Cai Xukun Kickstarts a New Idol Generation in China

The era that used to be dominated by the former and current EXO members is slowly becoming a past. The Chinese entertainment industry now has a new number one idol on the rise—Cai Xukun (蔡徐坤).

The 19-year-old met audiences for the first time through the boy group survival show Idol Producer <偶像练习生>, which also features EXO member Zhang Yixing (张艺兴) as the show’s producer and coach. Xukun, who won first place against 100 contestants, is now a member of the boy band Nine Percent—the nine-member group made its official debut on April 6, during the show’s final episode

Xukun’s popularity is astounding. A simple Weibo update by the young star would make it to trending, with nearly a million comments. In a recent episode of Happy Camp <快乐大本营>, in which Nine Percent were guests, ratings for the episode immediately bounced to number one of the nation. Online viewership continued to rise on the second day since its release, and Xukun once again became the top trending celebrity of the week. This prompted the producers of Happy Camp to dedicate an entire episode featuring un-aired footage of the boys’ appearance.

A well-rounded performer, Xukun’s first solo production after appearing on Idol Producer was the mini drama I Won’t Get Bullied By Girls <我才不会被女孩子欺负呢>, which aired in April. Next year, Xukun will leave the school grounds to star alongside Zanilia Zhao (赵丽颖) in the film adaptation of Fighter of the Destiny <择天记>.

Source: Sina.cn

This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. would probably have a major crush on this guy if i was 10 years younger

    1. @m0m0 “would probably have a major crush on this guy if i was 10 years younger” There’s always Michael Miu, who still looks very good at 60. 🙂

  2. I will never understand Asia’s obsession with the whole effeminate male appearance (slim jaw, red lips, over-plucked eyebrows etc.) that is increasingly prominent amongst pop stars.

    Pretty sure this guy wears more makeup and jewelry than I do, but hey, to each their own.

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    1. @sugarcane yup, when the guys were wearing more makeup than the girls, you would think people should realise we have gone too far! But still, as much as I can appreciate good makeup and manliner now and then, constantly seeing plump red lips, well groom eyebrows and pale white skin on the guys are boring!

      I know they are young but uh, no manliness to any of these boys! Back then, I was crushing on boys with soft look like Chilam and Louis but they show their manliness!

      1. @littlefish “manliner” LOL.

        I like when men put a little extra care into their appearance (another hardcore Louis fan back in the day :p), but once the eye makeup and lipstick get involved, that’s where I draw the line. (no pun intended)

  3. Who chose this unflattering picture? LOL. This young man looks drained of blood and very K pop look. Maybe he is very handsome in real life?

      1. @littlefish @mangotango I watched a few episodes of “Idol Producer”. The attraction in Cai Xukun is not really his looks, but his stage presence and playful personality. His voice IMO is just okay. You have to watch him dance though to understand why girls in China are now crazy about him. He’s vibrant and more playful than the family-friendly TFBoys.

        Here is Nine Percent on “Happy Camp”. You can check out their dancing at 6:09 minutes; Cai Xukun really stands out from the rest of the guys.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfcUtLmsVR4

        Cai Xukun’s rise is also huge because he’s part of Nine Percent. If he went solo, maybe he won’t be as successful. I think Nine Percent promises to take Chinese boybands in a new direction, which may be heavily influenced by K-pop, but it’s still refreshing for Mainland fans to have more choice outside of TFBoys.

      2. @jayne I just checked out the dance you told us. The vid is bad! With all these weird cut, it’s distracting to see who dance what! And regarding his dancing, there was moments where I think I see what you mean, but it did not last longer than a second. He has thin frame and the jacket suits him, making certain moves look quite nice. However, the group choreography is weak in general that it didn’t enchant me. All in all, maybe I can get why they like him, but for me, that was far from enough. I never really like the kpop boy band dancing, I think it is always too slow when the fans always argue it’s fast. Rain, is the only kpop male singer that I love seeing him dance! He’s like sexy as Usher xD

      3. @littlefish The choreography may not be the best, but I think Nine Percent still has promise. They still need more time to work together as a group.

        “And regarding his dancing, there was moments where I think I see what you mean, but it did not last longer than a second.” Haha, yes there are flashes of good moves from Cai Xukun. I look forward to seeing more of what he can do. 🙂

  4. I must be getting really old since I don’t see his appeal (based on the photo), lol

  5. This picture itself… he looks like Japanese idol thin with korean idol make up. Not a good combination. Korean idols have abs. Japanese idols have style.

    If he wore so much makeup to school, won’t the school ban him? Well idols these days belong to little boys. Same girls will grow up and realise it’s men they want.

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