During the brief verbal exchange with Oprah, Zhang showed off her accentless English. "I did not major in the language, but rather picked it up by imitating English songs," she told China Daily.

Now that she has been hugged and blessed by Oprah, Zhang is receiving an overwhelming amount of attention, including offers from America-based agents. Her contract with entertainment giant Huayi expires soon, but she said she would not give up her career in China to sail for the US.

"Maybe just a gig or two," she said.

She understands the difficulty of launching a career in that competitive market, citing the case of Coco Lee, the Chinese-American who performed the theme song for the Oscar-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but still did not have much going stateside.

Oprah may be highlighting the success of breakout talents worldwide, but what she called "Super Voice Girl" may be dying out.

The new Super Girls season, as approved by regulators, comes with so many strings attached it is doomed to low ratings. The show has been pushed out of primetime, and emotional outbursts are banned.

You might as well sing in shower, or karaoke, for that matter. Nowadays there are so many karaoke shows on Chinese TV you may sooner catch one chirping off-key rather than the next Jane Zhang.