I've watched a lot of competition shows especially Korean ones - Produce 101, Good Girl, Unpretty Rapstar, Queendom, etc but out of all of them, my favorite really has to be Sisters Who Make Waves S1. Perhaps because now I'm in my late 20s now, but I found the women super inspiring and strong - almost like watching your older sister. It was such a joy watching these incredible women grow, support each other, and achieve their dreams despite their age.

For me, I found this show particularly empowering because there is a notion in China that after 30 years of age and unmarried with no kids, you are considered 'left-over women'. This show takes the competition aspect from Korean girl group shows and adds a twist - only women over the age of 30 (actresses, singers, who are also moms, single, or even divorcees, etc) are invited to compete and work together to debut as a girl group. This show sends a powerful uplifting message that it's NEVER too late to achieve your dreams! Even in the final episode, they invited various women from different industries (an 80+ year old pilot, nurse, architect etc) to show just how accomplished women can be in different fields. The other aspect I loved was its emphasis on sisterhood and friendship. With other competition shows *looks at MNET*, they would try to edit certain scenes to create ~drama~ but here, you can FEEL the friendship that blossoms between the girls. What I also truly admire is that some of these actresses don't even have a trained dance/music background, yet with their blood, sweat, & tears, they were able to put on amazing shows. Not only that, there were a few girls who broke their wrist/ankle while practicing but still did their best to keep up and put on a good show, especially with their limited time to practice. It's no WONDER this show was a phenomenon in China last year, raking in billions of views online.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
COMMENTS ON THE TOP 7 WHO MADE IT -
1) Ning Jing (She mostly got in bc of her popularity TBH.. I thought she acted quite stuck up in the final episode and sometimes displays a very diva-like persona. Many cnetz also agree and I think it's unfair to some girls because later on, she decided to leave the group and sadly now the group has disbanded. Her skills are so-so, but I give her credit for trying)
2) Wan Qian (No surprise she made it! Aside from being an actress, she also sings well and keeps up with her dancing. She has a quiet, alluring, and chic demeanor that a lot of cnetz also liked)
3) Meng Jia (After being disqualified, she came back with roaring popularity and am glad she did, although part of me wishes Fei made it instead oops)
4) Lisi Danny (the fun ~handsome~ rapper of the group, Lisi was a great leader esp in the last few eps and has a strong masculine vibe)
5) Zhang Yuqi (the biggest surprise! She started out as an X candidate aka one of the lowest scores, but with her confidence and persistence she was able to climb to the top. Her straightforwardness and her no-BS attitude is honestly so refreshing, when I say she DGAF I mean it! At the same time she's also a caring leader ie. she let Baby Zhang have her shine when she was in her group)
6) Yisa Yu (she is so multi talented and faceted. She's known as a ballad singer in China, but on the show she gave us chinese opera, hip hop, rap, etc she really challenged herself and it showed!)
7) Isabelle Huang (honestly I did see her as a dark horse before, but as I kept watching, she also proved herself to have many sides. Aside from her indie sound, she could also dance well and even showed flexibility as a pole dancer!)

Shout out to my girl GINA (JIN) CHEN who performed AMAZINGLY each ep, through to the finals. I considered her one of the strongest contestants on the show and she ALWAYS performed well. Her, Baby Zhang, and Wang Fei Fei were robbed and should have taken Ning Jing's spot.

FAVE Performances (look it up on YT):
1) 潇洒走一回 (imo the best performance at the finals. Lisi Danny did an amazing job leading this group, loved the MJ/Bruno Mars vibes and the tutting: https://youtu.be/pvp7f9_QpGA)

2) 这是因为我们能感到疼痛​ (awesome acrobatics by Meng Jia and my girl Gina Chen: https://youtu.be/_jozzbgs76c)

3) 大碗宽面 (one of the most popular performances from the show, for good reason! Chinese opera + hip hop+ in sync choreo = WOW: youtu.be/mw49aMMUmdw)

MINOR DISLIKES
Just be prepared for a lot of product placement on the show (I mean, for such a big show, you can see why).

I'm super sad that a show that had accompanied me these past few weeks is now over and am now watching Lady Land (the reality show with the winning team)! Season 2 is airing now but it's just NOT on the same level as Season 1. If you like female centered competition shows and sisterhood, this is the SHOW FOR YOU GIRL!