Many Singaporeans are more optimistic than Nathan Hartono in terms of Hartono winning the Sing! China competition.

According to an online poll conducted by The Straits Times, over 82 per cent thought that Hartono will win the Chinese televised singing competition.

The Joseph Schooling effect

One of the reasons why Singaporeans think that Hartono would win was because of the fact that he received the highest score among the finalists.

His score was 93.65, after winning 47 votes from 51 professional judges and 333 votes from 350 audience members.

This result may have reminded several Singaporeans about our first Olympic champion's progress to the 100m butterfly gold.

Afterall, Schooling was the fastest finisher of the 100m butterfly semi-finals.

Except that this is not the Olympics, where there is only one benchmark for excellence -- how fast one can swim in the 100m butterfly.

If Hartono wins the competition, it will be the first time a non Chinese citizen is crowned the champion. The champions for the past four years -- the competition was formerly known as The Voice of China -- were determined by votes from the live audience and a selection of industry professionals.

The finals will be held at Beijing's famed 'Birds Nest' National Stadium which was built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Hartono not as optimistic

Hartono is more circumspect with his chances of winning the competition this Friday though.

He told The Straits Times that he thinks that there is little chance that he will win.

"From what I can tell, the vibe around what we're going for in this final is not so much 'shoot to win', or 'we have to outdo and strategise'. It's pretty much just have fun, push your own boundaries and push your own limits...It's crazy enough that I'm gonna be performing at the Beijing National Stadium." The Straits Times Oct 5

But some Chinese netizens are not taking chances though.

According to TODAY, "netizens on Chinese social media have not been as kind" towards Hartono. He told TODAY in a phone interview that he gets much hate online --"equal parts support and hate" -- but it does not affect him.

A cursory check on Chinese online media reveals that there is a conspiracy theory going around that Hartono got into the finals because strings were being pulled behind the scenes.

Many Chinese netizens echoing this sentiment because it was a surprise that an underdog and non-Chinese National came in first during last week's semi-finals. When interviewed by Chinese entertainment website ENT and asked about this conspiracy, Hartono said that it definitely was not the case.

Anyway, let's support Hartono during his performances at Beijing National stadium this Friday evening whether he has a high or low chance of winning.

And we can celebrate his win or drown our sorrows by drinking a cup of Milo peng.

Top photo from Nathan Hartono Instagram.

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