As China strives to take its place as a global superpower, it is preparing
to challenge the U.S. in one of its traditional areas of supremacy:
the manufacturing
of boy/girl R&B bands. The goal is to tap into the vast youth market,
currently dominated by Korean "hip-hop" bands, and produce "hip-hop with
Chinese characteristics". But don't expect songs about race relations,
gangbanging or bootywhang; the encore at T.N.T.'s first performance was
"a paean to Beijing's glorious bid to play host to the 2008 Olympic Games".
In a country where rock concerts still enjoy an uncertain status, often deemed a threat to public order, the first row of the stands was fully occupied by uniformed members of the People's Armed Police.
(via Plastic)