Peng Liyuan, celebrity folk singer, likely to be China's next first lady (VIDEO)

GlobalPost

Move over Carla Bruni, here comes Peng Liyuan.

The woman most likely to become China's next first lady is not exactly a shy housewife. Like Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Peng is a beautiful and often glamorous celebrity, famous in her own right. A famous Chinese folk singer who also holds the rank of major general in the army's musical troup, Peng has donned elaborate costumes and heavy makeup to perform in front of hundreds of millions of people.

Check her out on Google Images.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Peng likely did not accompany her husband, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinpin, on his trip to Washington this week to meet with President Barack Obama because she did want to outshine him.

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Peng is expected to take an active role as first lady after her husband likely takes power later this year. This will be a big change from political wives of the past three decades, the Journal states.

China may not be quite ready for a First Lady as prominent or glamorous as Michelle Obama or Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Ms. Peng already appears to have toned down her image in recent public appearances, often sporting a military uniform and a matronly hairdo, rather than the silk ball gowns, heavy makeup and big perms she used to favor.

In addition to not being a famous singer, the current first lady, Liu Yongqing, also has a different style and chooses to appear more formal, The New York Times reported.

Scroll below to see video of Peng performing. Eccentric? Perhaps. Boring? Definitely not.

"Laundry Song" Performed by Peng Liyuan from HPeaks on Vimeo.

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