The five generously proportioned young men in baggy black sweaters pat their bellies, waggle their arms and shout “Hoo-ha!” in time to upbeat African drums. The choreography is for the new song “Good Belly” by a group that proudly calls themselves “the first plus-sized boy band in China.” The men in Produce Pandas weigh an average of 220 pounds and say they hope to break aesthetic stereotypes.
One band member thought he would fit in the band perfectly because he has failed repeatedly to lose weight. Another quit plus-sized modeling to audition for the band and now wonders if it’s his chance to be on a magazine cover.
The choreography is for the new song ‘Good Belly,’ by Produce Pandas. DING, Cass, Husky, Otter, and Mr. 17 weigh an average of 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and proudly call themselves “the first plus-sized boy band in China.”
That’s a radical departure from the industry-standard seen in South Korean supergroups such as BTS, whose lanky young members are sometimes referred to in China as “little fresh meat”.
In this show, nine finalists were picked by the audience voters either individuals or group members, to come together to form a new band.
“The five of us may not have the standard look and shape of a boy band but we hope to use the term ‘plus-sized band’ to break the aesthetic stereotypes,” said Cass in an interview
Two of them are formal singers and they use to sing in the bars and most of their fellow contestants got their training in their teens.
Users of China’s Weibo microblog seized on the Chinese word for panda, a homonym of which appears in the Chinese name for the Japanese horror movie Ring, suggesting that watching them dance was similarly frightening.
The oldest contestant of this band was 17th years old and also the main dancer of this group. He nicknamed himself “17” after his favorite age. He had been discovered on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, where he posted clips of himself dancing in pajamas or while holding a bowl of rice.
Husky, who worked in IT, thought he would fit in perfectly because he has been chubby since primary school and has failed repeatedly to lose weight.
He said, “I often work out one day then take a rest for the next three days, so the result is clear that I gained some weight instead,” The point is “stay in shape (and) not to lose weight, but to lose fat.”
Echoing Husky, Cass said the upside to being on such a team is that they don’t need to abstain when it comes to food.
“We don’t mind eating like a horse. I feel sorry for the ‘little fresh meat’ bands whose members must follow a diet to stay slim. I feel great whenever they look on enviously as we dig in!”
Team leader DING quit plus-sized modeling when he heard about auditioning for an “XXL” boy band, saying, “I feel this is probably the closest I can get to being on a magazine cover”.
They are working on a new album now with the song including Pursue Your Dreams
“Saddle up on the horse and pursue your dreams. Don’t idle your time away,” the lyrics go.
Otter, who has admired Super Junior, a South Korean boy band, since he was seven years old, never saw himself in a band that lives and performs together, and, more importantly, inspires ordinary people.
“I hope people will feel encouraged when watching our performance,” he said. They can think, “If Produce Pandas can make a breakthrough and perform on a bigger stage, then ‘why can’t I?’”
