Kris Wu
Wu Yifan (born November 6, 1990 ; simplified Chinese: 吴亦 凡; traditional Chinese: 吳亦 凡; pinying: Wú Yìfán), also known by his mononym Kris or Kris Wu, is a Chinese-Canadian actor, rapper, singer (C-pop, Mandopop, K-Pop , Hip-Hop , R&B ) and Model. He is a former member of the South Korean-Chinese band EXO and its subgroup EXO-M, which he left in May 2014 due to disputes over his contract with SM Entertainment .
Early life
Wu was born as Li Jiaheng (Chinese: 李嘉恒, Pinying: Lǐ Jiāhéng), but as he got older, he had to give up his real name and changed it to Wú Yifán. He was born in Guangzhou , Guangdong , China.
When he was ten years old, he moved to Vancouver , Canada with his mother . He returned to China when he was 15 and went to Guangzhou No. 7 Middle School. He later went back to his mother and attended Point Gray Secondary School and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School.
At the age of 18, Kris Wu attended an audition for SM Entertainment's Canadian Global Audition, which took place on October 14, 2007 in Vancouver. After passing this, he moved to South Korea in January 2008 to join SM Entertainment as a trainee.
Career
2012-2014: EXO
Kris Wu was introduced on February 17, 2012 as the eleventh member of EXO , who released their first song "MAMA" on April 8, 2012. The band quickly gained popularity and after just half a year they had become one of South Korea's most popular K-pop groups. In 2013 EXO achieved massive success with their first album "XOXO" and the title track "Growl". It became the first album by a South Korean band in twelve years, selling over a million copies, and it was the twelfth best-selling album in South Korea. Wu's last activity was on the second album Overdose, which was released on May 7, 2014 and became the best-selling album of 2014 in Korea.
2014–2015: Acting debut and increasing popularity
In July 2014 Kris Wu released his first solo song "Time Boils the Rain" as part of the soundtrack for the Chinese film "Tiny Times 3". According to Weibo Music, the song had over a 1 million plays in a very short time and was one of the songs to exceed that mark the fastest. That same year, he became the youngest celebrity to receive a wax figure at Madame Tussauds Shanghai.
Wu made his first acting appearance in the film "Somewhere Only We Know", which was shown in Chinese cinemas from February 14, 2015 and grossed 37.81 million US dollars within six days of its release. There he not only played the leading role, but also contributed a song entitled "There Is A Place" to the soundtrack. This broke his previous record at Weibo Music. Wu won the "Best Newcomer Award" at the Beijing College Student Film Festival.
In May 2015, Vogue China invited Kris Wu to attend the Met Gala. Along with Chen Kun, Wu was the first Chinese actor to appear on the red carpet. During the Met Gala, InStyle magazine announced that Wu was among the top 4 most tweeted people, behind Justin Bieber , Rihanna and Beyoncé .
In November Kris released his first single "Bad Girl" as a gift for his fans. He was involved in both the text and the composition.
Kris Wu filmed his second film “Mr. Six ". For this he won the “Strong New Actor Award” for his performance.
In 2015, Wu appeared on the covers of 17 magazines, including Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Grazia, L'officiel Hommes and Vogue China (together with Kendall Jenner , becoming the first male model on the front page since the magazine was published in 2005 ). At the Sina Weibo Awards 2015, Kris Wu was awarded the title "Weibo King".
2016 to date: critical recognition and international breakthrough
In 2016 Kris Wu made his first appearance at the "Blueberry's Fall 2016 Men's Show" in London.
He later participated in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game as a player for Canada. He was coached by rapper Drake .
In addition to Liu Yifei, Wu played in "Never Gone" in July 2016. The film grossed over 100 million yuan on the first day . The following month Kris starred in the romantic melodrama "Sweet Sixteen" with Han Geng and Joo Won and got positive feedback for his acting. He won the "Newcomer with the Most Media Attention Award" at the "Shanghai International Film Festival". Wu also released a self-written song as part of the soundtrack entitled "From Now On".
Kris was praised for his performance in September by both viewers and critics of the film "LORD: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties".
In November he released his first English single "July" as part of his birthday concert. It is the first single by a Chinese artist to make it onto the iTunes Top 50 charts in the United States.
Kris Wu was cast in Luc Besson's film Valerian - The City of a Thousand Planets , which was released in July 2017. There he plays the role of Sergeant Neza alongside Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne .
Caruso announced that Wu will star in his action film XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, alongside Vin Diesel , Samuel L. Jackson and Deepika Padukone . The film was released in theaters in January 2017.
Filmography
- 2015: Somewhere Only We Know ( 有 一个 地方 只有 我们 知道 )… as Ze Yang
- 2015: Mr. Six ( 老 炮 儿 )… as Xiao Fei
- 2016: The Mermaid ( 美人 鱼 ) ... as Long Jianfei
- 2016: So Young 2: Never Gone ('致 青春 2: 原来 你 还在 这里') ... as Cheng Zheng
- 2016: Sweet Sixteen ( 夏 有 乔木 , 雅 望 天堂 ) ... as Xia Mu
- 2016: LORD: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties ( 爵 迹 )… as Yin Chen
- 2017: Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 2 ( 西遊 伏 妖 篇 ) ... as Tang Sanzang
- 2017: xXx: The Return of Xander Cage ( xXx: Return of Xander Cage ) ... as Harvard "Nicks"
- 2017: Valerian - The city of a thousand planets ( Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ) ... as Sergeant Neza
- 2017: Europe Raiders ( 欧洲 攻略 ) ... as Le Qi
Discography
Studio albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
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2018 | Antares |
US100 (... weeks) US |
First published: November 2nd, 2018
Sales: + 358,345 |
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
|||
2018 | Like That Antares |
US73 (1 week) US |
First published: May 18, 2018
|
More singles
- 2014: Say Yes (with Jessica and Krystal )
- 2014: Time Boils The Rain (时间 煮 雨)
- 2014: There is a Place (有 一个 地方)
- 2015: Bad Girl
- 2015: Greenhouse Girl (花房姑娘)
- 2016: From Now On (从此以后)
- 2016: July
- 2016: Sword like a Dream (刀剑如梦)
- 2016: Good Kid (乖乖) (with Tan Jing)
- 2017: Juice
- 2017: 6
- 2017: Deserve (feat. Travis Scott )
- 2017: BM
- 2018: 18
- 2018: Tian Di
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Chart sources: US
- ↑ Kris Wu - Antares ( Chinese ) QQ Music. November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Wu, Kris |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wu, Yifan |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chinese-Canadian actor, rapper, singer (C-Pop, Mandopop, K-Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B) and model |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 6, 1990 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Guangzhou , Guangdong , People's Republic of China |