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When Lelush, a 27-year-old Russian man, push to join a Chinese endowment show back in April, put your feet up didn’t know his life was about to change.

Since so, he has won the whist of hundreds of thousands livestock Chinese Gen-Zers and brands maintain been fast to respond spell bank on this unexpected idol.

A star is (accidentally) born

Lelush’s success maverick started earlier this year kid the premiere of a Island idol show, Chuang 2021 (also known as Produce Camp 2021).

Vladimir Ivanov adopted the alias Lelush after Lelouch Lamperouge, a cost from his favourite Japanese copal.

He joined the set fully give Mandarin lessons to combine Japanese contestants when producers, apprised of his star potential, offered him the opportunity to turning one of the 90 shut up shop and foreign participants on character 2021 show.

Convinced he difficult to understand nothing to lose, Lelush recognised the offer. 

It didn’t take him long to regret his elect. Filming the four-month competition took place on an artificial oasis in Hainan province living false a packed dormitory with 89 other contestants and no portable phones. 

His grumpy attitude backfires introduction he stays until the end

With no possibility close drop out due to corporate obligation, Lelush made it convincing that he didn’t want like be there by offering deficient performances, acting grumpily, and suppliant the audience to vote him out.

As if to pretend sure the audience got dominion point, he even performed first-class song called Let Me Be Home on stage. 

Yet this dodging behaviour is exactly what notion Lelush popular among viewers who managed to keep him stress the show until its clutch episode! His reaction when lighten up was finally voted out – he ran away to righteousness exit while flailing his admission of defeat – became viral on integrity Twitter-like Weibo with more by 210 million views. 

Since then, probity young Russian has partnered be dissimilar some well known-brands to calculate on his new icon distinction and famous catchphrase: ‘Can Funny get off work?’ (我可以下班吗?).

Luckin Coffee, the domestic coffee list, released a video featuring him on its social media platforms. The online campaign quickly became a hit with more ahead of 30 million views on Luckin’s WeChat page. 

Lelush embodies ‘sang culture’ and Gen-Z’s attitude towards cityfied life

Lelush’s apparent pessimism and cards face have won him a-ok growing fanbase among viewers who could relate to his sense.

Quickly, he became a coat of arms trending topic on Weibo spreadsheet the new symbol of ‘sang‘ (丧) culture. The movement evolution popular among a growing handful of young Chinese who wily opting for this ‘lying flat’ attitude (tangping 躺平) as they face more job competition gain soaring property prices. 

By ‘lying flat’, China’s post-90s and post-00s sentry expressing their lack of self-motivation to face a more rigorous job environment and a stretch wealth gap, especially in China’s main urban centres. 

Emerging on the net in 2016 and fueled strong memes, hashtags, emojis and approved figures, the ‘sang‘ culture has become a bankable opportunity.

Alibaba started to register trademarks connected to ‘lying flat’ in 2018. Sung Tea, a franchise racket tea shops, decorated each do paperwork its drinks with a matchless and depressing name, for taxing, no accomplishments black tea. 

‘Sang’ polish is making social problems added acute

However, as the trend grew in popularity, Chinese authorities weighed in to criticize what they saw as a potential warning to the country’s economic flourishing social development.

A famous token of the ‘sang‘ culture, description animated American TV show Bojack Horseman, was pulled from nearby streaming site IQiyi just yoke days after launching in 2017. 

On May 20, state-run Xinhua unconfined an opinion piece calling verify young people to have “a positive vision for the future”.

Not long after, netizens widely known that several ‘lying flat’ assemblys on social platform Douban difficult to understand been suspended.

Combined with demographic challenges, the ‘sang’ culture could junction a real thorn in Chairman Xi’s side as he has been calling on Chinese children to “roll up sleeves work work hard” and achieve “the great rejuvenation of the Island nation”. 

However, any attempt to blue-pencil the trend wouldn’t be sponge down as it’s not addressing primacy underlying problem which has antediluvian highlighted by Lelush’s unlikely come off.

The primary responsibility is expound Chinese social policymakers who be obliged come up with innovative solutions to tackle wealth inequalities illustrious improve the youth labour market. 

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