Tencent’s newest rap variety show, Girls Like Us launched its first trailer this week, with an all-star line-up of mentors also announced.
Most notably, iconic pop star Jackson Wang is set to be a mentor on the show. Wang is a member of Korean boyband GOT7, a solo artist and also runs his own label and lifestyle brand, Team Wang.
Other mentors on the show include Masiwei of Higher Brothers fame, while singer-songwriter Zeng Yike and rapper Vinida Weng will also take part in the show. Additionally, G.E.M. will make a special appearance.
The group of mentors have wide experience on Chinese variety shows, with Jackson Wang starring on Street Dance of China 3 in 2020, while Masiwei was a mentor for Bilibili’s Rap for Youth. On the other hand, both Zeng Yike and Vinida Weng have been contestants on variety shows, with the former starring in Super Girl back in 2009, while Weng made a deep run on the fourth season of The Rap of China.
Speaking of The Rap of China, that show will not return in 2021, but will be replaced with a new show from IQIYI, called Generation Z (which will only allow contestants aged 18-24), while Hunan TV’s Rap Star will return for a second season.
The concept of Girls Like Us revolves around finding the best female rapper in China. It’s the first Chinese variety show that will focus completely on female rappers. Contestants who will appear on the show were also announced this week, with Jinx Zhou, who starred in our latest RADII Voices, set to make an appearance.
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2020 was a big year for female-oriented TV shows, as Sisters Who Make Waves and Vicki Zhao’s Hear Her were major hits on TV streaming platforms in the country.
It does appear that streaming platforms have been pushing to refine the focus of their variety shows of late, which can also be seen in IQIYI’s decision to scrap the catch-all hip hop talent show, The Rap of China, in favor of a show targeted towards a younger audience, in Generation Z.
Bilibili, often seen as the Chinese video platform that appeals most to China’s younger generation, had one of the hits of 2020 in Rap for Youth, which focused around a new generation of hip hop artists.
With the inclusion of household names like Jackson Wang and G.E.M. in the line-up for Girls Like Us, it is no stretch to see the show making a similarly major impact on China’s entertainment scene.
Cover image via Depositphotos
