Post-pop stars

Students at Shandong University of Science and Technology interact with indie folk singers Guo Zi and Ji Xiang on campus in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhao Qi, a 24-year-old lawyer in Beijing, is one of the singer's fans. She says his song Mother resonates with her life.

"My mother was in hospital then and the song immediately touched me because it tells a story of Zhao Lei and his mother," says Zhao Qi.

She attended almost all the live performances of Zhao Lei. Now she is a leader of Zhao Lei's fan club online.

"He is special because he writes about his life, rather than following any trend. I love his lyrics, which are real and close to me," Zhao Qi says. "I believe that many people share my feelings about Zhao Lei's music."

After singing Chengdu on the popular variety show Singer, Zhao Lei sang Thirty-Year-Old Women, a song from his second album, Jim Restaurant, released in 2014. Unlike the universally positive feedback Zhao received from listeners with Chengdu, Thirty-Year-Old Women stirred controversy with its lyrics about single women over 30. Zhao sings: "She is 30 and unmarried. She smiles with wrinkles around her eyes. I can hear your laughter and loneliness."

As one of the country's biggest new music stars now, Zhao is credited with enabling other young Chinese indie performers to find the limelight.