TVB Censors Criticism on “Voice of Stars”
TVB’s new reality-singing competition Voice of Stars <星夢傳奇>, a spin-off of TVB’s The Voice <超級巨聲> series, premiered on TVB Jade last night. Hosted by Carol Cheng (鄭裕玲) and Amigo Chui (崔建邦), the star-studded 10-episode talent show features TVB artists as contestants, where the winner will be determined by the viewers in Hong Kong. The ultimate winner will walk away with a $338,000 HKD diamond-studded gold microphone trophy.
According to TVB’s press releases, contestants were carefully selected through an auditioning process, in which the contestant was required to “test microphones” in the recording studio. The first seven TVB artists that passed the auditions and graced the premiere episode of Voice of Stars were Oscar Leung (梁烈唯), Mandy Wong (黃智雯), Carat Cheung (張名雅), Benjamin Yuen (袁偉豪), Ronald Law (羅鈞滿), Stanley Cheung (張景淳), and Fred Cheng (鄭俊弘).
Bashed by Judges
Aside from Fred Cheng, who reportedly exceeded the judges’ expectations, none of episode one’s contestants succeeded in leaving lasting impressions on the judges. Oscar Leung, who managed to advance to the next round of competitions despite low scores, was harshly criticized by judge Eric Moo (巫啟賢) for “blindly singing” and “ruining” Danny Chan’s (陳百強) masterpiece “Wait” <等>, Oscar’s competing song. Some sources even claimed that as a promoted artist, TVB allowed Oscar to bypass the auditions and “fixed” him as a top three winner.
Mandy Wong, who sang Kary Ng’s (吳雨霏) “Love is the Biggest Privilege” <愛是最大權利>, was brutally bashed by Eric Moo for having “no range” and “singing off key.” Mandy made the awkward situation worse when she claimed that it was her first time singing the song; the judges unanimously expressed that she should have prepared well before joining the competition.
TVB Does Self-Censorship?
The poor performances by the TVB contestants were widely reported by the Hong Kong media even before the premiere of Voice of Stars, but on yesterday’s episode, viewers noticed that Oscar and Mandy’s results were heavily censored by TVB. The scenes of Eric Moo criticizing their singing were completely edited out.
In a phone interview with Oscar, he said, “Of course, it is better to air the original cut. I am glad and willing to accept all criticism. I know I didn’t sing very well, but I tried my best.” Asked if Oscar was fixed to be a top three winner, he exclaimed, “[TVB] didn’t just cut me, but everyone. I don’t know how my results were cut, but if I were fixed to be a winner, I’m pretty sure I’d get more praises than criticism! I don’t care if I am the one being talked, but please do not insult the judges and their reputation.”
Eric Moo said, “I already made my comments. The broadcaster has the rights to edit it however they want. I will respect that.”
Hoffman Cheng Hints at Fixed Results
Best known for his involvement in TVB’s Tung Wah Charity Show <歡樂滿東華>, TVB greenleaf actorH offman Cheng (鄭世豪), has recently been getting noticed for his capable singing abilities after performing in concert tours with his teacher, Lee Lai Ha (李麗霞).
With his experienced singing background, netizens wondered why TVB did not invite Hoffman to participate in Voice of Stars. To this, Hoffman replied on his Weibo, “After decades of hard work, I am still waiting for the right opportunity, but this opportunity is not always yours. Recently, everyone has been asking me why I didn’t make it to the final cut… but I am still happy, because now I know I have everyone’s support. There are still many capable singers out there that also need encouragement. Everyone, there are a lot of things that needs to be considered in order to be chosen as a participant for Voice of Stars. That’s why! Ha, we really cannot be too naïve. I will continue to work on improving myself… thank you everyone! It’s time to watch the show… add oil!”
Panel’s Response
Singer-songwriter Eric Kwok (郭偉亮) revealed that there were indeed many scenes which were cut from the original broadcast, especially Eric Moo’s comments. Eric Kwok believed the first episode would have been more interesting if Eric Moo’s brilliant comments were not removed from it. However, he also understands that the final decision lies with the producer. He explained that the judges have not been asked to be lenient to any particular artiste and stressed that the show is not staged. He said, “There’s no way the results could be manipulated. We submit our decisions separately. I personally have wanted Mandy to get in but she was eventually eliminated.” He implored the viewers not to compare Voice of Stars with The Voice.
When asked about the censoring of his comments, Eric Moo said, “I have done my job as a judge. Censorship is the television studio’s job. I will respect that!”
Source: Apple Daily; On.cc; ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy and Karen for JayneStars.com.
Why does this show even exist? They are already TVB artistes so TVB only need to decide to give them a music contract and they are “singers”.
the show is to find hidden musical talents among tvb artistes such as the magnificent fred cheng but now it looks like a vehicle to make people like oscar leung popular if you see how bias some judges are in commenting and giving him marks for his DUSASTROUS singing! danny chan must be crying to hear his great song turned into a disaster by oscar!
Advo,
“Why does this show even exist? They are already TVB artistes so TVB only need to decide to give them a music contract and they are “singers”.
“Voice of Stars” is not really about the music, as the artists’ singing skills are not album quality. It’s just a quick vehicle to create a reality TV show with some stars to attract viewership involvement. If the above artists did not participate in the show and it had featured normal participants, it would have gained less media and fan notice.
TVB met its goal, as many viewers seem to have tuned in for the show: to discover a side of artists they didn’t know, be amused by the judges reactions, and root for their favorite contestant. 🙂
Could not agree more.
Oscar, Fred, Benjamin…the lot of them – if anyone believes that Fred along with Oscar is not a ‘vehicle’ and is the ‘underdog’…you have to be pretty dam stupid or fairly naive/blind.
I guess they are running out of ideas for new programmes.
I notice that people don’t know how to use the reply link anymore.
It’s TVB trying to capitalize more and more on the talent they have. Hoping that their fans will buy all their CDs as well as support their shows. It doesn’t matter if they can’t sing.
The only way it’ll stop is when fans stop blindly buying items out of loyalty.
i don’t understand why they would make a show like this with TVB artists and humiliate them…they are actors and actresses afterall, not singers
Is Eric Moo a good singer? I never heard him sing but he seems really strict compared to the other judges…
Yes, he is a good singer as well as songwriter and record producer. He actually has a pretty illustrious career that spans several countries (including Malaysia, HK, Taiwan, mainland China, etc.), has gotten quite a few awards, and experience-wise, is definitely well-qualified, as his career spans several decades (he started in the industry in his teens and I think he’s in his 50s now?). In my opinion, out of the 4 judges on the panel, he’s so far the most ‘qualified’ one to be a judge….
Eric Moo is a great singer. in the past he had many many great songs.
@John, Check out his profile on Wikipedia & youtube ….everything you want to know is on the net. No problem at all.
i love Ric Moo’s songs, almost all of his songs actually. he is a great singer obviously!
I pitied all those artiste. well singing is a talent and an art, if they cant sing and have the feeling to it, better concentrate on what they can do best rather than humiliate themselves.
oscar was HORRIBLE on the show. he destroyed a great song that was a signature of danny chan! The judges were too lenient on him and the harsh criticism from eric moo cut out! worse when he got high marks from some of the bias judges! are these judges kissing up to tvb? fishy!
He was definitely bad, but the bottom two has to be the Mandy and the beauty queen. So, they’re eliminated…maybe Oscar is next unless there’s a miracle lol
who is hoffman? is his singing that great? then why didn’t he make the audition cut? tvb said contestants are picked through audition that’s open for everyone in tvb that’s why kelefe such as fred can join and get noticed!
Hoffman Cheng is another 4th/5th line actor who is in tons of series but no one remembers his name(actually, I would say he’s even lower than Fred ranking wise because at least Fred had quite a few memorable roles, whereas Hoffman barely had any). The most recently ‘recognizable’ role that Hoffman had (as far as I can remember) was in Highs and Lows (he played that cop that died and actually got a few minutes of fame because of it). And yes, Hoffman’s singing is quite good — better than alot of the current TVB actors/actresses turned singers. Actually, he’s done a few joint concerts with other green leaf TVB actors before…it’s just that few people bother to pay attention.
Oh and yes, his singing is absolutely way better than Oscar, Mandy, and a few others who were featured in the first episode (so for him to audition and not make the cut whereas Oscar did make the cut is very suspect in my opinion…).
well what hoffman said sort of hinted that tvb did pull some political elements behind the scene. the comment filtering is only one of it
I also wondered why Hoffman was not it. I thought maybe he didn’t audition. Am disappointed that he did audition but didn’t make it. He was better than some who did make it to the show. 🙁
I also like Kwok Cheuk Wah. I wonder whether he went for audition or not. He has a powerful voice. Heard a karaoke clip of him before in youtube.
Another actress I wondered whether she audition or not is Nancy Wu. She came to Ipoh with other TITS2 cast last week. My mom and sis went to the promo. They said Nancy was good at live singing.
@Kidd: I read somewhere that Nancy will be participating (rumor has it that she will be added to one of the later shows)…not sure if she auditioned or not though. It was also reported that Vincent Wong and Edwin Siu will be added later on too (though neither one auditioned). Now whether the 3 of them will actually participate remains to be seen — but the news outlets reported that they were supposedly ‘asked’ to participate by TVB….
I feel like it’s not so fair for Edwin Siu to be included. He had his chance in the music industry, and is not really a “hidden gem” of musical talent in TVB. He can sing, and TVB knows he can sing. Even his characters in his series have to sing, and he gets to sing many theme songs. Give the other people a chance.
mandy’s singing was the worst, it’s like watching a train wreck. we all have dreams but she should just stick with acting. And the beautiful was awful and super annoying as well.
i meant the beauty queen*
oscar is the WORST. not only that but he gets bias point from the judges after destroying a great song. carat cheung was not that good and quite annoying with her tears, but she sings better than oscar and deserves better marks than him
come on, the girls the weakest and mandy was off key most of the time.
yes, Mandy was terrible. Honestly the worst
i did not think Oscar was so bad – not good but better than carat and mandy for sure
@jackson wow, that horrible singing by oscar is only not so bad to you? then fred’s singing must god status and jacky cheung upper god!
carat has weak singing but she has nice and not so bad at holding her tune and could do better with some lessons, but oscar was just singing blindly as the judges remarked and has horrid voice!
Yes – because bad to me is Mandy Wong – so in comparison Oscar was not so bad.
I thought Mandy got bias score too since one of the judge said he was bias towards Mandy?
Anyways, to me, Oscar’s singing was better than Mandy and Carat… so I’m good with Oscar staying lol. But I heard he will be eliminated in ep. 2.
Oscar’s biggest fault was picking such a classic song. Mandy was definitely the worst singer in the first episode. She was out of tune and terrible.
Eric Moo did TVB censor his comment because he use his religion belief to lecture the participants ?
Lol ..he use to spread his religion belief at his own concert
Ironic. TVB is trying to “promote” and “protect” Mandy and Oscar, but instead are making more people view these two in a bad light. Way to ruin your artists, Management.
After reading about Voice of Stars on Jaynestars, I was sooooooo looking forward to the show. And then I heard the first few sing and became extremely disappointed. Then I heard Fred sing and seriously did not think he was THAT great but out of all of them, he is the best. ERic Moo’s comment about Fred’s singing is so on the mark. He does use his chest and not his abdomen hence his voice is thin… he can’t stretch the high notes. Next week, I’ll look forward to that girl singing opera and fred, but i’m not gonna expect too much so I wont get disappointed again.
Also, the other judge who said he should be a singer and not an actor is so fake! Fred’s singing is NOT THAT GREAT, YET!
Showcasing your “artistes” on a live-format TV show, despite the majority of them being average singers is not a great idea in the long run.
Mandy Wong must be regretting for taking part
where to watch the videos of the competition? i can’t seem to find it on youtube.
mandy was quite bad. off key, and sang with her throat
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I personally thinks Eric Moo is one of the best singers around. So if he thinks those two cannot make it, it is it then! Seriously, listening to them makes me wanna slap them. Especially the two women. I really wonder why they sing. TVB really runs out of ideas?