Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 171, Page 169: There Must Be a Hidden Trap
In early February 1998, before the Spring Festival had even faded, an entertainment craze originating from Hunan TV swept across the country with unprecedented momentum.

Starting on the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year, "Love Line Between Beijing and Hong Kong" premiered on Hunan Satellite TV's prime time slot. With its fashionable urban style, delicate emotional portrayal, and the novelty of the cultural collision between Beijing and Hong Kong, it quickly captured the attention of young viewers.

Although television ratings at that time had introduced relatively professional survey agencies such as CSM to conduct sampling measurements, the data feedback was far less immediate and transparent than in later years.

Mainstream media and advertisers rely more on the interim reports released by these research institutions, and combine them with the number of viewer letters received by the TV station, the number of hotline calls, and the level of social discussion to make a comprehensive judgment.

The publicity department of Hunan Satellite TV is well aware of this strategy. Three days after the broadcast of "Love Line between Beijing and Hong Kong", it couldn't wait to release a report to the media that "the ratings have been rising steadily and have ranked among the top in the same time slot nationwide for three consecutive days". It also cited "authoritative survey data" to say that its viewership share exceeded 12% in the first week of broadcast and maintained a strong growth momentum.

Newspapers began to feature reports such as "The Love Line Between Beijing and Hong Kong Leads a New Trend in Urban Romance Dramas" and "Hunan TV's Spring Festival Season Sees a Surprising Rise."

The national qualifying round of "Super Girl" was broadcast at 9:35 pm, which was closely connected with "Love in Beijing and Hong Kong". It perfectly took over the audience brought by the previous drama, especially a large number of female viewers who were attracted by the Hong Kong Island background and modern love story in the drama.

When the image of the independent, intelligent, and somewhat mysterious Hong Kong city heroine from "Love in Beijing and Hong Kong" was still lingering in my mind, the screen immediately showed Cecilia Cheung, the Hong Kong girl from "Super Girl" with mixed-race beauty, a bumpy background, and unwavering perseverance. A wonderful emotional connection and image projection naturally arose.

To countless viewers, especially female viewers, Cecilia Cheung seemed to be the prototype of the female protagonist in "Love in the City," unpolished yet more realistic.

Her stunning appearance embodies people's imagination of Hong Kong's fashion scene, while her story of "a mother's strength" (adjective) and her desire to lead her family out of their predicament imbues this beauty with inner resilience and moral brilliance.

In early 1998, less than six months after Hong Kong's return to China, amidst a backdrop where the mainland public felt both familiar with and fascinated by the land, Cecilia Cheung became a symbol embodying beautiful imaginations and emotional attachments—she represented people's most beautiful imaginations of Hong Kong women as independent, strong, beautiful, and loyal.

This emotional resonance quickly translated into concrete actions.

The hotline set up by the "Super Girl" program team for audience inquiries was almost always busy from morning till night.

The broadcasting center in Changsha was flooded with calls from all over the country. The operators heard a variety of voices: young girls asking about the competition format and how to support the contestants; middle-aged women moved to tears by Cecilia Cheung's story and urging the production team to take good care of her; and even many young men who bluntly stated that they watched the show because of Cecilia Cheung and that they must not let her be eliminated.

"If Cecilia Cheung leaves, I won't watch this show anymore!"

"Please make sure Bozhi advances; we need role models like her!"

"She may not be the best singer, but her attitude towards life is the best!"

The contents of the hotline calls were quickly compiled and reported to the program's senior management and the leaders of Hunan Satellite TV.

The data clearly shows that Cecilia Cheung has become an absolute guarantee for the show's ratings and popularity.

Faced with such overwhelming public opinion and obvious commercial value, Hunan TV and Enlight Media tacitly agreed that Cecilia Cheung must stay, and that her stay must be dramatic, making the audience more anxious and engaged.

Thus, in the meticulously designed "Top 30 Nationwide to Top 10" competition format, the suspense reached its peak.

The program team announced that after fierce competition, based on the judges' scores, 8 contestants with both strength and popularity will directly advance to the top 10 nationwide.

而剩下的两个珍贵的十强席位，则将通过残酷的“复活赛”产生：由排名第9至第16名的8位选手，先进行“8进4”的PK，胜出的4人再进行“4进2”的终极对决，最终获胜的两人搭上十强末班车。

As expected, in the first round of judges' evaluation and "popularity assessment", Cecilia Cheung "unexpectedly" failed to advance directly and instead fell into the more competitive revival zone.

The news was released in advance through television previews and newspaper program schedules, instantly igniting the emotions of all supporters.

"How is that possible? How could Bozhi not get into the top tier but advance directly?"

"There's something fishy going on! There must be something fishy going on!"

"No, I have to watch the revival match. Bozhi has to win!"

This weekend evening in early February was destined to be a sleepless night. Countless families tuned in to Hunan TV, dormitories were packed with people in front of their televisions, and the talk of the town revolved around the same question: Could Cecilia Cheung be resurrected?
The revival competition of "Super Girl" that night achieved an unprecedented level of viewership.

Subsequent survey data showed that the show's peak viewership share in core cities approached 35%, meaning that more than one-third of households with television signal coverage at the time watched the match during that period.

Tens of thousands of viewers sat in front of their televisions, their emotions rising and falling with every line of Cecilia Cheung's singing and every expression of the judges.

In the first round of the revival competition, "8 to 4", Cecilia Cheung chose a heartfelt song, "I'm Willing", and her stable performance and emotional delivery helped her advance to the top four.

After a brief commercial break, the even more intense second round of "4 to 2" began.

Perhaps due to excessive pressure, or perhaps due to tactical arrangements, Cecilia Cheung chose a rather challenging song, "Easily Hurt Woman," for this round, and a minor flaw appeared during her performance.

The competitors performed exceptionally well, and the atmosphere on the scene instantly froze.

Viewers in front of their televisions were on tenterhooks, the hotline indicator light flashing wildly, as if they could hear the nationwide prayers.

At crucial moments, the judges' comments were full of struggle and weighing of options.

They acknowledged Cecilia Cheung's unique star quality and immense audience appeal, while also subtly pointing out the other contestant's technical consistency.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of discussion, the head judge took a deep breath, faced the camera, and slowly uttered the name that everyone had been eagerly anticipating:
"Based on the judges' deliberations and taking into account the broad wishes of the program's audience... the last contestant to advance to the top ten nationwide is—Zhang Bozhi!"

"yeah--!"

"We won! Bozhi won!"

"Great!"

Cheers erupted simultaneously in homes and dormitories across the country.

At that moment, it felt not as a victory for Cecilia Cheung alone, but as a battle won by all her supporters.

The following day, the entertainment sections of major media outlets across the country were dominated by this news.

"The revival round of 'Super Girl' achieved explosive ratings, with Hong Kong contestant Cecilia Cheung making it into the top ten as expected!" — Southern Metropolis Daily

"With the support of millions of people, 'Cinderella' Cecilia Cheung narrowly advances!" — Rongcheng Business Daily

"Television talent shows produce phenomenal contestants; Cecilia Cheung reflects cross-strait emotional resonance!" — Commentary in the Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette)
Cecilia Cheung's name, along with "Super Girl," became the hottest cultural phenomenon in early spring of 1998.

She is no longer just a contestant, but a "new idol" symbol that embodies the emotions, cultural imagination, and entertainment consumption needs of the masses during a specific period.

……

After the revival competition ended, the broadcast time of "Super Girl" was changed to 9:35 pm every Friday. There were about four episodes left. The first episode (February 13): the top 10 in the country will be divided into the top 4 in the country. There are only 2 official spots (based on the judges' comprehensive scores). The organizers will arrange for Cecilia Cheung to fall into the revival competition again.

第二期（2月20日）：复活赛，8进4、4进2，张伯芝再次涅槃重生；

In the third episode (February 27th), the national semi-finals, each contestant could choose three singers to assist them. The organizers would try their best to contact one of them. Cecilia Cheung made a strong advancement.
The fourth episode (March 6th) will be broadcast in a combination of live and pre-recorded segments. Before the main competition begins, the top ten contestants (excluding Cecilia Cheung and another competitor for the championship) will have their final dance on this stage with invited guests.

It will take about another month to complete the race.

(End of this chapter)