A Russian who became the star of the Chinese "Star Factory" named Lelouch, barely escaped from the hellish project

For thousands of Russian girls and boys, participation in the reality show "Star Factory" is a rainbow dream. But the participants of such projects are not always enthusiastic about them. Vladislav Ivanov, a 27-year-old Russian from Vladivostok, took part in the Chinese equivalent of the show, which is called Chuang 2021, and barely escaped from popularity and the unexpected consequences that follow from it.

Vlad Ivanov pleaded with Chinese viewers for several months to vote for his exclusion from the reality show, as he was on the verge of nervous and physical exhaustion. He managed to leave the project only in the final and he is incredibly happy that he lost. What started out as a game for Russian student Vlad began to threaten his health and life.

Ivanov got on the Chinese show and became one of his favorites quite by accident. The guy studied in Shanghai at the university and worked as a translator, tutor and model. Once a friend asked him to come to Hainan Island to take part in the selection for the young talent show Chuang 2021 and Vlad agreed to his head.

He took the pseudonym Lelouch, in honor of one of the heroes of the popular anime and without much zeal began working in the show. He had to compete with 90 other participants for a place in the new boy band. Ivanov was sure that he would be eliminated from the team in the first qualifying rounds, because he could neither dance nor sing, but everything went wrong. The participant from Russia was so liked by the Chinese audience that they began to send mass paid SMS messages in support of him, prolonging participation in the project.

It all started on February 17, and at the end of the month, Vlad planned to return to Shanghai to study and work. But it was not there-the producers did not let the guy go from the show, threatening an unaffordable fine for unilateral termination of the contract. Chinese fans were no less ruthless – they continued to vote for their favorite member and he, in fact, became a hostage to his popularity.

Vlad openly talked about how he wants to leave the reality show Chuang 2021 and received massive support from users on the Internet. Posts with the hashtag #freelelush ("Freedom to Lelouch») they appeared on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – people felt sorry for the guy and demanded to give him freedom.

So one girl wrote on her Twitter and there were several thousand such posts. In China, on the contrary, the public struggled to keep Lelouch in the project, resenting his apparent indifference to the show and unwillingness to fight for the main prize. He was dubbed a "pitiful slave" and a "defeatist", but he was not allowed to leave on purpose.

Vlad's popularity in China was incredible – in big cities, his face was seen from thousands of billboards in shopping malls. The final of the project took place on April 24 and the participant Lelouch, as well as at the previous selections, appealed to the judges of the show with a request to exclude him from the number of participants. The guy was well aware that a victory for him would mean even more brutal contract bondage, but already as part of a musical group.

We can say that Lelouch was lucky – out of 25 finalists, 11 of the most worthy were chosen, but he was not among them. Ivanov's departure from the project caused the dissatisfaction of millions of Chinese fans, but the guy already did not care. Vlad is genuinely happy that he was able to escape from the two-month captivity, which exhausted his body and psyche. For two months, the project managers forced him to live by their rules – to go on a diet, limit communication with friends and endlessly rehearse.

During his last interview on the show, instead of saying "thank you" to everyone, as is customary, Ivanov said " thank you all for letting me go." After that, he laughed happily, something that had never happened to him before in two months of participating in the show.

About the" charms " of Asian show business has already been told by a 21-year-old resident of the UK with the nickname Yuodias, who had the imprudence to sign a contract with the producers of the Korean "Factory of Stars".