Beijing Pops: The Great Boy Band Show Yoghurt Scandal
Feeling left out when your Chinese colleagues are gossiping about a trending star? Puzzled by those glamorous Chinese faces in subway ads, but can't even tell who they are? Beijing Pops will help you get through it all with the latest pop culture and celebrity news.
These boys may be rich in youth, but luck – not so much. From its first episodes in February, season 3 of the boy band knock-out reality show Youth With You has been plagued by scandal, and the drama hasn't let up even now that we're approaching the end of the season.
Much of the controversy surrounds one of its leading contestants, Tony Yu Jingtian. As a member of the the top 20 contestants, Yu was supposed to appear in the finals previously scheduled for live episode on May 8 and compete for one of the top nine seats. However, posts online began to surface in April that allege that his parents’ karaoke businesses had become involved in drug dealing and prostitution. In a separate controversy, netizens questioned Yu's nationality status after digging up a clip of him on a similar South Korean boy band show in 2019 in which he introduced himself as a Canadian. On the stage of Youth With You, he claimed “I’m proud to represent China.” As dual nationality is not allowed in China, fans were quick to call his national loyalty into question.
In addition to contestant scandals, sponsors of the show have suffered the wrath of public opinion. The exclusive title sponsor Mengniu Dairy apologized on May 7, after a video showing people pouring out copious amounts of its sponsored yogurt went viral online. The yogurt serves as a sort of ballot to vote for the contestants – viewers can scan the QR code printed on the inside of the bottle cap to vote for their favorite contestant. Certain grifters who lack a mind for waste decided to make a quick kuai by selling the selling bottle caps online – and throwing the yogurt away. On some platforms, caps were sold at RMB 40 for 10.
On May 9, iQiyi announced on Weibo that the show will stop broadcasting and that they will refund consumers for any unopened bottles of yogurt.
Beijing Pop Stars To Get to Know This Week
Crosstalker Guo Degang
Known for: Cross talk, film acting and directing
Why he's in the news: Endorsing a mobile game
Tianjin-born crosstalk actor Guo Degang, who founded the popular Beijing-based cross talk group Deyunshe, has a new endorsement this month: a mobile game featuring renowned Chinese classic — Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三国演义 Sān Guó Yǎn Yì. Set in the Three Kingdoms period (from 220 to 280 AD), the game is developed by Guangzhou’s game company 9game.cn and was launched in 2006 as a web-based game. In the commercial, Guo dresses in a traditional costume and introduces the game in the form of crosstalk.
The endorsement has put Guo in the national spotlight, so if you'd like to keep up on conversations about this multi-talented fellow, you could start with his filmography: he's well known for starring in the spoof film Just Another Margin as well as the thriller Mystery. He also directed the 2017 fantasy-adventure film The Faces of My Gene.
Another crosstalk actor Hou Zhen, who’s also a member of Deyunshe, China’s biggest crosstalk club established by Guo in Beijing, also endorsed the game. Hou is the grandson of late crosstalk master Hou Baolin, who’s considered the originator of modern crosstalk style. Somehow however, we doubt either of the pair have ever actually played the game.
Boy-love drama hero Gong Jun
Known for: Acting in Word of Honor
Why he's in the news: Huge new ad at Guomao Subway Station
If you commute by subway and transfer at Guomao Station by any chance, you cannot miss the large commercial featuring the hero of this year's hottest boy-love costume drama 山河令 shān hé lìng Word of Honor. 29-year-old Gong Jun is the new face of the home furnishing brand BEAST. In the ad, he wears a blue shirt and is surrounded by clusters of blue flowers to promote the brand's latest perfume.
You can find the show with English subtitles on YouTube by searching "Eng sub Word of Honor."
Born in 1992 in China’s southwest capital city Chengdu, Gong Jun made his debut in a costume drama after graduated from Donghua University. After the success of Word of Honor in 2021, Gong Jun’s commercial resources have been soaring, so this may not be the last you'll see of him on your commute.
READ: Beijing Pops: Chloé Zhao Wins the Oscar for Best Director for "Nomadland"
Images: Weibo, iQiyi, BEAST
