Li Na, crowd favorite.

The drama surrounding crowd favorite Li Na continues. The Changsha contestant recently had to apologize for falsely claiming on her application that she had not competed before, when in fact she had taken part in last year's competition. Now sources have revealed that she hasn't signed a recording contract with the production company, Tianyu Media (which also goes under the unwieldy name "эe Media"). This naturally casts doubt on her prospects in the later stages of the competition, says Huashang Morning Post:

In the competition to date, Li Na has not signed with Tianyu Media, and the so-called "8-year agency contract" was nothing more than a symbolic guarantee. From this we can see that the previously circulating news that Li Na had signed with Warner Records is relatively credible. So Tianyu and Hunan TV cannot give her an easy journey, and Li Na essentially has no hope of making the top three contestants in Changsha. However, the "pears" (雪梨, Li Na's fans) are not discouraged; based on Li Na's popularity, she will be "resurrected" in the finals by the volume of SMS votes she receives. Tianyu and Hunan TV can sit back and enjoy the profits.

Li Weiwei, knocked out.

The "resurrection system" introduced this year allows popular contestants knocked out early to enter the national finals by popular acclaim - i.e. SMS votes. There's more than a bit of cynicism in the entertainment press, with reports implying that the producers will take advantage of the devotion of large fan bases to manipulate the results to generate more SMS volume.

For example, another Changsha contestant, Li Weiwei, has already signed a contract with Tianyu Media to produce a record and a movie, but missed the cut for the top 5. If Li Na makes the top 3 and goes to the nationals, Li Weiwei seems a likely bet to get resurrected, says the Huashang report.

Last year's big legal controversy was over the contracts the top 10 contestants were required to sign to participate in the finals; the companies seem to be moving even more quickly this year, signing up the regional top 20. This has led to problems for Zhang Yafei, who came to the Super Girls competition from Hunan Economic TV. Last week she submitted her resignation to the station so that she could continue to compete.

Zhang Yafei, in breach of contract.

It's still unresolved, however. Though Zhang's postition as anchor was up in March, she had signed a four-year work contract with the station that carried a 60,000-yuan walk-out penalty. The station sued her earlier this week.

Zhang Yafei has already decided not to leave Super Girls. She has rejected the high-salaried invitation of Hunan Economic TV, and has rejected the opportunity to be co-anchor with Wang Han of the gameshow "Super Heroes." She tendered her resignation to HETV before entering the top 5, and HETV, to avoid the pressure of public opinion, has repeatedly expressed its understanding and support for Zhang Yafei's participation. In reality, the station's leadership has been working behind the scenes. But since Zhang Yafei's fan base has been increasing in strength lately, to the point that fans have written in to HETV, if HETV attempts to block Zhang Yafei from competing, it may face protest activites on the part of organized "airships" (飞艇, Zhang Yafei's fans).

Having read the tasty rumors above, please bear in mind that as late as last Friday, China's entertainment media was reporting that "knowledgeable sources" said that Faye Wong's ultrasound revealed that she might be having twins. Wong gave birth to a single baby girl over the weekend.