Neighbors of 2006 Super Girl contestant Zhang Meina envy her the money they imagine she made, however her mother Xu Lihua told the Xinjiang Metropolis News on August 30 that her family is still in debt from her daughter's attempt at the title.

Zhang Meina sings in the Super Girl regional contest. [sina]

Super Girl, the Chinese version of American Idol, is one of China's most popular TV contests, and is broadcast by Hunan Television.

"I spent 45,000 yuan (US$5,650) for her to compete for a place in the fifth to third elimination rounds of the Hunan Regional contest," Xu said.

Xu said many contestants compete by hiring professional companies to do cell phone message voting, which is vital for survival.

"I had to do something for my girl, and I asked her father to buy 3,000 phone cards, each of which we could use to vote 15 times. Although it cost 45,000 yuan, my girl had 65,000 more votes," Xu said.

Another 20,000 yuan (US$2,510) was spent on dinners for fans and T-shirts, and thousands more on posters, Xu said.

Xu is retired and her family is now 90,000 yuan (US$11,300) in debt since their daughter's Super Girl campaign.

"We spent 110,000yuan (US$13,800) but it wasn't enough. She only placed fourth in the regional contest," Xu said.

According to a source, another contestant's father said he would spend 1 million yuan (US$125,600) to help his daughter collect more message votes to seize a higher place.

The top 20 competitors from last year's Super Girl contest have made considerable amounts of money by recording CDs or making TV commercials.

Fans can also be commercially manipulated, according to a China Radio International report August 18. New companies are popping up to promote Super Girl participants.

These companies offer services such as holding up posters of the girl and shouting her name at live broadcasts of regional contests, and posting their love for the girls online.