It was generally described as the unofficial mainland Chinese version of the global television franchise Pop Idol (2001) and became one of the most popular entertainment shows in the country.

Despite Super Girl's major popularity and success, the show was heavily criticised by Liu Zhongde, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) told the Hunan station that Super Girl broke time rules for this kind of show.

[5] Partly inspired by the many spinoffs of the UK show Pop Idol, the competition was open to any female contestant regardless of her origin, appearance, or how she sings.

[7] The 2005 season attracted more than 120,000 applicants during the preliminary selection rounds, held in the five provinces of Hunan, Sichuan, Guangdong, Henan and Zhejiang.

By the middle of the season, the competition captivated a nationwide audience and became one of the most watched television entertainment shows in mainland China with tens of millions of viewers.

Ji Minjia, who ranked 5th overall in the 2005 contest, worked in Los Angeles in 2006 to help with production of the title song for Japanese anime series The Galaxy Railways.

Project announced Li Chun, one of the top 50 contestants in the 2006 Changsha regional, as one of two new members of Chinese ancestry of its pop group Morning Musume.

[20][21] The show was the feature of a 2007 documentary titled Super, Girls!, produced and directed by independent Chinese filmmaker Jian Yi during the 2006 contest season and released at the Cambridge Film Festival.

[13] One of the main factors contributing to the show's popularity was that viewers are able to participate in the judging process by sending text messages with their mobile phones to vote for their favorite contestants[citation needed].

[23] Liu Zhongde of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference criticised both the show and its negative influence on society, saying the audience watches the program under a distorted mentality and in an unhealthy condition.

This claim is reinforced by Hunan TV news spokesman, Li Hao, who admitted the network will incorporate more "positive" content in its 2012 programs.

The announcement of Li Yuchun as the season's grand champion came under scrutiny as she had been leading voting results despite having the weakest voice among the top finalists.

Shang Wenjie's selection as grand champion over Tan Weiwei, who is a professional vocalist from Sichuan Conservatory of Music, raised questions over each candidate's public appeal.

Speculations arose that Shang, who appeared to be a copycat of Li Yuchun's image (somewhat androgynous), was voted grand champion due to the appeal of her Cinderella story.

[37] E Media CEO Long Danni stated that through this competition, in addition to singers, the judges would also be looking for budding actresses and those that excel in other areas.