Reality in showbiz
By admin on 2014-12-29

After getting passed up for a TV show, Yang Shuhong, a performing arts junior at Sichuan Normal University, came to the conclusion that the only reason she didn't get the part is her looks.

"I can't think of other reasons why they didn't pick me except that I am not beautiful enough," she said.

As a result, Yang, underwent plastic surgery paid for by the show's sponsors and garnered some unexpected attention when she posted photos of the process on her sina.com blog late last month.

Making the cut

"I've dreamed of becoming an actress ever since I was a little girl, says Yang, who cites Michael Jackson as inspiration, "People often tell me I'm pretty and a good actress, singer and dancer, so I have always been confident in myself."

However, that confidence came crashing down after participating on the Chengdu TV (CDTV) talent show Everyone Has A Role. From July to September, the American Idol-formatted program featured 60 young aspiring actors auditioning for 20 slots on the new CDTV TV series, Love Is Just Like Eating a Mango.

And after going through many different auditions on the show, Yang was finally eliminated, something she immediately attributed to her looks.

"The experience made me realize my shortcomings. I didn't look good on camera be-cause my face was too round."

Catching wind that Yang was considering cosmetic surgery, staff at the TV station put her in contact with Wu Kaiquan, director of the Sichuan Milan Cosmetic Surgery Hospital, who also happened to be a sponsor of Everyone Has A Role.

"When I went to the hospital to talk with Wu about my surgery, I saw many high school boys and girls getting plastic surgery done and saw it as normal," said Yang.

"She really has done a lot to realize her dream. We were moved by her persistence and thought we should help her," explained Wu.

Yang underwent her first round of procedures totalling 40,000-yuan ($5,858) last July. In order to resemble Korean actress Jang Nara per Yang's requested, Wu decided to elongate her jaw line and recommended a nose job.

"I was really nervous. I couldn't fall asleep for a week beforehand, afraid that something might go wrong during the surgery and I would become ugly," explained Yang. "But I told myself repeatedly that I had to do it, because this is the price of realizing a dream."

"To encourage myself, I would just imagine standing on stage surrounded by my ador-ing fans," Yang added.

Four hours later, Yang opened her eyes to see nurses and her mom, who was crying.

Seeing her mother upset, Yang asked for a pad and paper, and wrote, "Don't be sad, Mom, I will be a star one day."

Several hours later, the anesthesia wore off and pain set in.

"You can't imagine what kind of pain I was in. For five days, every time I fell asleep I would wake up from the pain."