Lu Han (; born April 20, 1990), also known mononymously as Luhan, is a Chinese singer, actor, and dancer. He was a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group
Exo
Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...
and its sub-group Exo-M, before leaving the group in October 2014.
That year, he was ranked the sixth most popular entertainment star in China by
China National Radio
China National Radio (CNR; ) is the national radio network of China, headquartered in Beijing. CNR forms the national radio service of the state-owned China Media Group (also known as the "Voice of China").
History
The infrastructure began wi ...
. In 2017, Lu Han was listed as the second highest-paid celebrity in the
''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100, behind only
Fan Bingbing
Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. After gaining recognition for the costume drama '' My Fair Princess'' (1998–1999), Fan's breakthrough came with Feng Xiaogang's blockbuster '' Cell Phone'' (2003), which won her th ...
.
Lu Han released his solo debut album ''Reloaded'' in 2015, and has starred in several box office hits such as ''
20 Once Again'' (2015), ''
The Witness'' (2015), and ''
Time Raiders'' (2016). In 2017, he starred in his first television series, ''
Fighter of the Destiny''.
Early life
Lu Han was born on April 20, 1990, in
Haidian, Beijing. He graduated from Beijing Shida Middle School and attended
Beijing Haidian Foreign Language Shi Yan School before leaving for South Korea to attend
Yonsei University
Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...
as an exchange student. He majored in Applied Music at the
Seoul Institute of the Arts.
In 2008, Lu Han unsuccessfully auditioned for
JYP Entertainment
JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1997 by Park Jin-young, J. Y. Park. Operating as a record label, talent ...
at their global audition in China. In 2010, while studying in Seoul, he was scouted while in
Myeong-dong by an SM Entertainment representative who recommended he audition for the company; after which he became a trainee under the agency.
Music career
2011–2014: Exo
Along with
Tao
The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...
,
Chen, and
Kai, Luhan made his first televised performance at the ''
SBS Gayo Daejeon'' on December 29, 2011. Following this appearance, he was the second member of Exo to be officially introduced, as one of the four Chinese members of the group and its Mandarin-language sub-group Exo-M.
On October 10, 2014, Luhan filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to nullify his contract and effectively left Exo.
2015–2016: Solo debut and first tour
Luhan often contributed to the soundtracks of movies he participated in. He sung the theme song for ''20 Once Again'', titled "Our Tomorrow". The music video of the song surpassed 1 million views in 47 minutes, setting a new record. He then released a rendition of "
Tian mi mi
"Tian Mi Mi" (; literally "sweet honey") is a song recorded by Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng. It was first made available on 20 September 1979 and was later included on her Mandarin album of the same name, released through PolyGram Records in N ...
" for the film ''
Comrades: Almost a Love Story''. Director
Peter Chan
Peter Ho-sun Chan (born 28 November 1962), also known as Peter Chan, is a Hong Kong-born filmmaker best known for directing films that span a wide range of genres, including romantic comedies, musical dramas, and historical epics. He is r ...
is said to have asked Luhan to participate due to his gentle and clear voice as he felt it would be effective in expressing the emotions of the song.
Luhan first announced his solo album in July 2015, where he collaborated with famous producer
Djemba Djemba. This was also Djemba's first time producing an album for an Asian artist. The same month, he collaborated with
David Tao
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in a bidding song for the
2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...
held in Beijing.
Luhan's first digital album ''Reloaded I'' was released on September 10, 2015, via QQ Music charts. It sold 880,000 copies on the first day, the highest recorded sales number on the first day of official release. ''Reloaded I'' also reached over one million sales on QQ Music, setting the record for fastest digital album sales. In November, he released the single "Medals", which also serves as the soundtrack for the 2015 film ''
The Witness''. ''Medals'' topped the V Chart as well as
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the first Mandarin single to top the latter. In December, he released "Deep", a promotional song for the Chinese version of ''
Kungfu Panda 3''.
Luhan's first studio album, ''Reloaded'' was released on December 14, 2015. The album topped the Tower Records chart in Japan, and became the only album from
mainland China
"Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
to enter the Top 5 of Taiwan's
G-Music
G-Music Limited is a company built in 2002 by Rose Records and Tachung Records, both are the largest local music retails and wholesale chains in Taiwan. The physical retail arms have been kept separate, for different customer bases and brand iden ...
year-end chart. ''Reloaded'' sold over 3 million copies and was also certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, becoming the first album in mainland China to do so.
Luhan attended the
QQ Music Awards, winning the Best Digital Album of the Year for ''Reloaded'' as well as the Best Male Singer of the Year. He then embarked on his first solo concert tour, the "Luhan Reloaded: 2016 Luhan 1st China Tour". The tour traveled to Beijing on March 26,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
on April 2, and Shanghai on April 9. The same month, he won the All-round Artist of the Year and Media Recommended Album of the Year awards at the Chinese Golden Charts Awards; and the Album of the Year and Artist of the Year awards at the 4th V Chart Awards. He is also the first Chinese singer to achieve a double platinum record, having sold over 2 million copies of ''Reloaded I''.
2016–present: ''XXVII'' (27)
Starting from late 2016, Luhan announced that he will be releasing a series of albums under the theme "XXVII", which stands for “Xperience”, “Xplore”, “Venture”, “Imagination" and "I". The albums are meant to document Luhan's growth story at the age of 27.
On October 21, 2016, Luhan unveiled his third digital album ''Xperience'' with the track "Catch Me When I Fall". The song is jointly produced by Santell, whom participated in Luhan's first solo album ''Reloaded'', and the Picard Brothers, a French producer team who has crafted songs for Diplo and Chris Brown. On December 27, 2016, he published his fourth digital album ''Xplore'', containing the tracks "Winter Song"
and "Skin to Skin". "Skin to Skin' is Luhan's second English-language song, and incorporates various genres such as R&B, Future Bass, Electro and House.
On February 21, 2017, Luhan unveiled his fifth digital album ''Venture'' with the songs "What if I Said" and "Roleplay". He participated in writing the lyrics for the track "Roleplay", which details his own experience in dealing with harassment from the paparazzi. "Imagination" was released in April 2017 and consisted of two tracks – "On Call" (his first attempt at the fusion jazz genre) and "Say It". "I", the last part of the album series, was released in June 2017 with two songs "Set It Off" and "On Fire".
On July 20, 2017, Luhan won the "Album of the Year" award at the Asian Music Gala for the ''XXVII'' album series.
On September 9, 2017, he released a single for the soundtrack of the film ''
Sky Hunter''.
On April 17, 2019, Luhan released a single album, ''π-volume.1'', which sold over 3.4 million copies. On August 30, 2019, he released a second single album, ''π-volume.2'', which sold over 1.2 million copies.
On January 17, 2020, Luhan released a single, "Dream Up", to promote his third concert tour.
Television and film career
Luhan made his film debut in the 2015 film ''
20 Once Again'', the Chinese remake of the Korean hit movie ''
Miss Granny''. It topped box office charts and broke records to become the highest-grossing Korean-Chinese co-produced film. For his performance, he won the "Newcomer of the Year" award at the
Beijing International Film Festival
The Beijing International Film Festival (), abbreviated BJIFF, is a film festival in Beijing, China. Founded in 2011, along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of China's two biggest film festivals.
The festival is one of ...
, as well as the "Most Popular Actor" award at the
Beijing College Student Film Festival
Beijing College Student Film Festival, first held in 1993, is an annual event organized by Beijing Normal University and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio, Film and Television. It is held in April or May, and is one of the biggest film festivals ...
.
The same year, he joined the cast of ''
Hurry Up, Brother'', a spin-off from the original South Korean variety program ''
Running Man''. Luhan then starred opposite
Yang Mi
Yang Mi ( zh, s= 杨幂, t=, p=, born 12 September 1986), also known as Mini Yang, is a Chinese actress and singer. She began her career as a child actress in '' Tang Ming Huang'' (1990) and transitioned to adult roles in the 2000s, gaining recogni ...
in the crime thriller ''
The Witness'', a remake of the 2011 Korean movie ''
Blind''.
In 2016, he starred in the fantasy-action-adventure film ''
Time Raiders'', based on the online novel series ''
Tomb Raiders''. The film premiered on August 5 and topped box office charts, becoming the biggest summer hit of 2016. He then featured in ''
The Great Wall'', a historical epic directed by
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou (; born 14 November 1950) is a Chinese filmmaker.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 21 August 2008. A leading figure of China's Cinem ...
.
In 2017, Luhan starred in his first television drama ''
Fighter of the Destiny'', a fantasy wuxia series based on the novel of the same name. In June, he was cast in the youth sports drama ''
Sweet Combat
''Sweet Combat'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series starring Lu Han and Guan Xiaotong. The series is based on the Korean manhwa ''Girls of the Wild's''. The series aired on Hunan TV
Hunan Television or Hunan TV () is a state-owned provinci ...
'' alongside
Guan Xiaotong
Guan Xiaotong (; born 17 September 1997) is a Chinese actress and singer of Manchu descent. She is known for her roles in films '' The Left Ear'' and ''Shadow''; and the television series '' To Be a Better Man''. From an early age, her family e ...
. In September, it was announced that Luhan was cast in the upcoming science fiction film ''
Shanghai Fortress
''Shanghai Fortress'' () is a 2019 Chinese science fiction action film directed by Teng Huatao and stars Lu Han and Shu Qi. Based on Jiang Nan's eponymous 2009 sci-fi novel (also translated as ''Once Upon a Time in Shanghai''), the film depicts ...
'' alongside
Shu Qi
Lin Li-hui (born 16 April 1976) ( zh, c=林立慧), better known by her stage name Shu Qi ( zh, c=舒淇), is a Hong Kong–Taiwanese actress and model. Widely regarded as one of the most successful Taiwanese actresses of all time, Shu has receive ...
. The film is adapted from the 2006 novel ''Once Upon a Time in Shanghai'' and was released in 2019.
In the media
Luhan has been dubbed by foreign media as the Chinese counterpart of popular pop star
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
, due to his massive popularity and dedicated fandom in China. The term "Luhan effect" was used to describe his massive influence among fans. He currently holds the
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for the "Most Comments on a
Weibo
Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ac ...
Post", which was established in August 2014 and subsequently surpassed by Luhan himself in September 2015. In 2016, he set a second Guinness World Record for the "Largest gathering of people wearing antlers" at the 2016 LuHan Reloaded China Tour, in Beijing, China. He is also noted for his achievements in both music and film, holding records on Chinese digital music platforms; and ranking at the top of the Star Box-office Chart on nuomi.com, one of the country's largest online ticket-buying platforms.
Yan Siwei, a broker who works in the entertainment industry, opined that Luhan stands for a new fandom model; in this model, the artist uses social media data instead of works to galvanize fans, and the fans are well-organized to protect the artist and maintain the fandom. ''GQ'' did an investigation on the fandom and call it "a systemic, detailed social labor division and powerful execution empire." After Luhan outsold
Jay Chou
Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...
by several million albums, some raised concerns about whether Mandopop has "died" or become over-commercialized. In 2019, the failure of ''
Shanghai Fortress
''Shanghai Fortress'' () is a 2019 Chinese science fiction action film directed by Teng Huatao and stars Lu Han and Shu Qi. Based on Jiang Nan's eponymous 2009 sci-fi novel (also translated as ''Once Upon a Time in Shanghai''), the film depicts ...
'' made some question if Luhan and this model would flop soon. A guest in a talk program opined that these kind of artists are "meteors" instead of "stars."
Luhan first appeared on the
''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 in 2015, ranking 37th. He rose up 35 spots to rank 2nd in 2017, becoming the highest ranked male celebrity in China.
In 2016, Luhan was featured on ''Business of Fashions "BOF 100" rankings, becoming the only Chinese celebrity to make it onto the rankings, and was given the title of "Most Anticipated Chinese Star".
He is also the first celebrity born after 1990 to be named the "Artist of the Year" by ''China Newsweek''.
Endorsements and ambassador roles
Luhan is one of the most in-demand brand ambassadors in China, particularly among the younger generation. His endorsement ranges from local products such as Oppo mobile phones and Baidu interactive maps to international ones like
Puma and
Cartier SA
Cartier International SNC, or simply Cartier ( , ), is a French luxury-goods conglomerate (company), conglomerate that designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells Jewellery, jewelry, Watch, watches, Leather, leather goods, sunglasses and Glasse ...
, of which he is their first Asian endorser.
On December 1, 2015, Luhan was announced to be the official China ambassador of ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
''. He released a single titled "The Inner Force", which is the official Chinese promotional theme song for ''
Star Wars: The Force Awakens''.
From 2015 to 2016, Luhan appeared on the cover of more than 20 magazines. He became the first Chinese celebrity to grace the covers of ''
Elle
Elle may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication
** Elle Style Awards
* Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition
* Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film
* ''Elle: ...
'' China, ''GQ Style'', ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' China, ''
Harper's Bazaar
''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
'', and ''
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Internationalism
* World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship
* Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community
* Cosmopolitan ...
''. He broke the record for having more than 200,000 people buy out a 20,000 limited edition run of a magazine cover in one second.
Personal life
Relationship
On October 8, 2017, Luhan and Chinese actress
Guan Xiaotong
Guan Xiaotong (; born 17 September 1997) is a Chinese actress and singer of Manchu descent. She is known for her roles in films '' The Left Ear'' and ''Shadow''; and the television series '' To Be a Better Man''. From an early age, her family e ...
admitted that they were dating.
Activism
In August 2019, during the
2019–20 Hong Kong protests, Luhan shared photos of the Chinese flag accompanied by the hashtags "the Chinese national flag has 1.4 billion flag bearers" and "I am a flag bearer" on his official
Weibo
Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ac ...
account.
Angelababy, Jackie Chan and Jordan Chan among celebrities supporting the Chinese flag after a protester threw it into the sea
. ''Business Insider Singapore''. August 6, 2019.
Discography
* ''Reloaded'' (2015)
* ''XXVII+'' (2017)
Filmography
Film
Television drama
Variety shows
Music videos
Awards and nominations
''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100
References
External links
Lu Han
on Sina Weibo
Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Han
1990 births
Living people
Chinese expatriates in South Korea
Chinese K-pop singers
Chinese male dancers
Chinese dancers
Chinese male singers
Chinese Mandopop singers
English-language singers from China
Exo members
Korean-language singers of China
Male actors from Beijing
Seoul Institute of the Arts alumni
Singers from Beijing
Chinese male film actors
Chinese male television actors
21st-century Chinese male actors