China's Got Talent is back, with the same three judges and in the same city! It's premier show aired Sunday night on Dragon TV and the entire episode has now been put up on Youku. Since we covered last season's premier, I figured - what the heck - I'll watch it again and pick three performers you really ought to check out.
China's Got Talent Season 2 premier: Warblers, street performers & Tesla coils!
Coming soon: A bevy of Hong Kong and Taiwan superstars in concert
The biggest piece of concert news this spring season is that Bob Dylan is playing Shanghai Grand Stage on April 8th--you already knew that unless you're on some type of news media fast for Lent--however, there's a lot more going on besides that especially in the Canto and Mandopop arena. Here are some big name Chinese singers to look out for these next two months.
China's Got Talent: Midgets, migrant workers and Mariah Carey
Unfortunately, I don't have a TV, so I totally missed the premier of on Shanghai's Dragon TV channel. But now the videos are up on Youtube, and I've gotten a chance to pick out highlights. And boy are there some highlights.
China's Got Talent, but transgender (and overweight) talent's not welcome
As mentioned earlier, China's Got Talent has been launched and auditions are going to be hosted soon -- but don't bother signing up if you're not going to fit into the rigid gender "boxes" as defined by the show's very narrow-minded producers and judges.
Taiwanese music and its influence (or non-influence) on China
British culture magazine Monocle has an interesting look at Taiwanese pop and its infiltration into the mainland. Despite the decades of turbulence between Taiwan and China, the entertainment mega-machine based out of Taipei has barely hiccuped in its flow from the island to its more than receptive audience here.
Celebrity Gossip: Jolin Tsai's gaffe, Gillian Chung mobbed in Beijing, Edison Chen hit by Nicolas Tse?
Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) has been in the news quite a bit lately, and for all the wrong reasons. Last week, pictures of a woman with an uncanny resemblance to her surfaced during the Edison Chen scandal and this time, she refers to Hong Kong as a foreign country (国外), and talks of how she wants to gain glory for the people of Taiwan (“为台湾人争光"). Her Chinese fans are not finding it funny, and she is getting it big time on the Internet. God knows what will happen to her, but we do know the last time Zhang Huimei (张惠妹) sang the Taiwanese anthem, she was barred from performing in China.
Edison Chen stuns Hong Kong by quitting showbiz
WARNING: If you are sick and tired of reading about Edison Chen's private parts ... stop reading now!
Edison Chen sex scandal: Witchhunt hits China
BAIDU RAPPED FOR SPREADING THE PICTURES; CHINESE COPS ARREST 10 SUSPECTS IN SHENZHEN
Jolin Tsai, Maggie Q, Vincey Yeung sucked into Edison Chen scandal; Gillian Chung admits involvement
So much has happened since our last post on the Edison Chen photo scandal that it is about time we updated you! First, the Edison Chen saga has caught the attention of CNN. The Chinese-speaking world has never been as enraptured in a scandal as this, and its scale and magnitude is threatening to make Paris Hilton look very passé. Kristie Lu Stout reports:

