‘Ride the Wind 2026’ First Stage: Angelica Lee’s Rock ‘Freedom’ Stuns, Beats Wu Jing’s Wife & Ranks 4th

Angelica Lee transformed her signature ballad ‘Freedom’ into a rock version on a minimalist standing-mic stage. At 50, she sang live the entire performance, with impressive pitch accuracy, breath control, and vocal strength. Her strong high notes were described by the audience as “textbook-level live performance.” Judge Qu Ying was moved to tears as soon as Lee began, praising her as “a dazzling star even at the peak of last century.” Viewers said Lee showed a calm and confident presence, treating the stage as “enjoyment, not competition.”

In the end, Lee won with 485 votes to Xie Nan’s 426. Lee happily said, “I love music and the stage so much. I’m not here with a competitive mindset—I just want to share positive energy with everyone.”

Many people overlook Lee’s achievements in music because of her ‘double gold actress’ label, but this performance revived memories of her early days: she was once a star singer with Rock Records, released six albums, and had hits like ‘Skirt Fluttering’ and ‘Wrong Love’. The fact that her ‘Freedom’ MV from 1998 featured the band Mayday also sparked nostalgic conversations.

Did Pets Tseng Get Robbed of 1st Again?
Suspicion of Malicious Negative Rating Floods for Debut Stage

After two nights of live shows, all 33 contestants’ first stage scores are out. Mango TV also launched an online poll for the ‘Ride the Wind Queen’—the winner receives honors like team captain, solo camera, and more. Multiple audience screenshots showed that Taiwanese actress Pets Tseng was leading with 635,000 ratings at the very end of the show, but in the last 10 minutes, Chinese star Zhang Yue overtook her. Strangely, Tseng had 840,000 ratings to Zhang’s 600,000, yet Tseng lost. Netizens suspect a malicious run of negative votes on Tseng at the crucial moment, dragging down her score.

This isn’t the first time Tseng was hard done by. Before the show aired, fans voted to boost the show and gauge popularity. In both ‘Ride the Wind Points’ and ‘Real-time Prediction Ranking’, Tseng was the clear leader—but during the live premiere on the 3rd, the show didn’t use these lists, instead going by ‘Weibo Popularity’, where 42-year-old Mongolian folk musician Ulan Tuya was first, causing fans to question the obvious shift: “Where’s the so-called clear No.1?” and hinting at a possible rigging.

On the second night’s live, Tseng sang ‘Thinking of You Alone’ with steady vocals, earning praise as a “walking CD,” and scored 483 votes. The next contestant, Zhang Yue, impressed with strong high notes and powerful dance for ‘Interstellar’, securing 505 votes—the first over 500 this season. The 31-year-old is best known for her ‘Ling Youyou’ role in ‘Nothing But Thirty’ and actually debuted as part of a girl group, so her talent shouldn’t be underestimated. Even though Xiao Qiang and Li Xiaoran later scored 509 and 507 respectively, Zhang’s buzz remained high, so her winning the ‘Queen’ slot wasn’t surprising, though her last-minute overtake of Tseng looked suspicious.

Xiao Qiang Scores Night’s Highest 509
Grace Chan May Be Out First Round

57-year-old Taiwanese actress Xiao Qiang performed ‘Dream Behind a Curtain’ on her debut stage. As an actress, some fans feared she’d flop live, but her coquettish, slightly retro voice surprised everyone with a smooth showing better than expected. As the season’s most senior contestant, she joked about her age: “Being born early wasn’t my choice, but it means my work spans two centuries.” She also stayed current by encouraging voting with a pun: “You don’t have to chase after ‘Desires’ [wordplay], but you should always chase your dreams—don’t give up on yours.”

With strong confidence, Xiao Qiang said in an interview, “I’m already a champion; I was born for this, and I never need to worry about winning.” As the voting clock ran out, she playfully spun and cooed, “Vote for me, vote for me!” which charmed the crowd. Her performance, given her acting background, far exceeded online expectations. She scored 509, the night’s highest.

Only contestant from Hong Kong, Grace Chan, wore a white mini dress and performed the English song ‘Me Too’ against Xiao Qiang. For her debut, Chan’s song choice highlighted her strengths and the arrangement cleverly avoided difficult notes. Her dancing was playful and her performance solid throughout, leading many netizens to express surprise: “Stronger than expected, not just a pretty face.” Afterwards, she rapped in Mandarin-English to ask for votes: “My name is Grace Chan, shine like a queen, in the center I run the scene, as the beat drops everyone listens, call my name—Grace Chan.”

However, Chan got only 373 votes and lost by a wide margin—below expectations. Netizens hope she won’t get eliminated in the first round. Afterwards on social media, Chan shared her feelings, saying she cried backstage: “When I heard everyone shouting my name, I cried! This time, you finally saw the real me. I want to become a strong woman. That’s why I’m here on Ride the Wind. Thank you, please join me on my journey. Love, Grace.”