HONG KONG pop singer and songwriter Nicholas Tse will be one of the judges for the last several shows of the third season of “Super Boy,” a televised national singing contest for male contestants, Hunan Satellite TV announced Wednesday in Beijing.

    The TV station released the news at the launch ceremony for the new season of the talent show, which scored huge advertising revenue and popularity among youngsters in its previous seasons in 2007 and 2010.

    “If some contestants imitate my style, I will not give them a pass,” Tse joked at the ceremony. The heartthrob is the first confirmed judge for the season’s final shows.

    “Tse is a huge star and we aim at uncovering the talented new stars of tomorrow,” said Ma Hao, the contest’s lead director.

    Tse is signed with Emperor Entertainment Group, which is a co-organizer of this year’s “Super Boy.” He won a World Music Award in 2002 and the Best Actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011.

    Auditions have begun in the contest’s seven regions: Changsha, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing and Hong Kong. Other judges have not been confirmed yet.

    Partly inspired by the many spin-offs of the British show “Pop Idol,” “Super Boy” has selected stars including Zhang Jie, Wei Chen and Chen Chusheng in its past two seasons. Like similar singing-contest shows on Hunan TV, “Super Boy” has drawn rave reviews as well as criticisms, creating a sensation that people can’t stop talking about, regardless of their opinions.

    (Cao Zhen)