Musical makeovers

Speaking about Landlord's Cats, Guo says: "We had not met before recording the show in Beijing, but like their songs, the two young musicians are very straightforward and easygoing. We worked well together."

Reflecting on the encounter, Wang of Landlord's Cats says: "We discussed the songs we chose, and the process was inspiring since Sir Deer offered us a different perspective about our song."

Sir Deer's first single, Chunfeng Shili, which was released in October 2015, received more than 200,000 hits online and comments on the NetEase Cloud Music website and app.

Also, in 2015, the band made its live debut at Beijing's Jianghu Bar.

Fans dote on the band so much that in 2016 they pitched in to help it produce its first album through crowd-funding-more than 7,000 netizens raised a total of 300,000 yuan to cover the cost of the project.

Since then, Sir Deer, with two albums, has become one of the most popular bands on the country's live music scene, touring and performing at outdoor music festivals across China.

Unlike other Chinese bands, all six members of Sir Deer, who were born in the 1980s, have regular jobs, so, they rehearse after work and perform on weekends.

Guo, who worked for a year at a local wild animal protection center in his hometown, Zhengzhou, Henan province after graduation in 2006, became an entrepreneur in 2008, starting a company in Beijing. He is also the initiator of School Through Music, an organization that connects Chinese universities through music, which has offices in seven cities and holds events at about 100 universities.

The organization also functions as a promoter for young Chinese singer-songwriters, offering them opportunities to release albums and perform live shows.

Speaking about his band's experience in the reality show, Guo says: "We (both the bands) became good friends after recording the show.

"While going to live shows is great for the audience, it's the same feeling for singer-songwriters to collaborate onstage, especially adapting each other's songs."