Banding together to impress

Other young contestants, such as drummer Hu Yutong, suona player Yan Yongqiang and guitarist Liu Yang, also have gained a fan base as the reality show continues to broadcast weekly.

Their performances have drawn the attention of viewers, some of whom were impressed when Yan adapted Norwegian DJ Alan Walker's hit, The Spectre, with his suona, a Chinese traditional wind instrument with a double-reed mouthpiece.

A viewer commented on Yan's Sina Weibo account: "I was not very into the piercing sound of the suona, but Yan Yongqiang's performance changed my impression of the musical instrument. It turns out that it's so interesting!"

Besides the suona, more traditional Chinese musical instruments have been played on the reality show and have become a highlight.

Halamj, 21, from Bayannuur city, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, wowed the audiences with his traditional Mongolian ethnic musical instrument, morin khuur (horse-headed fiddle), and his singing techniques of khoomei, a traditional throat-singing technique of the Mongolian ethnic group.

"I'm exploring the possibility of mixing traditional and pop music styles. I hope people will enjoy the more versatile expression of morin khuur," writes Halamj on his Sina Weibo account.

Studying khoomei at Minzu University of China, Halamj has teamed up on show with Samhar, a member of the Kazak ethnic group, from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.