Zhou Zuyi/Shanghai Daily news

Li Yuchun (Source: eastday.com/qq.com)

At the beginning of 2005, Li Yuchun was burning the midnight oil in the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, busily preparing for her upcoming final exams and looking beyond the tests to her family's celebrations for the Chinese New Year.
Now, at the other end of the year, the lanky, rather plain-looking and shy girl, three months short of her 22nd birthday, is traveling around the country to promote her first album of songs and being swamped by fans everywhere she goes.
A Cinderella story
Her not-all-that-good-looking face appears on billboards in most of China's major cities, pitching for products ranging from toothpaste to laptops.
And, last but not least, if you are an event manager who is thinking about inviting Li to perform at a gig, make sure you have a minimum budget of 500,000 yuan (US$62,500).
The Cinderella story, made possible by Super Girl - an "American Idol"-style TV talent show - has sent ripples across Chinese society which are being read in various ways.
Li is a Cinderella - literally. Neither her looks nor her voice would place her in the shoes of a typical Chinese pop diva.
What meets your eyes is a girl who looks like a tomboy and even the judges, who allowed her to top the Super Girl contest - basically a televised singing competition - admitted she didn't deserve the crown if singing had been the only thing to be taken into account.
But her obvious disadvantages were overcome by the three and a half million mobile phone text message votes that were cast for Li - not to mention the shrieks and hysteria which greeted her every time she appeared in public.
Many young people are crazy about her unaffected manner, her easy-going character and her disregard of the showbiz rule book. She never dressed in skirts, preferred a ha
l boys and she never wore make-up.
Her individualism struck a chord among an audience tired of the line-up of bubble-gum and lip-gloss female pop stars.
Her androgynous look may have reminded people of the good old days of Faye Wong and Anita Mui but the new trend-setter has had a much more profound impact.
Li, along with all the other Super Girl-made stars, are the most approachable figures in the Chinese entertainment industry.
In other words, they are the products of the interactivity made possible by the TV age, mobile phone networks and cyberspace.
The days of hiding out in a studio and developing a talent according to strict managerial guidelines have gone.
Entertainers in China, for the first time, will know what the market reaction to them is as soon as they finish a gig.
This has totally removed the traditional barriers to entering show business and revolutionized the way the pop industry operates.
Mass production of studio stars will remain a part of life, although on the sidelines, while TV and the Internet have the main job of incubating the country's new "real" show business icons.
The Super Girl craze reached into almost every corner of society and gave a full demonstration of the abundant energy of the so-called "Post-80s" generation who were brought up in an ever-changing China.
But there was never a shortage of controversy about the Super Girl mania or even about Li herself.
Many men don't like her because they say she is not like a traditional Chinese girl and her voice is really nothing pleasant.
But isn't it all a perfect reflection of our society where different values co-exist, intertwine and clash?