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| “Another Week, Another Scandal” Ride the Wind 2026 Hit With Audio Manipulation Accusations. (Credits: Weibo) |
The chaos surrounding Ride the Wind 2026, better known to long-time viewers as Sisters Who Make Waves Season 7, is showing absolutely no signs of calming down. Just when audiences thought the survival variety series had already squeezed enough drama out of its rankings, rehearsals and camera edits, the programme has now found itself facing fresh accusations from furious viewers who believe Pets Tseng (Zeng Peici’s) team may have been unfairly set up to lose during the latest evaluation stage.
The controversy erupted after the broadcast of the “Senior Sisters Help Out” mini-stage round, where Zeng Peici, alongside Xu Mengjie, reunited with former Miss A members Meng Jia and Wang Feifei to perform the emotional track Baolian.
On paper, it looked like one of the strongest vocal combinations of the season. Four experienced performers, solid stage chemistry and enough vocal power to shake studio walls. Instead, viewers watching the televised version were left asking why the performance sounded as if somebody had forgotten to turn the music on.
Almost immediately after the episode aired, social media platforms exploded with complaints claiming the background music for Baolian had been mixed far too quietly, making the entire performance feel awkwardly dry and strangely empty.
ICYMI, Last Month: Ride the Wind 2026 Voting Scandal.
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| “Fairness Please!” Meng Jia’s Reaction Fuels Sisters Who Make Waves Season 7 Manipulation Claims |
Fans pointed out that clips privately uploaded by Meng Jia’s team sounded completely different from the final broadcast version, fuelling speculation that the stage audio may have been deliberately altered during editing or live mixing.
For many viewers, the issue was not simply about losing to rival team An Qi, whose group performed TFBOYS’ hugely popular hit Youth Training Manual. It was the growing feeling that the programme’s production decisions were affecting competitive fairness itself.
Some fans argued that no matter how strong a vocal performance is, it becomes almost impossible to create atmosphere if the instrumental backing sounds like it is playing from somebody’s forgotten phone speaker at the back of the room.
The backlash intensified even further after Meng Jia herself appeared visibly dissatisfied following the results announcement. Her brief but pointed comment, “Fairness please,” quickly spread across Weibo and entertainment forums, becoming one of the most discussed moments of the episode.
Viewers immediately interpreted the remark as indirect criticism of the show’s handling of the stage, and naturally, the internet did what it always does best: turned one sentence into a full-scale online war within minutes.
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| “Set Up to Lose?” Ride the Wind 2026 Under Fire After Pets Tseng Team Defeat Sparks Outrage |
Fans supporting Zeng Peici’s team argued that the performance itself was among the strongest of the round despite the technical issues. Many praised the group’s live vocals, emotional delivery and stage presence, saying the team carried the performance through pure talent alone.
Some viewers even joked that the singers sounded so exposed because the microphones were “working overtime without instrumental support”. Others sarcastically questioned whether the sound engineers had accidentally gone on holiday halfway through the broadcast.
”It's a disgrace!” — Criticism was not limited to audio problems either. A growing number of viewers also attacked the programme’s stage design, calling it lazy and visually underwhelming.
The performance relied heavily on giant LED screens and rows of black-clothed backup dancers, which many fans claimed blocked the artists more than supported them. Several posts described the staging as looking “rushed”, especially for a major competition round that was supposed to showcase premium-level performances.
Adding more fuel to the discussion were complaints about choreography spoilers. According to fans, one of the stage’s biggest dance highlights had already been revealed in previews before the actual performance aired, removing much of the intended surprise factor.
For supporters who were already annoyed over sound mixing and camera distribution, this became yet another example of what they viewed as careless production management.
As frustration grew, fan communities organised coordinated demands directed at the programme team. These included calls for a public apology, fairer screen-time allocation, improvements to stage audio equipment, changes to the styling and makeup direction for the Baolian stage, transparency regarding vote calculations and an internal investigation into leaked performance content.
The scale of the reaction pushed several related topics onto Weibo’s trending charts, with some viewers even threatening a boycott if the production team continues to remain silent.
Not everyone agrees the result was unfair, though. Supporters of An Qi’s team argued that Youth Training Manual simply created a stronger live atmosphere overall and connected better with the audience in the room. Some viewers also pointed out that mini-stage evaluations are not always accurate indicators of final performance rankings, especially ahead of the larger third public performance round.
In other words, the internet may currently be treating this like a national crisis while producers are probably still adjusting microphone cables backstage pretending everything is perfectly normal.
Interestingly, some fans noticed that rehearsal footage released afterwards appeared to show noticeable improvements to the audio balance for the Baolian stage, leading to speculation that the production team may already be quietly addressing the issue without formally commenting on the backlash.
So far, however, the programme itself has not released any official response regarding the accusations. The latest controversy also continues a wider pattern surrounding Ride the Wind 2026, which has spent much of this season trapped between impressive performances and constant production complaints.
Every week seems to generate a new debate over rankings, editing, styling or stage decisions. At this point, viewers are tuning in for the performances but staying for the accidental chaos management seminar happening behind the scenes.