The big IP "Sisters Riding the Wind and Waves" (Sisters Who Make Waves) is now like a chef who has top-quality ingredients but is obsessed with making spicy hot pot.
After a series of routines were exposed, the sense of novelty and trust have declined year by year, but the audience still can't help but click on the show, and what needs to be said must be said.
Looking back at the first season, Ning Jing's "Do I need to introduce myself? Then I have worked for nothing for decades" became popular because it broke the script and showed the vivid and real power of 30+ women. In the sixth season of the show, is her "original intention" still alive? In terms of the in-depth expression of the female perspective, we have picked up a lot, but what have we lost?
The first season group
As for "Riding the Wind 2025", while the audience was chewing popcorn about "Chen Derong's paddling was like a frozen candied haws" and "Fang Qi's character collapsed", they missed the sincere eyes in the first season that really broke through the anxiety of age and reversing the stage that was criticized as "unpleasant to listen to". Some netizens commented: "It's not that "The Legend of Zhen Huan: Sisters' Workplace Survival Guide" is not unwatchable, but we still want to see a real girl group audition."
On the stage of "Sisters Who Make Waves", the performances that can truly ignite the enthusiasm of the audience and trigger heated discussions on the entire network are all works that push the professionalism and innovation of the girl group stage to the extreme. So far, this season's unforgettable stage performances are lackluster.
Song Yanfei's group performed "Dancing Diva" on the second public stage
The second public performance of Song Yanfei's group "Dancing Diva" set a new record of the highest score this season with 700 points. The dance choreography combines the soft and graceful postures of exotic styles with the mechanical timing of modern girl groups. Under the panoramic camera, the four people's movements are synchronized, and even the breathing rhythm is kept consistent. This also confirms the iron rule that "the neatness of the stage is built with sweat." But in terms of clothing styling, the aesthetics cannot be agreed.
On the first public stage, Patty Hou's group's "Love Is You" showed a counterattack of the non-professional group. Patty Hou, Sheren Tang, and Guan Le are all non-singing and dancing contestants. With the team tacit understanding of "Happy Family", they made up for their technical shortcomings with complementary voices and infectious performances.
Patty Hou's group's first public performance "The One I Love Is You"
The biggest feeling given by this "30+, 40+, 50+" group is that it is full of positive energy and sweetness. It can be seen that the charm of a girl group not only depends on technology, but also requires emotional resonance on and off the stage and intelligent role allocation within the team.
In terms of personal ability, Wu Xuanyi is considered to be the strongest contestant in this season's show. Unfortunately, she made a mistake in the first public performance and was dragged down by Chen Derong in the second public performance, which made her start a bit unstable.
Wu Xuanyi
However, Wu Xuanyi showed strong adaptability in the second public performance of "Compendium of Materia Medica": when her hat accidentally fell off, she improvised and integrated it into the dance, which was called "God-level on-the-spot reaction" by the audience. Wu Xuanyi also won the highest personal wind riding value in the second public performance. According to the audience who recorded the scene, Wu Xuanyi will have more eye-catching performances in the subsequent stage performances.
It is rumored online that the third public performance will have both highlights and controversies. In the future, the positions in the group will most likely be secured by "popular and powerful" singers such as Maggie Cheung, Song Yanfei, and Wu Xuanyi. After all, the final list of Sisters Who Make Waves has always been a combination of "nostalgia killer" and "topic king".
What I want to complain about this season is the outdoor stage. I don't know who came up with this trick that exposed the shortcomings of the show. The stage on the seaside in the first public performance was beautiful, but Hainan was very hot. Under the camera, the sisters' makeup was smudged by the sun, their eyes could not be opened, and their hair was blown by the sea breeze. The second public performance was finally moved to the Stone Forest in Yunnan, but the temperature dropped sharply, and the low temperature made the sisters shiver.
Compared with the lighting aesthetics of the previous seasons' studio stages (such as the minimalist lighting and shadows of "Orchid Grass" and the traditional Chinese style scenery of "Beauty"), the seemingly innovative outdoor format actually exposed the flaws of thin choreography and rough sound recording. The barrage of comments called for "Please go back to the studio! The stage does not need natural scenery, but controllable lighting and non-slip floors!"
From this perspective, other sister programs can take this as a warning: gimmicks are just gimmicks after all, and real skills are needed to perform well.
Having said that, the selection of older sisters this season is indeed remarkable.
62-year-old Maggie Cheung is a model of evergreens. The most difficult thing for seniors to do is not to bully the young. When faced with Fang Qi's "I'm worried that you don't have enough energy", Maggie Cheung directly retorted: "I think there is something wrong with you!" But then she turned around and helped her out: "The best thing about women is empathy."
"Life mentor Professor Ye" has just the right sense of propriety in intergenerational relationships. As for his stage performance, it depends on personal opinion.
Cecilia Yip
Sheren Tang has always had the traditional professionalism of Hong Kong stars. She does not have the "constant emotional care" mentality of Deron Chan. The phrase "Don't underestimate Hong Kong girls" shows us the tough and lovely side of Sheren Tang. When the team was divided, she said "If it doesn't work, start over" to stabilize the team's morale. She didn't blow up the stage, but she burned her vitality. She used her high emotional intelligence to become the "HR of the sister circle".
Sheren Tang
Now let’s talk about the most interesting thing. Wang Rong, who has singing and dancing skills, was eliminated early, while Chen Derong, who was accused of being lazy, was as solid as a rock.
Huang Ying, Chen Derong, and Wang Rong collaborated on a public performance of "Save Me from Wasting Time"
Wang Rong showed her professional singing and dancing skills on both the first and second public performances, including full mic singing and difficult backflips. Even though the highlights were cut, it was hard to hide her brilliance. Therefore, her elimination caused netizens to feel unhappy, and there were constant calls to "revive Wang Rong".
Wang Rong
After being eliminated, Wang Rong's commercial performance offer doubled, and her music festival invitations and brand cooperation increased. The number of views of her live clips exceeded 50 million, her Weibo fans surged, and her popularity among passers-by increased significantly. She was also invited to serve as a mentor for the music variety shows "Let Me Sing" and "The Voice of God", and was nicknamed "Empress Xi Returns to the Palace" by netizens.
The 47-year-old Wang Rong became the biggest winner off the stage. Whether she can further achieve the long-tail effect of Sister Lang depends on luck. From a certain perspective, Wang Rong and Chengfeng also complement each other. Talented artists bring hot topics to the show, and variety show IPs also bring more exposure opportunities to artists.
Variety shows are ultimately about the attention economy. Many hit variety shows will face a "midlife crisis" after running for several years, but this crisis may also be an opportunity for a turnaround. When Chengfeng officially announced the lineup for this season, the outside world was not optimistic: the age span of the guests was large, the proportion of professional singing and dancing artists was small, and there was a lack of popular artists. But after the show went online, there was no shortage of hot topics, and it dominated the charts every weekend.
Although I often fast forward when there are dramatic scenes, I play it normally when the sisters express themselves naturally to regain my happiness.
Karina's unreserved admiration and support for Wu Xuanyi made Wu Xuanyi feel the warmth she had not felt for a long time and the state she was in when she was in the girl group.
Wang Luodan and Tan Wei trust each other, rely on each other, and move forward side by side. Is there anything more touching than the mutual appreciation between women?
If the stage performance can be improved a little bit, and the emotional core of "girls helping girls" is added, it will be enough. As for those "36 strategies for surviving in the workplace", in fact, they are not needed in the boutique short drama track.
The ultimate secret of women's growth has never been the female competition in the capital market, but facing various life situations, like Maggie Cheung's tolerance, Wang Rong's tenacity, and Sheren Tang's responsibility. The sincerity and hard work after tearing off their identities can truly be said to be riding the wind and waves with empathy from the public.
