For producers, it pays to emulate others' success

In the late 1980s and early 90s one of the most popular boy groups in China was Xiao Hu Dui, or Little Tigers - a trio from Taiwan. The group, which was founded in 1988, was made up of Alec Su, Nicky Wu and Julian Chen. They disbanded in 1995 after releasing 12 studio albums, starring in movies and winning acclaim with their squeaky-clean dance moves and catchy pop songs.

However, over the ensuing 18 years, success was elusive for made-in-China boy bands, most fading into pop-world oblivion after a hit or two. Instead, it was groups such as the Backstreet Boys, Big Bang and SMAP - from Western countries, Japan and South Korea - that dominated the Chinese market.

But in 2013, along came the TFBoys. What seemed to give the group, consisting of Wang Junkai and Wang Yuan (both from Chongqing) and Yiyang Qianxi (from Huaihua, Hunan province) instant appeal was their fresh, handsome schoolboy image.

The group went on to become one of the most successful Chinese pop groups in the country, evidenced by the contemporary Chinese barometer of success Sina Weibo, the social media service, on which the group has 20 million followers.

In January it was the opening act in the most-watched TV program in China, celebrating Chinese New Year - the CCTV Spring Festival Gala - which is said to have had more than 1 billion viewers.

The three TFBoys have also launched solo careers, including Wang Junkai starring in the film epic The Great Wall alongside Matt Damon and Andy Lau. Wang Yuan was a delegate for China at the sixth United Nations Economic and Social Council youth forum and gave a speech in English calling for equal access to quality education worldwide.

It is with that kind of success in mind that Chinese entertainment companies have been toiling away looking for the right act that can emulate the TFBoys and thus deliver huge commercial success.

One company is Yue Hua Entertainment, whose choice of name for its latest musical creation, YHBOYS, may be a subtle salute to the TFBoys, or perhaps reflects the hope of riding on the group's coattails.

In creating boy bands and girl bands in China, emulation seems to be the name of the game, with Chinese companies closely following the lead of top record label and talent agencies in Japan.

Following the success of the Japanese girl group AKB48 - whose letters are an abbreviation for Akihabara, the members' home district in Tokyo, and 48 is the number of members the group originally had - a Chinese girl group sprang up in 2013 in Shanghai bearing the name SNH48. The Chinese group is modeled closely on the Tokyo group. Its 48 members are all about 20 years old.

China Music Business News, an online news platform for China's music industry, says that about 20 boy groups will be introduced to audiences in China this year.

In December Huang Rui, the former manager of TFBoys, launched a project called Original Plan, in which Chinese pop idols 10 to 18 years old are recruited through both open auditions and a network of scouts.

Before they are exposed to the world, millions of potential fans will be drip-fed images of the performers in the form of cartoons - one way of keeping them hooked and connected to the project, according to Huang.

"We need to come up with original ideas. You can't just simply go and try to produce duplicates of others' success stories," Huang says.

Backstreet Boys. Photos Provided to China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 03/10/2017 page16)