Formed in 2015, the Power Girls have released their latest video, The Home Lights of Ten Thousand Families, in which they sing (and dance) to praise of their upstanding, state-owned employer.

The Power Girls are now giving their competitors a run for their money. According to the Guangzhou Daily, the music video has had over 75 million views since its release earlier this year, and the accompanying Weibo post has been read ten million times.

Here’s the music video, which plays more like a really long commercial for China Southern Power Grid:

And here are the lyrics to The Home Lights of Ten Thousand Families so you can follow along:

The Home Lights of Ten Thousand Families

In our beautiful, bustling city
under the swaying silk cotton trees in the spring
On both sides of the Pearl River beneath the romantic Baiyun Mountain
(We) spend every moment by your side

To let the light come in an ordinary fashion
To be happily without a care
To let the wonderful and brilliant years unfold before us
These are the devoted concerns that are constantly on our minds

Switch on with me, feel the current running from my eyes to yours
Allow me to witness your beautiful smile everyday
It doesn’t matter, whether sunrise or sunset, nor day or night
There is no limit to the start or the end

Switch on with me, feel the current running from my eyes to yours
My only comfort is seeing your cute, smiling face
To warm every corner (of your home), to light the road ahead of you
Occupies every moment of my day, and in every inch of my heart

(in Cantonese)
The light in the evening breeze that shows the way ahead is getting brighter
The fragrance along the way is answered by the aroma of dinner
When the sun sets in the west, while red clouds rise in the mountains of the east
Ten thousand lights turn on as usual

In addition to music videos, the Power Girls are also part of a series of China Southern Power Grid advertisements that don’t really appear to have anything to do with an Electric Company:

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“China’s digital music market has great potential,” said Qi Xuchun, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body.

Last July, a crackdown on illegal online distribution resulted in 2.2 million songs being removed from online music platforms, said the National Copyright Administration of China. And in November, internet giants TenCent and NetEase, were among a number of Chinese companies that sued each other for illegally using songs each company claimed to have exclusive licenses to. The conflict resulted in a diverse consortium of Chinese streamers, Chinese labels, and international major labels, signing a mandate agreeing to enforce music copyrights.

Online music has implemented a number of censorship controls recently. In January, music streaming platforms began censoring their catalog of songs for “improper content”, and last August 120 songs were blacklisted from the internet by the Ministry of Culture.

Online music piracy has been a constant thorn in the side of the Chinese music industry. Companies like Baidu got their start in the early days of the Chinese internet by allowing users to freely search for pirated mp3s.

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The vandal boarded Line 9 of the Shanghai Metro last Saturday afternoon at Middle Yanggao Road Station in Pudong where he proceeded to make an impromptu drawing in the last subway car on the wall next to the driver’s carriage.

The drawing depicts a sitting figure with its head obscured, while bleeding eyes peer through openings in the wall. The graffiti also included the lyrics to the song Ode to Sleep by the US band Twenty One Pilots and even features the band’s logo at the end:

(You) Have no plans for me
I will set my soul on fire
What have I become
I’m sorry

Police were able to identify the suspect from a surveillance video and spoke with him on Monday. Despite facing possible charges of vandalism and violating Metro regulations, Shanghai police let the teen go with just a warning. The 18 year-old offered an apology, but will be required to compensate the subway for cleaning the graffiti.

Chinese netizens were upset over what they saw as an obvious double standard.

One person wrote, “If this was a mainlander, would they be detained?” while another was more direct and said, “I wouldn’t want to think of the outcome if a mainland Chinese did this on the Hong Kong Metro.”

Other people criticized the media’s treatment of the expat. One person wrote, “Weird. Why is it the media have criticized him for having poor morals? Chinese who do this are criticized for having low morals, but if a foreigner does it, then it’s an exception? What trash the media is.”

Others still offered their support, albeit grudgingly. One person wrote, “There’s talent here; he could grow up to be an artist. But what is this art supposed to be? I can’t bear to look at it.“

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The all-women Moranbong Band, and the North Korean State Meritous Choir, had been rehearsing for their first performance Saturday night when they promptly cancelled all three of their Beijing shows. Seen wearing military uniforms and furry hats, the musicians left for Beijing airport Saturday afternoon and flew back to Pyongyong.

According to reports by North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA, the “friendship performances” were supposed to, “contribute to deepening friendship and boosting the cultural and artistic exchanges between the peoples of the two countries.”

Official Chinese news agency Xinhua said the performances could not go ahead as planned due to “communication issues on a working level”.

The “friendship performances” were described as “a national-level foreign affairs activity”, and yet no one was able to purchase tickets. A ticket agent at the National Centre for the Performing Arts said prior to Saturday’s cancellation that, “We don’t have a single ticket on hand; we don’t even know which room the performances will take place in.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, offered no explanation as to why the shows were cancelled saying only that the performance was not organized by the ministry. When asked where tickets could be purchased, Hua had no idea: “I myself have no ticket to the performance” she said.

Formed in 2012, the Moranbong Band has been described as a “pet project” for North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un, who allegedly handpicked the members. The band’s outfit consists of uncharacteristically low hemlines, while many of the performers sport short haircuts, currently trending in North Korea. The band are known to perform Western hits such as the theme from Rocky, and Frank Sinatra’s My Way.

With no official explanation provided, a number of rumors have surfaced speculating as to why the tour was cancelled.

One such rumor is that in advance of the performance, Chinese media may have offended North Korean officials by singling out Moranbong Band member Hyon Song-wol, a woman rumored to be Kim Jong-Un’s onetime girlfriend (seen above). Hyon’s presence conflicts with previous reports in South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo that Hyon was executed by firing squad for “creating and distributing” pornographic material.

Further muddying the waters, Reuters reported that South Korea’s Yonhap news agency claim North Koreans may have canceled the show after China decided to send a lower ranking delegation to the performance in protest over Kim’s recent boast that North Korea possess a hydrogen bomb.

Yonhap cited an unnamed source who quoted an unidentified Chinese official as saying China agreed to send a politburo member in place of President Xi Jinping or Premier Li Keqiang, whom North Korea had originally requested attend the invitation-only shows. The source said China reneged on that compromise, deciding to send low-ranking officials instead.

As for what a performance by the Moranbong Band sounds like, here they are performing My Country is the Best:

Here is their hit song Excellent Horse-Like Lady:

Here’s their rendition of Rocky:

And here they are performing their song Without You (Comrade Kim Jung-Un), We Will Die:

Related:

• “Foreign” Spy Detained in Jinlin
• Media Hides Story of North Korean Military Defector that Killed 4 People in China
• Nanfang News: Art professor murder suspect flees to North Korea

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Prompted by an anonymous tip to police alleging that a number of 18 to 20 year old students at Beijing’s Midi School of Music were routinely smoking marijuana, police raided the school and took urine samples from the students in question.

According to media reports, between two and three hundred students, all male, were tested. Of the 16 arrested, most returned to school the following day, however Shanghai Daily reported that three students were detained for three days.

In a letter released late last week, the school apologized for failing to adequately supervise the students. The letter advised that local police are treating students leniently as they are first-time drug offenders who are all “sincere in their regret over the incident”. The letter went on to say that, “Students taking marijuana is definitely not good, but we have to give them chances to rectify their mistakes … music is a good cure”.

The Beijing Midi School of Music is China’s first music school devoted to modern music styles like rock and jazz. Founded in 1993, the school later spawned the popular annual Midi Music Festival held in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

Zhang said the raid would not affect the festival as drugs are strictly forbidden at the event.

China has undergone a strict crackdown on illegal drug use that has hit the entertainment industry hard, culminating in the arrests of several celebrities, the latest of which is 46 year-old singer Yin Xiangjie who was arrested for the second time two weeks ago for illegally possessing and taking drugs.

Wu Xin, head of the drug control bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, said there are more than 38,000 drug addicts under the age of 18 in China and nearly 1.9 million between 18 and 35.

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The Ministry of Culture says all Chinese internet companies must start policing the music it offers online starting January 1. The plan calls for these companies to self-censor by hiring and training its own in-house staff to conduct detailed investigations of which songs are unacceptable to the ministry, which will then be added to a blacklist and removed from their servers.

The plan is similar to how internet companies in China are already forced to deal with other content offered online through the use of in-house censors.

The announcement comes at a time when music streaming apps and services are becoming popular with the public, with middle-class consumers paying for some of these services.

This past August, the Ministry of Culture put out a blacklist of 120 songs that are banned from all Chinese internet sites, the majority of them songs with “morally harmful” content from artists like MC Hotdog (pictured) that mostly featured sexist or immature content.

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Megadeth is set to perform in Beijing on October 6 at the Huiyuan M Zone Center in the Mastercard Center, and in Shanghai on October 8 at the Shanghai Gymnasium, according to the band’s website. However, China Daily reports the venue for the October 8 performance as being the Shanghai Grand Theater, so there’s still some confusion.

This will be the Megadeth’s first appearance in China after having cancelled a 2012 date in Beijing “due to issues with the show license for the venue.”

This fall has seen a number of shows by Western performers get cancelled in China, often at the last minute. The Shanghai tour date for Maroon 5 was mysteriously cancelled as was the Chinese leg of the Bon Jovi tour, both speculated to have to do with the band’s relation to topics regarded as taboo by the Chinese government.

This won’t be China’s first taste of metal music, with Metallica having rocked Shanghai with two shows back in 2012. However, as Megadeth may find out for themselves, there are some songs too metal for the sensitivities of China.

Chinese officials banned Metallica from playing certain songs in China, including Masters of Puppets whose lyrics include “Come crawling faster/Obey your master/Your life burns faster/Obey your master”. Metallica complied with the order, but it didn’t stop guitarist Kirk Hammet from playing the opening riff to Masters of Puppets during the show.

We hope that Chinese metalheads will be able to enjoy an unadulterated Megadeth show, but a cursory glance at the anthology of Megadeth songs reveals there may be some contentious choices. Songs that may be construed as being inharmonious include songs like Peace Sells (But Who’s Buying?), Addicted to Chaos, or even their cover of the Alice Cooper classic No More Mr Nice Guy.

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Hong Kong certainly has a good transportation system, unfortunately it would appear the transportation system is not particularly good to musicians. According to a report in the Apple Daily, a Hong Kong schoolgirl was denied access to the MTR subway at Tai Wai Station because her instrument was too big.

The schoolgirl was told that her guzheng, otherwise known as the Chinese zither, was an “oversized” item and therefore prohibited on the MTR. Oversized items are classified by MTR rules as any object over 160 centimeters in total length. As a result, the schoolgirl was left with no choice but to leave the subway.

The schoolgirl’s plight however did not go unnoticed. Pictures of the confrontation circulated on social media, outraging some Hong Kong residents who argue that the MTR employs a double standard when it comes to enforcing its policies.

Critics argue that MTR staff often allow other oversized items, ranging from washing machines to martial arts weapons, and yet won’t allow a student to carry her instrument. Others argue the MTR should be more concerned with stopping parallel traders from transporting bulky items rather than stopping locals going about their business.

One netizen wrote, “Double standard; the rules are not enforced fairly.” Another wrote, “Only allow paralell traders smuggling Hong Kong goods; won’t allow a schoolgirl on her way to a music lesson.” And still another said, “All I see is a case of ‘punishing the good, but avoiding the wicked’. If there is a quota they must implement everyday, then it’s the students that will most certainly get the worst part of it!”

Related:

• Even Mainland Students in Hong Kong Feel Targeted Because of Parallel Trader Problem
• Rude Foreigner Criticized for Taking Up Seats on the MTR as Elderly Man Stands

The post No Musical Instruments, but Washing Machines Okay on Hong Kong’s MTR appeared first on The Nanfang.

Tudou released the video of the New Jersey rocker performing the song today as Bon Jovi prepares for a Asian tour this fall that will see stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Seoul. This will be the band’s first performance in China.

Here is Bon Jovi singing his version of the Teresa Teng classic, The Moon Represents my Heart:

As it is, Bon Jovi isn’t the first non-Chinese performer to perform The Moon Represents My Heart, a song that always gets applause from a Chinese audience from the first moment it is sung.

Here is the Vienna Boys Choir with their rendition:

Hayley Westenra performed the song in Beijing during her 2011 tour with Andrea Bocelli:

Here is Malaysian songstress Siti Nurhaliza (aka Voice of Asia) from 2009:

And to smooth things out, here’s Kenny G’s version from his 2006 album:

The post Bon Jovi Sings Completely in Chinese to Serenade Lovers on Qixi appeared first on The Nanfang.

China’s Ministry of Culture has put 120 songs on a blacklist for promoting obscenity or violence, and ordered them to be removed from all Chinese websites. The ministry said the songs “trumpeted obscenity, violence, crime or harmed social morality,” and anyone that ignores the ban will face “severe punishment” that was left up to the imagination.

The blacklist contains a number of famous singers including Taiwanese pop star Chang Csun Yuk, Taiwanese actor Stanley Huang, and even Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong. For the most part, the blacklist targets the rap genre with certain rap groups like Yinsaner and the New Street Talk Assembly appearing multiple times among others like MC Hotdog.

The song titles give us some clues into why they might have rubbed Chinese authorities the wrong way:

• Getting a Hotel Room Together Does Not Mean We are Lovers by Yiran
• Cheap Women, Bad Men by the Internet Singers
• This is Not a Song About a One Night Stand by Guangguang
• No Sex, No Love by Guangguang and K-Bo
• Mistress, You Are So Cheap by Benkui
• Fuck Your Love by the Internet Singers

The announcement the songs were banned caused a sensation among Chinese people, with one person saying: “These song titles are shameful in and of themselves. Is it right to publish them the way they are?” Another person took exception to not extending the ban further, saying “Why don’t they ban Myth of the Phoenix (the singers of many popular square dancing songs)? Everyday they massacre my ears.”

And citing the Streisand effect, another netizen said, “I have never heard of these songs before in my life, but now I really want to hear them.”

Anyone else interested in what songs the Ministry of Culture doesn’t think you should be able to listen to can find a full list published on their website.

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