The final episode of China’s hit variety show Youth With You Season 2 swept the trending lists on multiple social media platforms at home and abroad after it was broadcast live on Saturday night.
The hashtag #YouthWithYou_Finale topped the trending lists on Twitter and China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo, where it earned 2.2 billion views as of Sunday afternoon. More than 393 various hashtags concerning the show have been trending on Twitter in about 15 countries around the world. Clips from the episode on the show’s official channel YouTube have garnered more than 300 million views in total.
The show’s dance mentor Lisa, a member of the K-pop girl band Blackpink, posted two messages on Sina Weibo on Sunday and Saturday to express her gratitude and bid farewell to the show’s trainees and the three other mentors.
“Congratulations to the debut of THE9. Hope we can see each other on a stage one day. Come on girls. You can do even better,” Lisa wrote.
In the last episode, the top 20 trainees were whittled down to nine winners, who then debuted as China’s newest girl group: THE9. On Saturday afternoon, Japanese girl group IZONE released a video to cheer on the 20 contestants.
The rankings of the top 10 contestants were constantly updated every 30 minutes during the nearly four-hour show, which made both trainees and their fans quite nervous.
The results were finally revealed with contestant Liu Yuxin winning the lead position along with teammates Yu Shuxin, Xu Jiaqi, Yu Yan, Xie Keyin, An Qi, Zhao Xiaotang, Kong Xueer and Lu Keran.
Many Chinese netizens were happy with Liu’s win, but there were still some fans who were disappointed that some excellent and outstanding trainees did not make it into the top nine.
“Jin Zihan was one of my favorite trainees. She is not only pretty but also is a good singer and dancer. It’s a shame that she didn’t win,” Gu Changjuan, a 27-year-old editor living in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio posted on Sina Weibo on Saturday night to express her hope that Liu could win the top position.
“Did Liu Yuxin win Youth With You? I hope so also I hope I wrote this correctly,” she wrote.
Liu’s boyish look, short hair and short trousers, caused some controversy since long hair and skirts are usually considered the norm for girl band members.
“I think Liu Yuxin winning the center position represents the successful protest of a number of modern girls who do not want to limited by beauty standards. I wanted her to win because I want to become a person like her who is professional, modest and has the confidence to be herself,” Echo, a postgraduate student from Peking University, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Shi Wenxue, a cultural critic living in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday that beauty is not something that should be limited by a certain framework. Liu’s win shows that people have a higher tolerance for diverse looks and temperament.
“I look forward to their performance after their debut. They have room for unlimited possibilities and give people confidence amid the virus crisis,” Shi said.
The second season of Youth With You, which premiered on March 12 on Chinese streaming giant iQIYI, seeks to whittle down 109 potential trainees to form a nine-member girl band through audience voting.
Photo: Screenshot
