When Burnaby native Tysia Suzuki moved to China for medical school, she never expected to wind up as the first international contestant on a Chinese TV talent competition. Music had always been a significant part of her life, but the 21-year-old says she had "no expectations" when she auditioned for China's Tibetan Singing Festival during her summer vacation.
"I have dreamt about being in this position, but I never thought that it could happen this way," Suzuki wrote in an email.
The singer credits Burnaby's strong music programs for developing her talent. Suzuki started singing at Lakeview elementary and continued at Burnaby Central high school until graduation, when she moved to Sussex, England, to study at the Bader International Study Centre. After a year, she relocated to China to pursue medical studies at Shanghai's Fudan University.
In May, Suzuki - whose heritage is a mix of Chinese, Japanese, Canadian and Germanic Mennonite - was among tens of thousands who auditioned for the Tibetan Singing Festival, one of the most popular TV singing shows in China. The three-year-old program, which is pre-recorded, holds auditions in seven cities across the country. A focus on Tibetan songs sets it apart, says producer Yue Liu, but it also means it's not the most accessible for foreign contestants.
"There are so many musical talent shows in China, and most of them are for pop music, so singing Tibetan songs makes our program unique," Liu wrote in an email. "But because only Tibetan songs are allowed, it's not really easy for a foreigner to have such a great performance."
That's why Chinese fans have embraced Suzuki, the first international competitor on the show, Liu added.
"Tysia is singing Tibetan songs in her own style, [which] is very different from other contestants."
Suzuki doesn't speak Tibetan but she can sing in the language, a skill she said she acquired by taking Mandarin lessons: "It helps me because translating from Chinese to Tibetan is much easier [than translating from English]," she explained.
Since her selection as one of 40 contestants in the first round, Suzuki has risen through the ranks. She is now competing with 15 others, and will have the chance to qualify for the Top 10 this week.
The young star said the experience has been transformative. Before the competition, Suzuki described herself as "timid and nervous about singing on the big stage," but over the weeks, she said she's become more comfortable in the limelight.
"As I'm having so much fun and making lots of friends from all around China. It's become much easier."
The singer is modest about her popularity, but producer Liu points out she has a legion of followers on Tencent Weibo - the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
"More and more people [are becoming] her fans now, and almost every audience [member] will ask her to take photos together and for her signature," Liu said.
Suzuki acknowledged her background puts her in a special position, but hopes to use it to her advantage.
"I think the difference makes people curious," she said. "I'm not your usual competitor."
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