So how did the term shenqu, or divine melody, come about in the Chinese language? Online, some have described the tones of the song reminding them of religious music.

Gong's Tante performance has sparkled debates among listeners. As a graduate from China Conservatory who specialized in folk music, Gong was derided for being unprofessional and stepping outside of her limits. "Singing Tante demands technical prowess and understanding of Chinese opera," said Gong. "I don't need people to understand me. I believe they will in the future."

In 2013, Gong released a new song Jingubang, named after the magical weapon used by the immortal Monkey King in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. People jokingly called the song Tante 2 and this once again cast Gong into the critical spotlight.

"It is natural to hear different ideas but this won't change my intention of making innovations in Chinese folk music in order to make it more accessible to many people," said Gong. "My plan is to make more music out of ancient Chinese poems and mix Chinese folk music with modern elements and spread it around the world."

Way out

Wang Rong, 36, another professional singer who released her first album in 2000, has since tried to create her own divine melodies in a bid to become a viral success herself.

While studying at the Communication University of China, Wang won the university's annual singing competition twice. In 2004, the album I Am Not Huang Rong was a roaring success all across China. After remaining inactive for a number of years, in 2013, Wang released her new single, Haole Day, which enjoyed more than 10 million hits within days, though its popularity stemmed from a perception of the song as being utterly bizarre.

This year, the video for Wang's song Chick Chick even enjoyed success overseas. The video was posted onto YouTube on October 22 and quickly received millions of views and a significant number of mixed responses.

It features the Chinese singer dressed up in white attired in a low-cut chicken corset and shirtless male dancers in animal masks. The lyrics strongly resemble barnyard noises.

"Some singers make such videos in the hope they can become popular again," said singer Zhang Wei. "There is no right or wrong in such choices. At least they are putting the effort in."

Zhang Hongliang, a 55-year-old singer from Taiwan, also released his new album this year after a quiet period of more than a decade. One song in the album, which is titled Divine Melody, is actually a spoken word performance over the top of the sounds of the guzheng, a traditional Chinese musical instrument.

On the track, he shares all the love stories of his life over the past few years. "It is like a long poem recording my life," said Zhang. "I involve some of my thoughts of life in the song as well."

Zhang said the title Divine Melody came out of respect for Dante Alighieri, whose Divine Comedy is translated as shenqu in Chinese, the word meaning "divine melody." However, many online commented that they didn't buy Zhang's explanation. "This song is off its rocker," said a netizen using the screen name Xiangjiu. "He sounds like a sick man that can't even breathe well in the song. Who cares about his love stories?"

"I don't care what people think of my music. The reason for me to take up writing again was to help Chinese folk music to go farther," said Zhang. "There is no uniform standard for good music, I'm just trying something new."

Zhang also released an instrumental version of Divine Melody. "Everybody can tell their own stories together with this music. It is an open song."

"I don't think people should be so strict with music," said Wang Hongzhi, a sociologist from Zhejiang Wanli University. "These divine melodies are just passing fads. One genre gets popular, reaches critical mass, and dies and another emerges."

Professional musician Wang Dawei agrees with Wang Hongzhi. "Many of these divine melodies are just attention seeking and it is hard to say they are good music. It is easy to make a song with fast beats and bizarre lyrics but such songs never stand the test of time and I bet Little Apple will be soon forgotten next year."

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