娱乐英语新闻:China's Got Talent contestants to tour Europe

BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Popular contestants from China's Got Talent TV show, including armless piano player Liu Wei who won the competition, will perform in Austria, Italy and France from January next year, director Jin Lei said on Monday.

However, unlike Susan Boyle, who has become a successful singer after Britain's Got Talent, Jin said China's "talents" were more than performers or entertainers.

Dragon TV had signed contracts with the popular contestants to arrange performances for them, Jin said.

"We are also considering invitations from some universities, inviting contestants like Liu to give lectures," Jin said.

China's Got Talent was first aired on July 25 by Shanghai-based Dragon TV. Liu Wei, who played the piano with his toes, won the final on Oct. 10.

Liu, who lost his arms when he was 10 after touching a high-voltage wire during a game of hide-and-seek, decided to follow his dream of becoming a musician and taught himself to play piano despite his disability.

Dragon TV and Liu Wei had reached an agreement that Liu's performances would be limited so there might be no concert in China in the near future, Jin said.

"We will concentrate more on the in-depth communication between the contestants and the audience," he said.

An initial survey by the Dragon TV revealed the show's local audience rating in Shanghai had reached 13 percent after just three episodes. National ratings were somewhere around 2 to 3 percent, Jin said.

Local ratings of the final show topped 34 percent and the national rating reached 5.7 percent.

Jin said the figures were "stunning" because China had more than 30 provincial-level local TV stations competing for audience share.

Contestants like Liu had displayed the strong and positive character of the Chinese people, said Zhang Yiwu, cultural critic and professor at Peking University.

"They have shown their confidence, optimism and unremitting pursuit of their dreams with their own efforts, especially in difficulties, and these are inspiring to all. I think that is why the show is so popular among Chinese audience," Zhang said.

For next year's China's Got Talent, the producers should attach more importance to striking a balance between a ratings-oriented commercial approach and maintaining the most real and touching elements of the show, said He Suliu, professor with the Communications University of China. Jin admitted that it was very difficult to keep the delicate balance lest the true value of the show be diminished.