Singers fine-tune their appeal

"Overall, Western singers tend to have a stronger performance impact compared to emotionally restrained Chinese singers in live shows," Lu adds.

Moore, 57, impressed the audience with her wide vocal range and adept use of whistle tones during her debut performance on the show, where she covered If I Ain't Got You.

Rising to fame in the early 1990s, Moore made a name for herself as an R&B singer.

Moore's statement regarding the experience of joining the show in China is straightforward: "This is not for the fainthearted."

She advises other foreign singers interested in participating to avoid a mindset of superiority or competition. Instead, she encourages them to adopt an attitude centered on learning and embracing the gentle and kind spirit of Chinese culture.

During her stay in China, Moore finds that speaking Chinese has a rhythm very similar to singing, saying, "It captures my heart."

She was also captivated by the scene when Hanggai, a band with ethnic Mongolian musicians, demonstrated khoomei, throat singing, onstage during the competition.

"That's the first time I've ever experienced seeing anything like that or hearing anything like that live. It just blew my hair back," she recalls.

Moore says she would like to cooperate with such Chinese artists in the future.

Ouihya has also shown her interest in collaborating with Chinese artists.

"I think it would be great to do some sort of collaboration, maybe in the future, with a Chinese artist and have Chinese elements in that song. I think that would be a really cool opportunity."

Born in 2000, she is the youngest singer among the initial lineup of the program. However, she displays a sense of ease and relaxation during her performances. By now, she has claimed the first place in both the second and third episodes of the program.

"What's helped me is simply doing it more often — going onstage, performing regularly and not taking myself too seriously. When I stress less about a performance, I'm less likely to make mistakes or have one that I'm not satisfied with. So, I focus on enjoying myself and being present in the moment. That's when I perform at my best," she explains.

Describing her expectations for the show, she refers to it as a "lifetime opportunity".

She expresses her desire to savor every moment, meet new people, connect with the audience in China, and simply have fun experiencing the music.

"I'm just trying to enjoy the moment," she says.

Although she isn't someone who enjoys competition, she still describes the experience as "the loveliest".

She even recommends other foreign singers to give it a try.