chinese showbiz rarely produces icons. sure, there are the dozen or so movie actors who can carry a film, and the odd rocker who fills a stadium. but seldom does a face on china`s small screen really stand out. even singing, the national pastime and tv staple, seems reserved for an interchangeable lineup of warbling coquettes, husky crooners and jolly fellows in brass stars and epaulets belting out odes to red flags.

　　which helps explain how a 21-year-old sichuanese music student named li yuchun has become one of the most popular figures in china. in august, li won a televised american idol-like singing contest produced by hunan province`s entertainment channel and bearing its own inimitable name: "mongolian cow sour yogurt super girl`s voice." (its sponsor makes yogurt.) the show drew the largest audiences in the history of chinese television. as the competition narrowed, the media covered it like a war or the o.j. simpson trial. by the time the finale aired, some 400 million people were tuning in.the li yuchun phenomenon, however, goes far beyond her voice, which even the most ardent fans admit is pretty weak: her vocal range drifts between cher territory and that place your little brother`s voice went the summer before seventh grade. as a dancer, she`s not much better. hei nan, one of the event`s judges, told the guangzhou daily that li was "the worst of the top six in terms of singing skills," but noted that she garnered the most audience votes.what li did possess was attitude, originality and a proud androgyny that defied chinese norms. during the tryouts—in which 150,000 contestants were winnowed to 15—li wore loose jeans and a black button-down shirt, with no make-up and the haircut (and body) of david bowie during his