Shanghaiist staff (all six officials ones plus numerous groupies) are unabashed devotees of the Super Voice Girls, so imagine our pleasure when we found out that Li Yuchun, the androgynous wonder from Sichuan and final winner of the contest that sent tingles and shivers down the spine of people throughout China, became a cover girl. Sort of -- she made the cover of a Special Issue of TIME magazine called "Asia's Heroes".

What's more interesting is that she's been classified as an "iconoclast" because she has defied the stereotypical "bubble-gum and lip gloss standards of Chinese female pop". The word "iconoclast" originally referred to nasty people that destroyed icons, or symbols, of gods, kings, authorities, etc. And now, the term refers to someone who rebels against the imposition of authority. We've often heard maligned German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche referred to in this manner, and now he shares this honorific with China's own Li Yuchun.

Chun Chun, as she's affectionately known to those in the know, is defying expectations once again, this time for the concert that she and fellow Super Voice Girls will hold in the Worker's Stadium in Beijing. She will add a whole other dimension to her wardrobe by wearing a dildo dress! Someone better get Hu Jintao on the line.

She's unstoppable indeed -- how many American pop stars include 80-year-old men among their hardcore fans? Chun Chun's performance clothes also fetched a not insubstantial 380,000 RMB at a charity auction. Catch us quick, we're swooning.

In only obliquely related news: Shanghaiist remembers one of the Super Voice girls singing the song "What's Up", the 1993 hit from the San Francisco band 4 Non Blondes. Ever lost sleep wondering what happened to the lead singer, Linda Perry? SF Bay Guardianjust came out with an article about the "strange trajectory" of Linda Perry. Case closed.

Also on Shanghaiist:
Reality Bites: Pop Idolatry on Chinese television
Final week for TV sensation Super Voice Girls
Is Super Voice Girls headed to Shanghai?
Hope you bought your Super Voice Girls tickets early

Photo from Can Can Chu/Getty Images, from TIME magazine.