She sits alone in dark clubs, a nondescript middle-aged woman surrounded by people much younger than herself. Her eyes are riveted on the singer up on stage. No exotic cocktails occupy the space in front of her.

Such is a typical night in the life of 47-year-old stage mom Xu Lianfeng. Her daughter, Zhang Wenjue (Viva Zhang), is one of the city's up-and-coming pop chanteues, and on most evenings the pair hops from club to club, doing a set in Xintiandi, then another on Hengshan Road. "People are very complicated in the bars, good and bad, decent and lecherous," says Xu. "I worry about her and want to be sure she is safe."

Like every good stage mom, Xu takes a keen interest in her daughter's career. The pair are already well-known on the club circuit, from Hengshan Road to Xintiandi; from Xinhua Road to Hongqiao area.

Though blessed with good looks, 19-year-old Viva isn't just another pretty face - she has the musical muscle to back up her pop diva appearance. While she performs only covers - pop tunes by Coco Lee, Faye Wong, Sandy Lam, Shania Twain and Aqua - Viva interprets them in a way that makes them her own.

As for the mother, she is not just a bodyguard waiting in the wings. Her mother, says Viva, is her best critic.

It's the classic tale of the stage mother: wanting for your child what you were unable to achieve yourself. Xu grew up at a time when fulfilling her dreams of being an entertainer was simply not possible, so she's pinning all her ambitions and dreams on her daughter.

The little girl followed a rigorous program, all aimed at stardom. Four-year-old Viva was sent to ballet class; modern dance class and folk dancing class came at 8, and at 15 she was sent to the Xinghe Star Training School to study voice. She has already been in commercials for Venus Bridal Photos, and, says Xu, "I hope she can take part in some big-time star search contests. She is still young. I will look out for her."

For the moment, nightclubs offer Viva a forum for her talent that has yet to be tapped by a big-time talent scout. Hope is always around the corner, however: "Clubs like Ark hold much opportunity for us because so many stars' agents and recording company scouts patronize these places. Media reporters like such venues, too. So we get more recognition," Viva says.

Singers are divided into three basic classes, explains Xu Feng, an agent with Century Music & Events. First-rate singers perform sing in both Chinese and English and work the better clubs. Agent Xu says that Shanghai has just 20 singers in this category, so it's no wonder that many singers do multiple sessions, singing in three to four different clubs in one night. Viva sometimes does two to three sets in different venues on a busy night. Despite spending her nights in bars as the singer in an almost-famous band, Viva still comes across as sweetly naive. "I don't really have any friends at the bars. All my friends are from the tourism vocational school where I'm studying. I hardly ever talk to the other singers - yes, we do the same job, but I've never felt any sort of kinship with them. Truth be told, I'm a little afraid of them. They're too sophisticated and wily for me. I guess I'm a bit of loner."

The only indication that Viva is not as gung-ho as her mother about this profession comes when she is asked what she enjoys doing in her spare time. She answers by saying what she expressly doesn't enjoy doing: karaoke. "Singing to me is not fun all the time." Still, it brings her a hefty income, the equivalent of a senior white-collar worker's salary. But the shelf life of a bar singer is not long, and Viva and her mother both know that the big time must come soon - or not at all. In the mean-time, the singer is fulfilling some dreams of her own, as she prepares for the college entrance examinations.

(eastday.com June 13, 2002)