'Xi Dada Loves Peng Mama' goes viral online

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a photo with youth players from China and Germany in Berlin, March 29, 2014. [Photo: Xinhua]

With his strong interest in national affairs, 37-year-old Song Zhigang was glued to the TV news during the 2014 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. He not only learned all the latest information about the event, he was also inspired to write a song for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan.

Titled Xi Dada Loves Peng Mama, the song tells of the love between the couple, which goes "Xi Dada loves Peng Mama. Their love is like a myth. Peng Mama loves Xi Dada. A nation with love is the strongest".

When the song was released in an online video on Nov 18, it became an instant viral hit, which has been viewed over 40 million times and stirred hot discussion. Many netizens said it's sweet to listen to the song while seeing such photos, and some believe that the couple sets a good example for China's young couples.

Born in Zhengzhou, Henan province, Song works as an independent songwriter along with his team there, including singer-songwriters Yu Runze, Xu An and Wu Bai.

Song says that he finished the lyrics within an hour and sent it to his team via cellphone. The team finished composing that night. They also made the music video by themselves, which was the first time that they had ever produced a music video and uploaded it online.

The video of the song contains 33 photos and 2 cartoon illustrations of the couple, displaying small interactive moments, including tacit eye contact between the couple and hand touching when the couple played a swing. Nine children between 4 and 12 years old were invited to rap and sing along with the team.

"When I watched the couple appearing on TV, they seemed just like any other ordinary couple and I felt close to them. With some small sweet moments, I could feel the love between the couple," says Song.

"Xi Dada" and "Peng Mama" have both become Internet buzz words, referring to the Chinese president and his popular wife. Song notes that the couple has attracted worldwide attention and even what Peng wears becomes headlines.

Yu Runze, 32, is one of the singers and also comes from Zhengzhou. She says the team started to release songs online around four years ago, mostly pop love ballads. Though they could make ends meet by making music, they remained unknown before this song.

"We didn't expect that the song would gain so much popularity online. People share the same feeling we have about the couple, which is warm and sincere," says Yu, who is a graduate of the Qilu Conservatory of Music, Shandong province, and has released five albums since 2006.

"We want to sing the song at 2015's CCTV Spring Festival Gala."