Call Me by Fire (披荆斩棘) evolved from a nostalgia revival into a multi-season creative lab (2021–2025). Across shifting formats - from solo debuts to team-based finales - the show celebrates artistic growth, emotional maturity and peer mentorship. Awards like X-Fire, X-Leader, X-Team and the new X-MEN Stage honour both individual excellence and collaborative spirit.
Disclaimer Information is verified through MangoTV broadcasts, Chinese-language press (Sohu, United Daily, China.com) and credible fan archives. Award titles and team labels evolve each year; minor translation differences may appear. This article is an independent synthesis for discussion and cultural appreciation, not an official MangoTV release.
🔥 Call Me By Fire (披荆斩棘): From Brotherhood to Brilliance
If there’s one show that truly redefines “team-building bootcamp on TV,” it’s Call Me by Fire. Since its debut in 2021, this MangoTV reality series has evolved from a nostalgia-fueled competition into a creative fraternity where male artists of different generations sharpen their craft, heal old insecurities and rediscover purpose - often through song, sweat and tears. 🎤💪
🌟 What It’s About (The “How, What, Where, Why, Who, When”)
How: Through themed stages, vocal/dance battles and team missions that stretch artistic boundaries.
What: A survival-style show featuring male singers, actors and producers across generations competing for final debut spots and peer recognition.
Where: Filmed primarily in Changsha, broadcast via MangoTV.
Why: To showcase reinvention, brotherhood and the artistry that goes beyond fame.
Who: 30+ artists per season, from established icons like 陈小春 (Jordan Chan) to newer names like 朱志鑫 (Zhu Zhixin) and 伯远 (Bo Yuan).
When: 2021 – 2025 (Seasons 1 – 5).
🧭 Season Evolution & Leadership Line-up
🎼 Season 1 (2021)
- Final X-Fire: 陈小春 (Jordan Chan) & 李承铉 (Nathan Lee)
- X-Leader: 张智霖 (Julian Cheung)
- Vibe: The nostalgic reboot - Gen X idols rediscover their groove while balancing egos, family talk and endless “bro hugs.”
- Highlight: The raw sincerity that built the show’s foundation - a brotherhood born from late-night heart-to-hearts and half-missed dance cues.
💫 Season 2 (2022)
- 🏆 X-Fire Champion: 苏有朋 (Alec Su)
- 🏅 X-Leader: 陈小春 (Jordan Chan)
- Mood: More structured and competitive; artists learned collaboration beyond fandoms.
- Notable Segment: Intense vocal re-arrangements and bonding over shared 90s legacy - with a lot of friendly teasing and zero sleep.
⚡️ Season 3 (2023)
- 🏆 X-Fire Winners: 林志颖 (Jimmy Lin), 胡彦斌 (Anson Hu), 王耀庆 (Wang Yaoqing)
- 🏅 X-Leader: 陈楚生 (Chen Chusheng)
- Energy: The “healing” season - older stars found new artistic fire post-injury, while the teams gelled over empathy and shared comeback stories.
- Standouts: Moving comeback arcs and emotional duets - a real-life reminder that artistry deepens with endurance.
🎭 Season 4 (2024)
- 🏆 X-Fire: 尤长靖 (You Changjing), 王铮亮 (Reno Wang), 胡夏 (Hu Xia)
- 🏅 X-Leader: 李克勤 (Hacken Lee)
- 🔹 X-MEN Collaborative Stages: Introduced mid-season as “X-MEN 合作秀,” smaller team showcases blending generations and genres.
- Tone: Reflective but tense - leadership weighed heavy on team captains like Hu Xia and Zao An (曹杨/早安), who quietly carried responsibility while learning to let go.
- Trivia: Both Hu Xia and Zao An, known introverts, grew visibly closer during filming - less chatty in S4 but noticeably more in S5 😉
🔥 Season 5 (2025)
- 🏆 X-Team Champion: 《快乐老咖 / Happy Old Bros》
- 🏅 X-Leader: 苏醒 (Su Xing)
- 🏅 X-Fire Honorees: 张智霖 (Julian Cheung), 张晋 (Max Zhang), 王栎鑫 (Wang Lixin), 朱志鑫 (Zhu Zhixin)
- 🧨 Best X-MEN Stage (正式奖项): 《无人知晓的我》 by 陈小春 / 苏醒 / 伯远 / 丁震 / knowknow
- Why It Matters: First season to formally introduce the “Best X-MEN Stage” award - honouring the art of cross-team collaboration.
- Theme: A creative marathon - part bootcamp, part therapy, part music lab.
🧩 Generational Alchemy
One of the show’s most fascinating dynamics is generational.
- Gen X & older Millennials: The most openly emotional - reflective, teary, grateful.
- Younger Millennials & Gen Z: Bring freshness and humour, but often observe before diving in.
- Gen Alpha (youngest participants): Confident yet less emotionally expressive - but hey, they grew up on social media, not mixtapes. 😉
Through rehearsals, bonding camps and “X-MEN” mash-ups, every participant ends up expanding their comfort zone - singing, acting, dancing or simply learning to feel again under the stage lights.
❤️ The Genuine Brotherhood Factor
What truly separates Call Me by Fire (披荆斩棘) from other ensemble talent shows - even its female counterpart Sisters Who Make Waves (乘风破浪的姐姐) - is its emotional authenticity.
While the latter often feels carefully styled and optics-driven, CMBF thrives on unfiltered camaraderie and real vulnerability. The participants are not performing friendship; they’re living it - through exhaustion, laughter, awkwardness and mutual respect.
Take Hu Xia (胡夏) and Zao An (早安) as examples. Both are naturally introverted - the classic “I-types.” They don’t chase the camera or dominate airtime, yet their quiet chemistry and understated humour often steal the scene. Their dry exchanges, self-teasing and the way they quietly support others add a warmth that feels unforced and deeply relatable.
This subtle bond - between artists who’d rather listen than boast - embodies the real heart of Call Me by Fire: that strength and sincerity don’t always roar; sometimes, they simply show up, laugh softly and keep creating. 🌙🔥
🎬 Why Call Me by Fire Still Matters
It’s not just a competition. It’s a mirror of creative reinvention - where artistry is reborn, vulnerability becomes strength and teamwork is the ultimate encore.
For some, it rekindled lost passions. For others, it proved that “brotherhood” isn’t a cliché - it’s a hard-earned trust forged through shared failure and triumph.
***All images used in this blog are sourced from the internet unless otherwise stated. I do not claim ownership of these images, and full credit goes to their respective creators. If you are the owner of any image and wish for it to be credited differently or removed, please contact me directly.***
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