Call Me by Fire

Call Me by Fire is a 2021 Chinese singing reality television show broadcast on Mango TV. It features 33 male celebrities who have been in the entertainment industry for close to ten years or more competing to form a 17-member performance group. The show aired from August 12 to October 29, 2021, with 12 episodes in total.
It is a spin-off of the well-received Sisters Who Make Waves, which featured a similar premise with female celebrities. Both shows followed in the footsteps of trending idol group audition programs like Produce 101 and Idol Producer, with Call Me by Fire aiming to put together a range of experienced male entertainers and provide them opportunities to collaborate on stage.
Aside from the main episodes, there are also special "Plus" episodes that can be accessed through paid subscription to Mango TV, featuring additional behind-the-scenes footage not aired in the main show.
A second season premiered on August 19, 2022, featuring 4 members of Season 1's final "Singing Family" group, alongside 28 new celebrity contestants.
In 2024, the Vietnamese production company named Yeah1 purchased the rights to the show's format and broadcast the reality show titled Anh Trai Vượt Ngàn Chông Gai. The program is jointly produced by the Arts Department of Vietnam Television and 1Production, a subsidiary of Yeah1.

Format

The competition is carried out through a series of concerts, with the contestants performing in groups. Depending on the round's specific rules, the audience and a panel of industry experts vote for their favourite group performances and/or individual contestants. The resulting rankings determine which contestants are eliminated and/or how groupings are shuffled. Voting scores are also tabulated as "firepower," which acts as currency for contestant groups during bidding for the following concert's song selection and performance order.
The show opened with a "Premiere Concert" introducing the 33 contestants. This was followed by five rounds with different groupings and concert themes. At the end of the fifth round, the remaining 22 contestants competed in a final "Family Formation Night" concert that determined the successful members of the ultimate 17-member performance group.
Aside from segments related to the formal competition such as rehearsals and bidding, the show also features contestants' dormitory life and informal group activities like a talent show or cook-off.

Contestants

The contestants' names within both the English and Chinese language entertainment industries are shown. Top 17 contestants will debut as a group on the show's finale.

Synopsis

Premiere Concert

Theme: The First Meeting, Pleased to Meet You
The contestants are introduced to the rules and to one another. They are then assigned to groups of similar skills for their first introductory performances. Each group stage featured short individual performances of different songs, with the final song continuing into a full group performance to end off. After each stage, the audience voted for their favourite member in the group, with the top-ranking member gaining 100 firepower for the next round. After all 8 group stages, the 33 contestants performed a closing song together.
This premiere concert was hosted by alongside three contestants from Sisters Who Make Waves: Baby Zhang and Shen Mengchen from Season 1, and Yang Yuying from Season 2.

First Performance

Theme: Outer Space Message Board
The contestants are split into 8 tribes with three to five members each, named after the respective tribe leader. Every tribe performed one song in the concert, with the two lowest-ranking tribes having to select one member to transfer out to another tribe.

Tribe	Members	Song
Jordan Chan Tribe	Michael Tse, Jordan Chan, Jerry Lamb, Julian Cheung, Edmond Leung	3189
Nathan Lee Tribe	Welly Zhang, Nathan Lee, James Lee, Henry Huo	Yellow
MC Jin Tribe	Shawn Huang, MC Jin, Owodog, Henry Mak	彩虹西服 Rainbow Suit
Bridge Tribe	GAI, Ricky, Bridge	站在高岗上 Stand on a High Hill
Terry Lin Tribe	Terry Lin, Li Yundi, Liu Jia, Li Xiang	爱 Love
Chen Hui Tribe	Paul Wong, Chen Hui, Jerry Yan, Liu Duanduan, Leon Zhang	淒美地 Poignantly
Max Zhang Tribe	Max Zhang, Kido Gao, Pax Congo	MMA
Vincent Zhao Tribe	Vincent Zhao, Cannon Hu, MC HotDog, Yin Zheng, Liu Cong	离开地球表面 Leaving Earth's Surface

Second Performance

Theme: The 25th Hour
In this round, tribes had to form an alliance with a second tribe to perform one "Vocal" category song and one "Perform" category song together. A limit of six performers per song was imposed. The voting scores for both songs were combined, with the lowest-ranking alliance having to select three members to send home.

Alliance	Performing Members	Song	Category
Chen Hui Tribe + MC Jin Tribe	Jerry Yan, Owodog, Liu Duanduan, Leon Zhang, Henry Mak	被驯服的象 Tamed Elephant	Perform
Chen Hui Tribe + MC Jin Tribe	Paul Wong, Chen Hui, Shawn Huang, MC Jin	明天更漫長 Tomorrow is Longer	Vocal
Max Zhang Tribe + Nathan Lee Tribe	Welly Zhang, Henry Huo, Pax Congo	悟空 Wu Kong / ''Monkey King	Vocal
Max Zhang Tribe + Nathan Lee Tribe	Max Zhang, Nathan Lee, Henry Huo, James Lee, Kido Gao, Pax Congo	鞋子特大号 Extra Large Shoes	Perform
Terry Lin Tribe + Vincent Zhao Tribe	Terry Lin, Cannon Hu, MC HotDog, Liu Jia	飞云之下 Under the Clouds	Vocal
Terry Lin Tribe + Vincent Zhao Tribe	Vincent Zhao, Li Yundi, Yin Zheng, Liu Cong, Ricky, Li Xiang	大艺术家 Great Artist	Perform
Jordan Chan Tribe + Bridge Tribe	Jordan Chan, Michael Tse, Julian Cheung, Edmond Leung, GAI, Bridge	往事只能回味 The Past Can Only Be Reminisced	Perform
Jordan Chan Tribe + Bridge Tribe	Jordan Chan, Michael Tse, Jerry Lamb, Edmond Leung, GAI, Bridge	你要如何我们就如何 We'll Do As You Wish''	Vocal

Third Performance

Theme: Wait for Me to Find You
The alliances of the previous round were dissolved and the eight tribes reorganised into four larger camps, named after the respective camp leader. Like the previous round, each camp had to perform one "Vocal" category song and one "Perform" category song. However, this round was conducted in two halves, with two camps competing directly in each half. Audience and expert panel voting determined the losing camp of each half, as well as the individual contestant ranking in each camp. The losing camp would then have to vote within itself to eliminate one of its three lowest-ranking members.

Fourth Performance

Theme: Thirty Thousand Days
Continuing with the camps from the previous round, this round was further divided into three showdowns featuring solo, duet and full camp performances. Only the camp with the top overall ranking would be safe from elimination and proceed to the next round without reshuffling members. Meanwhile, the four lowest-ranking members across the remaining three camps were sent home.

	Camp	Performing Member	Song
Solo	Nathan Lee Camp	Welly Zhang	战 War
Solo	Jordan Chan Camp	Jordan Chan	算你狠 You Are Vicious
Solo	Vincent Zhao Camp	Terry Lin	空 Empty
Solo	Max Zhang Camp	Yin Zheng	一剪梅 A Spray of Plum Blossoms
Duet	Max Zhang Camp	Max Zhang, Kido Gao	跳舞街 Dancing Street
Duet	Vincent Zhao Camp	Terry Lin, MC HotDog	曾经我也想过一了百了 I've Thought About It a Hundred Times
Duet	Nathan Lee Camp	MC Jin, Nathan Lee	你要跳舞吗 Do You Want to Dance
Duet	Jordan Chan Camp	Edmond Leung, GAI	无名之辈 Anonymous
Camp	Vincent Zhao Camp	Vincent Zhao, MC HotDog, Leon Zhang, Jerry Yan, Terry Lin, Shawn Huang, Liu Cong	这世界那么多人 Empty World
Camp	Nathan Lee Camp	Paul Wong, Welly Zhang, MC Jin, Nathan Lee, James Lee, Ricky, Liu Jia	达拉崩吧 Dalabengba
Camp	Max Zhang Camp	Max Zhang, Yin Zheng, Owodog, Kido Gao, Pax Congo, Canon，Li Xiang	舍离断 Let Go
Camp	Jordan Chan Camp	Jordan Chan, Michael Tse, Julian Cheung, Edmond Leung, Jerry Lamb, GAI, Bridge	当年情 Past Love

Fifth Performance

Theme: Another Me in this World
The final group reshuffle occurred at the start of this round to form two main camps: "Qilin Camp" and "One Flower Camp," led by Nathan Lee and Max Zhang respectively. The two camps faced off in three group rounds, with members allowed to participate in only one performance each. One elimination slot was added each time a camp lost a group round, with the lowest-ranking member in that camp filling in the slot to be sent home.

	Camp	Performing Members	Song
Group 1	One Flower Camp	Jordan Chan, Cannon Hu, Jerry Yan, Kido Gao, Li Xiang	无所求必满载而归 Returning Full of Nothing
Group 1	Qilin Camp	Michael Tse, Ricky, Leon Zhang, Liu Jia	男孩別哭 Boy, Don't Cry
Group 2	One Flower Camp	Max Zhang, Julian Cheung, Yin Zheng	给电影人的情书 Love Letter to Filmmakers
Group 2	Qilin Camp	Edmond Leung, Jerry Lamb, Li Yundi, Nathan Lee	她来听我的演唱会 She Came to My Concert
Group 3	One Flower Camp	Terry Lin, Chen Hui, MC HotDog, GAI, Pax Congo	See You Again
Group 3	Qilin Camp	Paul Wong, Vincent Zhao, James Lee, Welly Zhang, MC Jin	如果还有明天 If There's Still Tomorrow