In late July, Chinese singer Na Ying (那英) won the Chinese singing competition, “Singer 2024 (歌手2024)”. While her talent is undeniable, her win caused controversy because many netizens believed the results were manipulated. Amidst the criticism, Na Ying kept silent but recently shared her true feelings, including how guilty she felt towards her Moroccan-Canadian competitor, Faouzia.
Na Ying and several other “Singer 2024” contestants recently appeared in the competition’s spin-off programme, “The Next Singer (下一站歌手)”. During a post-show interview, the veteran singer spoke about her controversial win, saying she had always thought Faouzia should be the “Singer 2024” champion. She said, “I always thought Faouzia would get first place, Chanté Moore would get second place, and I would strive to take third place.”
The former “Sing! China” coach also said she never thought she would win first place in the competition, so when her name was announced as the winner, she felt guilty towards her fellow contestants. Na Ying said, “I felt like a thief like I had stolen someone else’s things”. She also admitted that she didn’t dare to look at Faouzia after her win. However, Faouzia cheered on the 57-year-old, saying she deserved the win.
Na Ying’s win was also controversial after allegations that the show was rigged in her favour. This allegation came after a clip of Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen with Faouzia went viral. In the clip, Dimash had seemingly revealed to Faouzia that the show was scripted, saying, “They said it must be Chinese before you.” However, the Kazakh musician later explained that the exchange was about a collaboration and not the result.
Nevertheless, the show received a lot of criticism from netizens for allegedly being scripted. For your information, before the final result, Faouzia had been a fan favourite. She had also maintained first place throughout the show but ultimately finished fourth in the competition. On the other hand, Na Ying would typically place fourth or fifth but ended up first during the final.
While netizens continue to debate the results, we’re glad that Na Ying and Faouzia are seemingly on good terms after the ordeal and show each other respect. What are your thoughts on this?
Sources: China Press, Oriental Daily, Today Online
