Li Yuchun (; born March 10, 1984), also known by her stage name Chris Lee, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, DJ and actress. She launched her singing career by winning first place in the Chinese singing contest ''
Super Girl'', in 2005.
The following year, she released her debut album ''
The Queen and the Dreams
''The Queen and the Dreams'' () is the first studio album of Chinese singer Li Yuchun
Li Yuchun (; born March 10, 1984), also known by her stage name Chris Lee, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, DJ and actress. She launched her singing career by ...
''. Referred to as the mother of the unisex look in China, she has achieved mainstream success. She is also known for her lower
mezzo-soprano vocal range, a rarity amongst Mainland Chinese female singers.
Life and career
1984–2005: Early years and career beginnings
Li was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China on March 10, 1984. Her father was a railroad police officer, while her mother was a teacher. After she finished her high school studies at Xindu No.1 Middle School, Li attended the
Sichuan Conservatory of Music in 2002. In 2005, Li won the champion in the Chinese singing contest ''
Super Girl''.
2005–2009: Taihe Rye Music
In 2005, Li released a few singles, including "Merry Christmas", "Give Me Five", and "Happy Wake Up". After signing with Chinese record label
Taihe Rye, Li started to make her debut album, ''
The Queen and the Dreams
''The Queen and the Dreams'' () is the first studio album of Chinese singer Li Yuchun
Li Yuchun (; born March 10, 1984), also known by her stage name Chris Lee, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, DJ and actress. She launched her singing career by ...
'', which was released in September 2006. In the same month, Li held her first solo concert in Beijing. In the same year, Li collaborated with Chinese band The Catcher in the Rye to release a charity song titled "Green". In November 2007, Li released her second studio album, ''
Mine'', and embarked her first concert tour Mine Tour. In April 2008, Li released an extended plays titled ''
Youth of China''. In the same year, she won an
MTV Asia Award for Favorite Artist Mainland China,
and performed in
Asia Song Festival in Seoul. In June 2009, Li collaborated with Chinese writer
Guo Jingming to release a song titled "Shu Embroidery". In April 2009, Li featured in the Chinese film, ''
Bodyguards and Assassins'', and was nominated two
Hong Kong Film Award
The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...
s for Best New Performer and Best Supporting Actress. She also sang the theme song, "Dust", which was nominated a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Film Song. In August 2009, Li released her third studio album, ''
Chris Lee''.
2011–2015: EE Media

In April 2011, Li released her fourth studio album, ''
The Literary Youth Who Can Dance'', in which most of the songs are produced by herself.
In the same year, Li featured in the Chinese film, ''
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate''. In 2012, Li released her fifth studio album, ''
Old If Not Wild''. In the same year, she embarked her second concert tour Crazy World Tour. In the same year, she featured in the Chinese film, ''
The Guillotines''. In the same year, she won an
Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Asian Artist.
In July 2013, Li became one of the judges of Chinese singing contest ''
Super Boy'' of the year. In the same year, she won an
MTV Europe Music Award for Best Worldwide Act.
In 2014, Li released her sixth studio album, ''
A Magical Encounter 1987''. In the same year, she won a
World Music Award for Best Selling Chinese Artist.
2015–present: Yellow Stone
Li stars in
Givenchy
Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...
’s Autumn/Winter 2015 campaign by
Riccardo Tisci and picked as One of Business of Fashion's 500 Global Fashion Leaders in 2015.
Li was announced the ambassador for
Gucci
Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty Inc., ...
Timepieces and Jewelry in Asia in Jun 2016. In the same year, Li released her seventh studio album, ''
Growing Wild
''Growing Wild '' () is the seventh studio album by Chinese singer Li Yuchun, released in November 2016 by Yellow Stone. Instead of releasing twelve songs at one time, the album was separated into four EPs, and sold more than 6.5 million copies.
...
''. Li broke with tradition by separating the new album into four EPs. She invited producers she had never worked with before, like Hsia Yu,
Wyman Wong and Chen Weilun. The first EP, Wild, sold 3 million copies in 16 days after it was released in May of last year. The three other EPs were then released within six months, with total sales of more than 6.5 million copies, grossing over 32.8 million yuan ($4.73 million) in 2016. According to Andy Wai Lam Ng, the vice-president of
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the wo ...
Music Entertainment Group,
Growing Wild
''Growing Wild '' () is the seventh studio album by Chinese singer Li Yuchun, released in November 2016 by Yellow Stone. Instead of releasing twelve songs at one time, the album was separated into four EPs, and sold more than 6.5 million copies.
...
achieved China's highest digital music sales since the company released the first Chinese digital album in December 2014. Li Yuchun became the most popular singer in 2016 on
Toutiao, China's major news and information app for mobile devices,which daily attracts about 1.27 billion clicks on Videos, and 230 million of them are relevant to entertainment. In support of the new album, she embarked on her third concert tour Growing Wild Tour. In the same year, she featured in the Chinese film, ''
From Vegas to Macau III''.
She also featured in the Chinese film, ''
Monster Hunt 2'', which was released in February 2018. In 2021, Li participated in the third season of the Chinese idol group survival show
Youth with You as the main host of the show, referred to as the Youth PD.
Musical style and personal image
Li Yuchun's musical style is mainly based on electronic dance music and Chinese pop songs. Li Yuchun's voice is mezzo-soprano. Just like the impression of Asian music in the 21st century, her stage style focuses on visual effects and costume style. Although her biggest musical influence has been the colombian singer
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...
, Xinhua news agency questioned in 2006 that the attention she received from her did not match her musical talent; the personal characteristics formed by the image of her short hair, which has always remained unchanged, have driven her. being an entertainment The object that the media likes so much even has a black name on the Internet, although her brokerage company announced to the public that she would not mention this name again, but she herself has expressed that she does not care.
Philanthropy
In 2006, China Red Cross Foundation founded a special purpose fund titled Yumi Love Fund with the help of Li and her fans. As of March 2011, the fund received donation of more than 7 million Chinese yuan from over 40,000 people. The funds raised were used to cover the medical expenses for 33 children with critical illness, and the construction of five clinics in
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...
,
Gansu,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
. In 2010, the fund allocated 500,000 Chinese yuan to relieve the people in the disaster of
2010 China drought and dust storms
The 2010 China drought and dust storms were a series of severe droughts during the spring of 2010 that affected Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Hebei and Gansu in the People's Republic of China as well as ...
, and allocated 1 million Chinese yuan to relieve the people in the disaster of
2010 Yushu earthquake
The 2010 Yushu earthquake struck on April 14 and registered a magnitude of 6.9 Mw (USGS, EMSC) or 7.1 Ms[The Queen and the Dreams
''The Queen and the Dreams'' () is the first studio album of Chinese singer Li Yuchun
Li Yuchun (; born March 10, 1984), also known by her stage name Chris Lee, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, DJ and actress. She launched her singing career by ...](_blank)
'' (2006)
* ''
Mine'' (2007)
* ''
Chris Lee'' (2009)
* ''
The Literary Youth Who Can Dance'' (2011)
* ''
Old If Not Wild'' (2012)
* ''
A Magical Encounter 1987'' (2014)
* ''
Growing Wild
''Growing Wild '' () is the seventh studio album by Chinese singer Li Yuchun, released in November 2016 by Yellow Stone. Instead of releasing twelve songs at one time, the album was separated into four EPs, and sold more than 6.5 million copies.
...
'' (2016)
* ''Liu Xing'' (2017)
*''Wow'' (2019)
Extended plays
* ''
The Special Greeting for Chris' Birthday
''The Special Greeting for Chris' Birthday'' () is the debut EP by Chinese singer Li Yuchun, released on March 10, 2006 by Taihe Rye.
Track listing
Music videosHappy Winter References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Special Greeting for Chris' Birthda ...
'' (2006)
* ''
Youth of China'' (2008)
Compilation albums
* ''N+1 Evolution'' (2008)
Filmography
Feature films
* ''
Bodyguards and Assassins'' (2009)
* ''Prologue'' (2010)
* ''
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate'' (2011)
* ''
The Guillotines'' (2012)
* ''
From Vegas to Macau III'' (2016)
* ''See You Tomorrow'' (2016)
* ''
Monster Hunt 2'' (2018)
Theatrical plays
* ''A Dream Like a Dream'' (2013–2014)
Li Yuchun at chinesemov.com
/ref>
Television Shows
* Youth With You 3 (2021)
Tours
*Mine Tour (2007)
*Crazy World Tour (2012)
*Growing Wild Tour (2016)
*Liu Xing Tour (2018)
Awards
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Yuchun
1984 births
Living people
Chinese women singer-songwriters
Singers from Chengdu
Super Girl contestants
MTV Europe Music Award winners