presence. Thais are aspirational to me because I like to see Viets achieve the same.
CPOP and especially CDrama is very popular in Vietnam. It's on par with K-Ent. This is a Vietnamese designer who does "homemade" costumes of CDrama's historical characters:
I do think SEA can do more in supporting their own music and entertainment scenes and I think Thailand has done great job in not only consuming pop culture from Korea and China but in creating it as well. Again, it is aspirational that Thailand can compete head to head with Korea and Japan in the Chinese market place!
Tencent is taking a big risk here. China-Japan relationship has always been volatile. Any sudden change will put a nail in the coffin for this Chuang group. I think the most important factor for non Chinese to make it in the Chinese market is their countries relationship with China.
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