Gao Xiaosong answers questions from reporters at Hongqiao International Airport after arriving in the city Tuesday. (Photo: Global Times)
Due to popular demand, Chinese-born American pop songwriter Gao Xiaosong will return to China’s Got Talent this season, following 184 days in jail for drunk driving, the show’s producer said Tuesday.
The 42-year-old, most famous for his 1990s composition “My Deskmate,” will resume his position as one of three judges on the third season of the talent show, which begins airing Sunday, said Lu Wei, public relations director for China’s Got Talent.
“Given his misdemeanor, it was a tough choice, but he has shown regret for his actions and has served time for his crime,” Lu told the Global Times Tuesday. “A lot of fans have supported him and have expressed that they want to see him back on the show.”
Gao was replaced by Huang Shujun for the second season of the show last year, while he served six months behind bars.
He was also slapped with a 4,000-yuan ($632) fine; he had caused a four-vehicle pileup in Beijing in May after driving while intoxicated. No injuries were reported from the incident.
The singer from Beijing has since publicly apologized for the incident and said that he plans to shoot a public service announcement in cooperation with the Shanghai’s traffic police in the coming days in a bid to make amends for his mistake and to warn others from repeating the same one. It was Tuesday unclear when the broadcasts are set to air.
Gao said that while he is still in the process of pulling deeper meaning from his experience over the past six months, he is eager to return to the show, in a written statement released by China’s Got Talent Tuesday, before the first episode of season three’s taping got underway.
Gao was the first celebrity in the country to be punished under the nation’s tightening on drinking and driving regulations, which came into effect about a week before he got behind the wheel after a night of drinking.
