Call Me by Fire (Chinese: 披荆斩棘的哥哥; pinyin: pī jīng zhǎn jí de gēgē) is a 2021 Chinese singing reality television show broadcast on Mango TV. It features 33 male celebrities who have been in the entertainment industry for close to ten years or more competing to form a 17-member performance group.[1][2] The show aired from August 12 to October 29, 2021, with 12 episodes in total.
It is a spin-off of the well-received Sisters Who Make Waves,[3] which featured a similar premise with female celebrities. Both shows followed in the footsteps of trending idol group audition programs like Produce 101 and Idol Producer, with Call Me by Fire aiming to put together a range of experienced male entertainers and provide them opportunities to collaborate on stage.[4][5]
Aside from the main episodes, there are also special "Plus" episodes that can be accessed through paid subscription to Mango TV, featuring additional behind-the-scenes footage not aired in the main show.
A second season premiered on August 19, 2022, featuring 4 members of Season 1's final "Singing Family" group, alongside 28 new celebrity contestants.
Format
The competition is carried out through a series of concerts, with the contestants performing in groups. Depending on the round's specific rules, the audience and a panel of industry experts vote for their favourite group performances and/or individual contestants. The resulting rankings determine which contestants are eliminated and/or how groupings are shuffled. Voting scores are also tabulated as "firepower," which acts as currency for contestant groups during bidding for the following concert's song selection and performance order.
The show opened with a "Premiere Concert" introducing the 33 contestants. This was followed by five rounds with different groupings and concert themes. At the end of the fifth round, the remaining 22 contestants competed in a final "Family Formation Night" concert that determined the successful members of the ultimate 17-member performance group.
Aside from segments related to the formal competition such as rehearsals and bidding, the show also features contestants' dormitory life and informal group activities like a talent show or cook-off.
Contestants
The contestants' names within both the English and Chinese language entertainment industries are shown.[6] Top 17 contestants will debut as a group on the show's finale.
The contestants are introduced to the rules and to one another. They are then assigned to groups of similar skills for their first introductory performances. Each group stage featured short individual performances of different songs, with the final song continuing into a full group performance to end off. After each stage, the audience voted for their favourite member in the group, with the top-ranking member gaining 100 firepower for the next round. After all 8 group stages, the 33 contestants performed a closing song together.
This premiere concert was hosted by Qi Sijun [zh] alongside three contestants from Sisters Who Make Waves: Baby Zhang and Shen Mengchen from Season 1, and Yang Yuying from Season 2.
Group
Members
Songs
Singers
Julian Cheung, Edmond Leung, Terry Lin
祝君好 (Wish You Well), 拔河 (Tug of War), 瞬间永恒 (Instant Eternity)
Pax Congo, Cannon Hu, Shawn Huang
玫瑰玫瑰我爱你 (Rose, Rose, I Love You), 飞鸟 (Stray Bird), 奔跑 (Run)
Dancers
James Lee, Nathan Lee, Henry Mak, Kido Gao
水星记 (Mercury), 天上飞 (Fly in the Sky), 神奇 (Magical), 情人 (Lover)
Max Zhang, Yin Zheng, Liu Jia, Li Xiang, Owodog
倩女幽魂 (A Chinese Ghost Story), 独一无二 (Only One), 刀剑如梦 (Dream-like Sword), 不染 (Unstained), 失恋阵线联盟 (Lovelorn Front Alliance)
Actors
Vincent Zhao, Liu Duan Duan, Leon Zhang, Li Yundi, Jerry Yan
漫漫人生路 (Long Road of Life), 心太软 (Too Softhearted), 心云 (Heart Cloud), 爱是永恒 (Love is Eternal), 流星雨 (Meteor Shower)
The contestants are split into 8 tribes with three to five members each, named after the respective tribe leader. Every tribe performed one song in the concert, with the two lowest-ranking tribes having to select one member to transfer out to another tribe.
Tribe
Members
Song
Jordan Chan Tribe
Michael Tse, Jordan Chan, Jerry Lamb, Julian Cheung, Edmond Leung
Paul Wong, Chen Hui, Jerry Yan, Liu Duan Duan, Leon Zhang
淒美地 Poignantly
Max Zhang Tribe
Max Zhang, Kido Gao, Pax Congo
MMA
Vincent Zhao Tribe
Vincent Zhao, Cannon Hu, MC HotDog, Yin Zheng, Liu Cong
离开地球表面 Leaving Earth's Surface
Second Performance
Theme: The 25th Hour
In this round, tribes had to form an alliance with a second tribe to perform one "Vocal" category song and one "Perform" category song together. A limit of six performers per song was imposed. The voting scores for both songs were combined, with the lowest-ranking alliance having to select three members to send home.
Alliance
Performing Members
Song
Category
Chen Hui Tribe + MC Jin Tribe
Jerry Yan, Owodog, Liu Duan Duan, Leon Zhang, Henry Mak
Max Zhang, Nathan Lee, Henry Huo, James Lee, Kido Gao, Pax Congo
鞋子特大号 Extra Large Shoes
Perform
Terry Lin Tribe + Vincent Zhao Tribe
Terry Lin, Cannon Hu, MC HotDog, Liu Jia
飞云之下 Under the Clouds
Vocal
Vincent Zhao, Li Yundi, Yin Zheng, Liu Cong, Ricky, Li Xiang
大艺术家 Great Artist
Perform
Jordan Chan Tribe + Bridge Tribe
Jordan Chan, Michael Tse, Julian Cheung, Edmond Leung, GAI, Bridge
往事只能回味 The Past Can Only Be Reminisced
Perform
Jordan Chan, Michael Tse, Jerry Lamb, Edmond Leung, GAI, Bridge
你要如何我们就如何 We'll Do As You Wish
Vocal
Third Performance
Theme: Wait for Me to Find You
The alliances of the previous round were dissolved and the eight tribes reorganised into four larger camps, named after the respective camp leader. Like the previous round, each camp had to perform one "Vocal" category song and one "Perform" category song. However, this round was conducted in two halves, with two camps competing directly in each half. Audience and expert panel voting determined the losing camp of each half, as well as the individual contestant ranking in each camp. The losing camp would then have to vote within itself to eliminate one of its three lowest-ranking members.
Camp
Performing Members
Song
Category
First Half
Nathan Lee Camp
Paul Wong, Welly Zhang, Nathan Lee, James Lee
花祭 Flower Festival
Vocal
Paul Wong, Welly Zhang, MC Jin, Ricky, Liu Jia
不超级的马里奥 Non-Super Mario
Perform
Vincent Zhao Camp
Terry Lin, Shawn Huang, Jerry Yan, Leon Zhang
偶然 Accidentally
Vocal
Vincent Zhao, MC HotDog, Liu Cong, Henry Mak
夏夜晚风 Summer Night Wind
Perform
Second Half
Max Zhang Camp
Max Zhang, Cannon Hu, Yin Zheng, Kido Gao, Pax Congo
什么是快乐星球 What is a Happy Planet
Vocal
Max Zhang, Yin Zheng, Owodog, Kido Gao, Li Xiang
好春光 Good Spring
Perform
Jordan Chan Camp
Julian Cheung, Edmond Leung, Jerry Lamb, Li Yundi
护花使者 Messenger of Flowers
Vocal
Jordan Chan, Michael Tse, GAI, Bridge
摇滚怎么了 What's Up With Rock
Perform
Fourth Performance
Theme: Thirty Thousand Days
Continuing with the camps from the previous round, this round was further divided into three showdowns featuring solo, duet and full camp performances. Only the camp with the top overall ranking would be safe from elimination and proceed to the next round without reshuffling members. Meanwhile, the four lowest-ranking members across the remaining three camps were sent home.
Camp
Performing Member(s)
Song
Solo
Nathan Lee Camp
Welly Zhang
战 War
Jordan Chan Camp
Jordan Chan
算你狠 You Are Vicious
Vincent Zhao Camp
Terry Lin
空 Empty
Max Zhang Camp
Yin Zheng
一剪梅 A Spray of Plum Blossoms
Duet
Max Zhang Camp
Max Zhang, Kido Gao
跳舞街 Dancing Street
Vincent Zhao Camp
Terry Lin, MC HotDog
曾经我也想过一了百了 I've Thought About It a Hundred Times
Nathan Lee Camp
MC Jin, Nathan Lee
你要跳舞吗 Do You Want to Dance
Jordan Chan Camp
Edmond Leung, GAI
无名之辈 Anonymous
Camp
Vincent Zhao Camp
Vincent Zhao, MC HotDog, Leon Zhang, Jerry Yan, Terry Lin, Shawn Huang, Liu Cong
这世界那么多人 So Many People in This World
Nathan Lee Camp
Paul Wong, Welly Zhang, MC Jin, Nathan Lee, James Lee, Ricky, Liu Jia
Jordan Chan, Michael Tse, Julian Cheung, Edmond Leung, Jerry Lamb, GAI, Bridge
当年情 Past Love
Fifth Performance
Theme: Another Me in this World
The final group reshuffle occurred at the start of this round to form two main camps: "Qilin (麒麟) Camp" and "One Flower (一枝花) Camp," led by Nathan Lee and Max Zhang respectively. The two camps faced off in three group rounds, with members allowed to participate in only one performance each. One elimination slot was added each time a camp lost a group round, with the lowest-ranking member(s) in that camp filling in the slot(s) to be sent home.
Camp
Performing Members
Song
Group 1
One Flower Camp
Jordan Chan, Cannon Hu, Jerry Yan, Kido Gao, Li Xiang
Paul Wong, Vincent Zhao, James Lee, Welly Zhang, MC Jin
如果还有明天 If There's Still Tomorrow
Family Formation Night
This last competition stage to determine the winning members of the ultimate 17-member "Singing Family" was held in three rounds. The Qilin and One Flower Camps were maintained, with the winning camp gaining 3 Family slots in the first two rounds and 5 Family slots in the third round. These 11 slots were filled based on the individual member rankings in each camp. The last 6 Family slots were awarded to the 6 highest-ranking contestants from the remaining 11 without considering their camp.
Two special titles were also awarded:
"X-Fire" — top-ranking member of each camp
"X-Leader" — the leader of the camp with the higher total number of performance votes at the end of the night was crowned leader of the Family
Camp
Performing Members
Song
Round 1
Camp Leader Battle
One Flower Camp
Julian Cheung, Max Zhang, Cannon Hu, Yin Zheng, Kido Gao, Li Xiang, Pax Congo
My Boo
Qilin Camp
Nathan Lee, Leon Zhang, James Lee, Liu Jia
Papillon
Round 2 Small Group Showdown
Qilin Camp
Paul Wong, Michael Tse, Jerry Lamb, Vincent Zhao, Welly Zhang, MC Jin
友情岁月 Years of Friendship
One Flower Camp
Terry Lin, Jordan Chan, MC HotDog, Jerry Yan, GAI
海阔天空 Wide Sea and Sky
Round 3 Camp Final Face-off
Qilin Camp
Nathan Lee, Welly Zhang, Paul Wong, Michael Tse, Jerry Lamb, Vincent Zhao, MC Jin, Leon Zhang, James Lee, Liu Jia
星辰大海 Sea of Stars
One Flower Camp
Max Zhang, Terry Lin, Jordan Chan, Julian Cheung, MC HotDog, Cannon Hu, Yin Zheng, Jerry Yan, GAI, Kido Gao, Li Xiang, Pax Congo
存在 Existence
The concert also featured special celebratory performances by guests and eliminated contestants.
Performer(s)
Song
Faces Band (Chen Hui, Ouyang, Wu Jindi, Liu Zong) Piping Hot Band (Edmond Leung, Shawn Huang, Liu Cong, Ricky, Henry Mak, Bridge)
Ning Jing (Sisters Who Make Waves Season 1 contestant)
Call Me by Fire
Whole cast of Call Me by Fire (including eliminated contestants)
敬酒歌 Toast Song
Results
The contestants' names within both the English and Chinese language entertainment industries are shown.[7] Top 17 contestants will debut as a group on the show's finale.
Two spin-off shows aired concurrently with Call Me by Fire, featuring various contestants: Brothers' Boyhood (哥哥的少年时代) put contestants in a schoolroom setting to play various games, while Definition (定义) served as a talkshow with sit-down interviews.
Cooking reality show Night in the Greater Bay [zh] (大湾仔的夜) premiered in November 2021, shortly after the final episode of Call Me by Fire, featuring Jordan Chan, Julian Cheung, Michael Tse, Jerry Lamb and Edmond Leung. These five Hong Kong celebrities were known informally as the "Greater Bay Brothers" after forming the "Jordan Chan tribe" in the First Performance round. They were tasked with running a small eatery modelled after dai pai dong, an iconic part of Hong Kong food culture.
In December 2021, another spin-off show Braving Life [zh] (我们的滚烫人生) began airing, featuring various contestants such as Jordan Chan, Julian Cheung, Max Zhang, Welly Zhang and Nathan Lee. The cast experienced six different ordinary yet extraordinary professions such as firefighting and teaching, with each visit ending with a live concert to thank and celebrate the people in each profession.
Notes
^In this round, only the tribe rankings were tabulated.
^In this round, only the losing camps' individual rankings were announced.
^Following Henry Huo's departure from the show, MC Jin was brought back as he had the highest ranking of the previous round's eliminated members.
^Liu Cong was unable to perform in this round due to COVID-19 quarantine measures.
^Chen Hui was brought back as a "reserve member" in this round, but he was ultimately eliminated again.
^Li Yundi was brought back as a "reserve member" in this round and made the cut for the next round, but was edited out and pulled from the show due to a personal scandal.[8][9]