Russian model wows audiences on Chinese boy band show – but he says he just wants to go home

Part-time model and translator Vladislav Ivanov was persuaded by the director of Produce Camp 2021 to join the show after being mistaken for a contestant

His clear reluctance is winning him fans, viral social media emoji and unwanted votes that have carried him into the final of the boy band competition

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Vladislav Ivanov is one of 25 finalists on Chinese tech giant Tencent’s Produce Camp 2021, even though he doesn’t want to be. Audiences find his reluctance for fame a welcome change. Photo: Tencent Video

Published: 5:45pm, 22 Apr 2021Updated: 5:45pm, 22 Apr 2021

A 27-year-old Russian has become an accidental pop sensation in China for his reluctant performances on a boy- band selection show.

Vladislav Ivanov from Vladivostok, Russia, is one of 25 finalists on Chinese tech giant Tencent’s Produce Camp 2021, and was selected from 90 local and overseas contestants. The 11 eventual winners will go on to become part of an international boy band.

Calling himself Lelush – after Lelouch Lamperouge, a character from his favourite Japanese anime series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion – Ivanov’s nonchalance about his potential stardom has won him legions of fans since the Chinese show began broadcasting in February.

He has repeatedly said that he doesn’t want to be on the contest and has implored the audience to stop voting for him so that he can go home.

Ivanov is one of 25 finalists on Chinese tech giant Tencent’s Produce Camp 2021. Photo: Weibo/Vladislav Ivanov

“Becoming a member of a boy band is not my dream as I can’t sing and dance,” he said in Chinese on the show.