I can't believe it's already Round 3 (三公)! Here are my reviews based on YouTube uploads on the 13th and 14th of September 2024.
First Teams Collaboration of the Season!
As mentioned in my previous article, this Round will see collaboration between any two groups, regardless of the age bracket:
Reno Wang Zhe Liang, 王铮亮 (Elder) and Shi Kai, 石凯 (Younger)
Hacken Lee, 李克勤 (Elder) and Azora Chin You Zhang Jin, 尤长靖 (Younger)
Liang Long, 梁龙 (Elder) and William Wei Li An, 韦礼安 (Elder)
Fox Hu, 胡夏 (Younger) and Zao An, 早安 (Younger)
The Roof is on Fire (屋顶着火)
Brothers: Zao An (早安), Fu Xin Bo (付辛博), Jiao Mai Qi (焦迈奇), Li Jia Qi (李佳琦), and Du Hai Tao (杜海涛)
It is a straightforward performance combining modern pop dance and rock music. Zao An's rap remains unparalleled; Fu Xin Bo and Austin Li outshine the rest with their remarkable dance moves.
One bonus point for their significant improvement from the last Round's Soul Singer (灵魂歌手). Everyone's on fire, so bravo to them!
Score: 8/10
Step Aside (借过一下)
Brothers: Azora Chin You Zhang Jing (尤长靖), MIYAVI, Akira (黑泽良平), and Huang Xiao (黄潇)
Yet another solid performance led by Malaysian artist, Azora Chin! Visually, the stage resembled the movie Dune's landscape involving plenty of digging, dirt, mud and rain/shower.
Everyone nailed their roles well, from singing to acting and dancing. This stage is almost every brother's first: Azora Chin dug his hands into acting-singing, Huang Xiao showered us with his vocal talent, Akira muddled with the Chinese language... and MIYAVI did us dirty by performing without his iconic guitar.
Sorry no sorry, I love my puns LOL!
P/S Have a peek at the behind-the-scenes for some Chinese lessons giggles!
Score: 10/10
I Don't Care (我管你)
Brothers: Reno Wang Zheng Liang (王铮亮), Shi Kai (石凯), Allen Lin Yi Lun (林依轮), Evan Yo Tsai Min You (蔡旻佑), and Jing Long (井胧)
True to its title, this piece is akin to a rebellious teenager exuding indifference towards everything.
All two boys plus three middle-aged men flashed this demeanour throughout the song, from their singing to lazy/slack body dynamics.
38-year-old Evan Yo surprised me the most for pulling off the bad boy persona... a stark contrast to his previous image as a classical violinist!
Score: 8/10
Twilight (黄昏）
Brothers: Hacken Lee (李克勤), Charlie Qin Hao (秦昊), Rhydian Vaughan Feng Xiao Yue (凤小岳) and J.zen Zhu Xing Jie (朱星杰)
This is a classic with a slight adaptation by J.zen. I don't mind the improvisation as the new interpretation did not sacrifice the original song's uniqueness. All four vocals blend harmoniously, like a twilight scene of red and orange.
While they have ticked the audio and technical boxes, their visuals are a big letdown.
This stage is arguably the plainest, if not one of the laziest in the history of Call Me By Fire. If I were to speak from a creative standpoint, design is non-existent for this performance. The four brothers have to make do with platforms with adjustable heights... so let's just close our eyes and savour their soothing vocals.
Score: 8/10
Love Cha-Cha (爱的恰恰)
Brothers: Liang Long (梁龙), Yan Yi Kun (严屹宽), Jerry Yuan Cheng Jie (袁成杰), Jason Fu Long Fei (符龙飞) and Caelan Moriarty (庆怜)
At this point, the name Liang Long is synonymous with "weird, but not weird enough to be appalling". Either way, yes, this is another fun song giving off the early 50's and 60's vibes.
It's Cha-Cha, after all!
Everyone nailed their parts... man, why do they make weird seem so easy? Bonus points to Yan Yi Kun and Jerry Yuan for executing the weirdest of the weird roles with a straight face... they truly are actors to the core!
Score: 7/10
Bloody Love Story (血腥爱情故事)
Brothers: Fox Hu Xia (胡夏), Zao An (早安), Fu Xin Bo (付辛博) and Ning Huan Yu (宁桓宇)
Fans love the psychological-thriller series, so Call Me By Fire milked the cow by assigning the concept to a new group: Younger Brothers Fox Hu and Zao An.
The story is simple and well-executed.
Fu Xin Bo has always been an astounding actor... who knew Fox Hu and Zao An could also follow the footsteps of their senior!
Fox Hu's innocent, oppressed victim outlook convinced me further that Fu Xin Bo and Zao An are excellent psychopathic bullies... If given the chance LOL.
P/S Watch their rehearsal and practice rounds for more giggles!!!
Here comes a critical question: what about the fourth member, Ning Huan Yu? Unfortunately, his health issues limited his contribution to a mere 5-second epilogue. So let's wish him a speedy recovery!
Score: 10/10
This Little Fish Cares (这条小鱼在乎)
Brothers: Reno Wang Zheng Liang (王铮亮), Shi Kai (石凯), Aruna (阿如那), and Nine Gao (高卿尘)
This song's rhythm is humbling, and we were humbled further by the members' soft vocals and melodious harmony.
Nine Gao is his usual softie. I didn't know Shi Kai could sing so lovingly? Aruna's tough look doesn't match his melancholy tune. Reno Wang played the accordion during the X-part... is there anything this man cannot do?!
I think "This Little Fish Cares" is better performed by three brothers, not four. Nevertheless, it's the best stage of the Round!
Score: 10/10
100 Ways
Brothers: William Wei Li An (韦礼安), Joe Xu Hai Qiao (徐海乔), Jason Fu Long Fei (符龙飞), and Caelan Moriarty (庆怜)
The stage kept true to the song's original Music Video, featuring English lyrics and modern dance choreography in ancient Chinese costume (another weird combo, yup). While kudos to the brothers for setting such a high bar... It's equally crucial to be realistic and set the priorities right.
There are 100 ways to get this performance wrong, which they hit a few...
There are also 100 ways to fix or avoid such problems, which this team seemed not to do.
Some struggled to show their oomph in dancing. A few couldn't keep up with the beat. One muffled through the lyrics... I won't be too particular about pronunciation, considering English is a foreign language for the majority of Call Me By Fire contestants.
All in all, it's disheartening to see them trying so hard, yet not meeting the marketing hype. At least the four had the best backdrop design of the Round.
Score: 7/10
Final Score, Elimination and Thoughts
All collaborations happened to have one win and one loss, which tallied with their overall scores:
By looking at the numbers alone, Reno Wang-Shi Kai should have been crowned the winner, and rightfully so. Their "This Little Fish Cares" is truly beautiful, and "I Don't Care" is full of surprises.
However, the music program loves its complicated competition rules and format (duh). Long story short, the producers introduced some gambling elements for the participants to grab extra points.
Hacken Lee, being the most senior and therefore wisest of all, placed the highest bet on "Step Aside". The Hong Kong veteran also initiated to challenge Reno Wang-Shi Kai's "I Don't Care" so that their team can avoid confronting his "This Little Fish Cares".
These bold tactics garnered an extra 24 points, therefore beating the pair to the first place.
This program isn't about music anymore... It's also a game of wits!
Round 3 introduced a new rule that binds 1 elimination in one of the two least-performing teams. Yup, you read it right: a guaranteed elimination. I have strong opinions regarding this bizarre regulation... But oh well. Their TV channel, their people, their rules.
You lose the moment you take reality shows personally.
Back to the competition. Liang Long-William Wei lost the challenge, resulting in the elimination of Jerry Yuan. What a shame... He's one of the few outstanding actors of the season.
Fox Hu-Zao An is the lowest-ranking team, therefore eliminating Ning Huan Yu. One could see this as a blessing in disguise, as he finally had the time to fully recuperate. Call Me By Fire is gruelling, ya' know.
This also meant Zao An had lost a teammate two times in a row.
Who has the Best Performance of the Week?
This Little Fish Cares (这条小鱼在乎), followed very closely by Step Aside (借过一下).
What about the best Brother?
The two Fu's: Jason Fu Long Fei and Fu Xin Bo.
Both men performed in two shows (can you imagine how exhausting that is) and are among the saving graces in their respective performances.
Jason Fu's athleticism is the only highlight of 100 Ways. Fu Xin Bo's dance moves fired up "The Roof is on Fire". Period.
What's Next?
Round 4 of Call Me By Fire Season 4 will see a reduction of groups, from eight to six groups.
Knowing the competition format, the leaders will be the top 3 favourites of each bracket. Here, we can deduce the 3 leaders based on this Round's Individual Popularity votes:
Hacken Lee
Reno Wang Zheng Liang
William Wei Li An
Azora Chin You Zhang Jing
Shi Kai
Fox Hu
But wait... There's more.
Three Brothers from Season 3 will return for the next Round!
Don't we all love to see familiar faces?! Expect shenanigans from the "Happy Boys" former contestants, who also happened to be the "nemesis" of Reno Wang...
Bird Zhang Yuan (张远), Wang Yue Xin (王栎鑫) and Yu Hao Ming (俞灏明)!
Don't miss out on the three seasoned brothers "bullying" Reno Wang LOL.
I cannot wait! See you all in the next blog post!!
Disclaimer:
All published media are screenshots of 披荆斩棘的哥哥 Call Me By Fire and China HunanTV Official Channel 湖南卫视芒果TV官方频道 YouTube channels. Kindly contact me should you wish to remove any of the published media.
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