Kris Wu

Kris Wu

Wu at the Hallyu Star Street in March 2014
Chinese name 吴亦凡
Pinyin Wú Yìfán (Mandarin)
Birth name 李嘉恒
Lǐ Jiāhéng[1]
Ethnicity Chinese
Born (1990-11-06) November 6, 1990
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer-songwriter
  • rapper
  • model
Genre(s)
Label(s)
Associated acts

Wu Yifan (Chinese: 吴亦凡; pinyin: Wú Yìfán; born November 6, 1990), also known by his stage name, Kris, is a Chinese-Canadian actor and singer-songwriter currently active in China. He has starred in several Chinese No.1 box office hits such as Somewhere Only We Know and Mr Six.[2]

Early life

Kris Wu was born Li Jiaheng (Chinese: 李嘉恒; pinyin: Lǐ Jiāhéng) but he later changed his legal Chinese name to "Wu Yifan" (Chinese: 吴亦凡; pinyin: Wú Yìfán) for personal reasons.[1] Kris was born and raised in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

At the age of 10, he immigrated to Vancouver, Canada with his mother. He returned to China at the age of 15 and attended Guangzhou No. 7 Middle School for a short period. He was a "sports student' and was named captain of the school's basketball team. His team won 1st place in the China Junior NBA tournament in the South China Region that year. After that win, he was offered an NCAA scholarship[3] that he had to turn down to follow his mother back to Vancouver where he attended Point Grey Secondary School and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School. He was also the captain of the basketball team for both schools.[4]

At the age of 17, Kris auditioned for S.M. Entertainment's Canadian Global Auditions, which were held in Vancouver on October 14th, 2007. After passing the auditions, he moved to South Korea in January 2008 and became an S.M trainee.

Career

2012–2014: EXO

Main article: Exo (band)

His very first public appearance was made in an intermission video for Girls' Generation Tour in September 2011.[5]

Kris was introduced as the eleventh member of EXO on February 17th, 2012, as EXO-M's leader. [6] EXO debuted on April 8th, 2012 with MAMA. The group quickly rose to fame only a year after their debut and became one of the most popular Kpop groups around. They achieved massive commercial success with their first studio album XOXO and their hit song Growl in 2013. The album became the first album (by a Korea-based artist) in twelve years to sell over one million copies and is the 12th best selling album of all time in Korea.[7] Kris' last participation in EXO was for their Overdose album which was released in May 2014 and became the best selling album of 2014, in South Korea.

2014-present: Solo career

On June 24th, 2014, a month after Kris left EXO, Xu Jinglei announced that he would be joining the main cast for her new movie Somewhere Only We Know on her Weibo account.[8] The movie marks Kris' debut as an actor. It was released on February 14th, 2015 and debuted at No.1 on the Chinese box office and grossed US$37.81 million in China within the first 6 days following its release.[9]

On July 17th, 2014, Kris released his first solo song, "Time Boils the Rain (时间煮雨)", as part of the soundtrack for the Chinese box office hit movie, Tiny Times 3.[10][11] According to Weibo Music official Weibo update, the song broke records, exceeding 1 million plays within 3 hours and 25 minutes following its release, a record previously held by 平凡之路 for exceeding 1 million plays within 7 hours following the release of the song.[12]

In August 2014, it was revealed that Kris would play one of the three male leads in the movie melodrama "Sweet Sixteen" based on an internet novel about a love story involving three men and one woman. Kris would be acting alongside Han Geng and Joo Won in the movie.[13][14] The movie is a collaboration by China Films and Wiehwa Entertainment.[15]

In October 2014, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation confirmed the news that Kris will play a role in the movie 老炮儿 (Mr. Six) alongside legendary actor-director Feng Xiaogang, Li Yifeng, Jiang Wen, Zhang Hanyu, and Zhang Guoli.[16] Directed by prominent director Guan Hu, Mr. Six was considered to be one of China's most anticipated film releases of 2015. The movie was released on December 24th, 2015.

On his 24th birthday, Kris released the a song part of the movie soundtrack for Somewhere Only We Know, called "There Is A Place (有一个地方)".[17] The song also broke records according to Weibo Music's official update, exceeding 1 million plays in 50 minutes, breaking his own record.[18][19]

Kris became the youngest celebrity to have his own wax figure at Madame Tussauds Shanghai.[20] The figure was exposed in the Madame Tussauds Shanghai museum mid-2015 and was taken to Madame Tussauds Beijing in April 2016.[21]

Esquire China named Kris as 'Rookie of The Year' in their Man at His Best 2014 issue.[22] He was on the cover of the December issue of Esquire alongside other huge Chinese public figures such as Nicholas Tse, Huang Bo, and Jack Ma.[23]

2015

Sina confirmed that Kris would make a cameo appearance in Stephen Chow's upcoming movie, Mermaid. They stated that his character in the movie was reportedly specifically written for him. The movie was released on Chinese New Year in 2016 and became China's highest grossing movie of all time as well as the first movie to gross USD$500 million outside of America, according to Forbes. [24][25]

Vogue China invited Kris to attend the Met Gala in 2015.[26] Along with Chen Kun, Kris was the first Chinese male actor to make an appearance at the red carpet event.[27] InStyle reported that Kris was the 4th most tweeted-about celebrity at the Met Gala after Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Beyonce.[28]

On May 4th, 2015, Guo Jingming announced on Weibo that Kris would be one of the lead actors of his newest movie, L.O.R.D.. Kris will act in the movie alongside Fan Bingbing, Yang Mi and William Chan. The movie will be released in China in September 2016.[29]

Throughout 2015, Kris Wu covered a total of 17 magazines including Harper's Bazaar[30] Marie Claire,[31] Grazia,[32] L'officiel Hommes[33] and Vogue China (alongside Kendall Jenner) for which he became the very first male celebrity to be on the cover since the magazine was established in 2005.[34]

Kris was chosen to be a spokesperson for several brands such as Dell;[35] Rayban;[36] Maybelline for their BB Cushion product ;[37]Tencent Yingyongbao;[38] Mengniu DiLanShengXue Ice Cream;[39] Mengniu Naite Milk;[40] MyTong Yi Iced Tea.[41] Adidas Originals announced Wu as an ambassador of their ZX Flux series.[42]

He was ranked No.42 on Forbes' 2015 Forbes China Celebrity 100 list.[43]

In December 2015, Luc Besson announced on his Twitter account that kris would be in his upcoming film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.[44]

2016

Kris made his runway debut at Burberry's Fall 2016 Men's Show in London.[45]

He took part in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game as a member of Team Canada, coached by Drake.[46]

On February 6th, 2016, D. J. Caruso announced on his Twitter account that Kris would be in his upcoming action film; xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, alongside Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, and Deepika Padukone.[47]

Mercedez-Benz has partnered with Kris Wu as their brand ambassador in China for their Smart division.[48][49][50] His own edition of their latest Smart ForFour electric engine was presented for the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition at a Mercedez-benz store in Beijing on April 24th, 2016. All of Kris Wu's 188 Smart ForFour limited edition units were impressively sold out in only 25 seconds.[51]

Conflict with S.M Entertainment

On May 15th, 2014, Kris filed a lawsuit against the agency to terminate his contract.[52] S.M Entertainment claimed to be completely taken aback despite having dealt with several contract issues in the past.[53]

Just like several S.M. Entertainment artists including other members from EXO, Luhan and Z.Tao, he requested for a contract termination for being treated as an object rather than an artist, having his schedules being set up without his opinions on the matter and his health condition being taken into consideration.

On July 30th, 2015, S.M Entertainment Filed a lawsuit against Kris and the Chinese companies working with him at the Beijing court, stating that "these activities have infringed the rights of the EXO members and SM, and have caused great financial harm to us and our partners. This is not only an abuse of the system, but also an unethical move that has betrayed the trust of this company and the other members."[54] The following day, Kris released a statement defending himself stating that S.M. Entertainment had made him leave the group for several months and that S.M. Entertainment's way of mistreating and neglecting their artists resulted in serious health issues: he had to take medication to be able to work from July 2013 to January 2014, when he was diagnosed with Myocarditis, which S.M. Entertainment did nothing about. He then lost trust in the company which pushed him to choose to request for contract termination.[55]

After several failed attempts to reach an agreement with both sides, the Seoul Court decided to pronounce the verdict for both Kris' and Luhan's cases on May 27th, 2016.[56]

Philanthropy

On June 20th, 2014, Kris reposted a Weibo post written by Chinese actress Fan Bingbing. The post read, "Wu Yi Fan has decided to join our community service team, Heart Ali," and "I believe that we can do many more things. For the innocent laughter of children! Thank you."[57]

Heart Ali is a project started by Fan Bingbing and Chen Lizhi (the general manager of Beijing Maite Media). The charity project itself is aimed at helping children suffering from congenital heart defect in Ngari Prefecture in Tibet. Fan has visited them several times so far with medical teams to identify children in need of treatment. After identification, the children and their parents are brought in groups to Beijing or Shanghai for surgery.[58]

"Wu Yi Fan is the second person to participate in Heart Ali activities after Li Ka Shing," wrote Chen Li Zhi to Fan Bingbing's post. "Despite any hardships or challenges, we will continue to strongly move forward."[59]

On January 21st, 2016, Kris launched his charity project called Extraordinary Honorary Court (不凡荣誉球场). It is a collaboration project between Kris, Sina, Weibo Sports, and Weibo Charity. The goal is to spread basketball in middle schools in China to encourage all basketball-loving youth to continue their dreams of pursuing this sport.[60]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Remarks References
2015 有一个地方只有我们知道 (Somewhere Only We Know) Ze Yang Male Lead
老炮儿 (Mr. Six) Xiao Fei
2016 Mermaid Long Jianfei Cameo [61]
夏有乔木，雅望天堂 (Sweet Sixteen) Xia Mu Male Lead
爵迹 (L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties) Yin Chen [62]
TBA 致青春2：原来你还在这里 (So Young 2: Never Gone) Cheng Zheng [63]
2017 Journey to the West 2 Tang Sanzang
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets TBA TBA [64]
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage Harvard "Nix" Supporting [47]

Variety shows

for Kris' variety & Radio shows with EXO see: Exo videography

Year Title Role Network Notes
2012 Happy Camp Guest HBS: HNTV
2013 After School Club Arirang Ep. 9
Happy Camp HBS: HNTV
Weekly Idol MBC Ep. 103 and 108
Infinite Challenge Special guest Ep. 345
Running Man Guest SBS Ep. 171 and 172 with EXO minus Chanyeol
Cool Kiz on The Block Guest KBS
2014 Cool Kiz on The Block Christmas special
2015 Day Day Up HBS: HNTV with Xu Jinglei, Wang Likun, Re Yi Zha, and Zhang Chao
A Date With Lu Yu iFeng: Phoenix Chinese
Happy Camp HBS: HNTV with William Chan, Yang Yang and Zhang Han
Hidden Energy Guest Judge ZRTG: ZJTV
Challengers Union Fixed Cast with Fan Bingbing, Li Chen, Lin Gengxin, Chen Handian, and Da Peng
2016 Day Day Up Guest HBS: HNTV with Jessica Jung
Ace VS Ace ZRTG: ZJTV with the Hurry Up, Brother cast and the Challengers Union cast: Fan Bingbing, Li Chen, Lin Gengxin, Chen Handian, and Da Peng.

Discography

Main article: Exo discography

Collaborations and soundtracks

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CHN
Baidu Chart
[65]
"Say Yes"
(with Jessica and Krystal)		 2014 — Make Your Move (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
"Time Boils The Rain" 5 Tiny Times 3 OST
"There is a Place" 2 Somewhere Only We Know OST
"Bad Girl" 2015 Single
Greenhouse Girl Mr. Six OST
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2014 Sohu Fashion Awards[66][67] Asian Fashion Icon of the Year N/A Won
2015 Sina 15th Anniversary Outstanding Youth Award
3rd China International Film Festival London Best New Actor Somewhere Only We Know
Best Actor Nominated
Asian Influence Awards Most Influential Internet Male God N/A Won
NetEase Attitude Awards Idol With Most Attitude on the Silver Screen
2016 Sina Weibo Awards Weibo King
Strong New Actor Mr. Six
GMIC X Annual Awards Mainland China Actor of the Year

References

  1. 1 2 "Exo-M's leader Kris' birth name is Li Jiaheng". Baidu (in Chinese). Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  2. ↑ "K-pop star of the week: Introducing newcomers EXO". Sina (in Chinese). 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  3. ↑ "NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 2016 – February 12, 2016". NBA Full Game RePlays NBA Playoff HD NBA Finals 2016. 2016-02-14. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  4. ↑ "exo member profile kris". Exolove. 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  5. ↑ The Sky's the Limit site (2012-12-02), EXO-M Kris @ SNSD VCR (Concert in Taiwan), retrieved 2016-04-28
  6. ↑ "EXO introduces Kris in teaser #17". Allkpop. February 16, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  7. ↑ http://www.allkpop.com/article/2013/12/exo-becomes-the-first-million-seller-in-twelve-years
  8. ↑ "Kris stars in Xu Jinglei's new film, Somewhere Only We Know". Sina English. 2014-06-24.
  9. ↑ Coonan, Clifford (February 16, 2015). "China Box Office: Valentine's Day Lifts 'Somewhere Only We Know' Ahead of New Year Face-Off". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Kris (Wu Yi Fan) sings 'Time Boils the Rain' for Chinese film 'Tiny Times 3' OST". Allkpop. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  11. ↑ 吴亦凡新歌《时间煮雨》破百万试听 (in Chinese). China News. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "WeiboMusic Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-07-18.
  13. ↑ "hangeng exos kris to". Channelnewsasia. 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  14. ↑ "kriswu joins hangeng upcoming movie". SGentertainment. 2014-09-24.
  15. ↑ "Joo Won cast for "Passion Heaven"". 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  16. ↑ "Wu Yifan and Li Yifeng movie "Lao Pao Er" begins filming".
  17. ↑ "有一个地方". Weibo. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  18. ↑ "吴亦凡新歌再破微博试听纪录 50分钟播放超百万". Weibo. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  19. ↑ "Wu Yifan posts about "There Is A Place" on his Weibo". Weibo. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "Wu Yifan (Kris from EXO) gets a Madame Tussauds wax figure!". SBSPopAsia. 2014-12-02.
  21. ↑ "Former EXO-M Leader Kris To Become Wax Sculpture at Madame Tussauds Shanghai". KPopStarz. 2014-12-02.
  22. ↑ "时尚先生Esquire Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-12-17.
  23. ↑ "时尚先生Esquire Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-12-04.
  24. ↑ "Mermaid, Forbes".
  25. ↑ "《美人鱼》邓超杀青亲亲星爷 吴亦凡加盟" (in Chamorro). 2015-01-15.
  26. ↑ "Behind the Theme of This Year's Met Ball, Fashion's Biggest Night". Vanity Fair. 2014-05-04.
  27. ↑ "2015 MET GALA (COSTUME INSTITUTE GALA), NYC". Average Socialite. 2014-05-04.
  28. ↑ "The Most Tweeted-About Stars and Brands from the 2015 Met Ball". InStyle. 2015-05-05.
  29. ↑ Matthew, Ilin (May 7, 2015). "Former EXO Member Kris aka Wu Yifan to Share Screen Space with Chinese Actress Fan Bingbing". International Business Times. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  30. ↑ "时尚芭莎 Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-01-20.
  31. ↑ "嘉人杂志 2015年10月号 封面吴亦凡 赠送限量海报一张-tmall.com天猫". world.tmall.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  32. ↑ "Kris Wu, Grazia Magazine 23 September 2015 Cover Photo - China". FamousFix.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  33. ↑ "Instagram video by L'OFFICIEL China • Jul 24, 2015 at 6:27pm UTC". Instagram. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  34. ↑ "吴亦凡荣登权威杂志 成封面男星第一人". SINA Entertainment (in Chinese). 2015-06-01.
  35. ↑ The Dreamer 【Luhan & Wu Yifan Subs】 (2016-03-11), [ENG|720P] 160310 Kris Wu DELL XPS Full CF, retrieved 2016-04-28
  36. ↑ The Dreamer 【Luhan & Wu Yifan Subs】 (2016-04-21), [ENG|1080P] 160421 Kris Wu Ray-Ban CF (45s), retrieved 2016-04-28
  37. ↑ "Sina Visitor System". weibo.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  38. ↑ "Tencent Yingyongbao Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-12-17.
  39. ↑ "DiLanShengXue Ice Cream Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-02-05.
  40. ↑ "Mengniu Naite Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-02-16.
  41. ↑ "Tong Yi Iced Tea Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-02-03.
  42. ↑ "adidasOriginals Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2015-05-16.
  43. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2015/05/13/2015-forbes-china-celebrity-list-full-list/#77cd6f817d94
  44. ↑ Luc Besson (December 15, 2015). "Excited to announce Kris Wu in @ValerianMovie!". Twitter. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  45. ↑ "Zayn Who? Meet Kris Wu, the Former Boy Band Superstar Member Who Took Burberry's Runway by Storm". Vogue. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  46. ↑ "Drake and Kevin Hart to coach NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 2016: Canada vs. USA". NBA.com. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  47. 1 2 "D.j. Caruso on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  48. ↑ "Vorab Premiere des smart BRABUS im Mercedes me Store in Beijing". smartpit.de. 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  49. ↑ 穆伟. "Three-pointed star shines at Auto China 2016 - Business - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  50. ↑ galaxy fanfan (2016-04-14), Kris Wu for Mercedes Benz Smart ForFour New York 2016 Behind the Scenes video, retrieved 2016-04-28
  51. ↑ "https://mercedes-benz.m.tmall.com/?refer=http%253A%252F%252Fweibo.cn%252Fsinaurl%253Fgoto%253Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fmercedes-benz.tmall.com%25252F%2526vt%253D4%2526to%253D%2526signUrl%253D63e422ab83". mercedes-benz.m.tmall.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28. External link in |title= (help)
  52. ↑ "EXO's Kris seeking to nullify contract with SM Entertainment". Allkpop. May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  53. ↑ "SM 측 "엑소 크리스 전속계약 해지 소송, 최선의 노력 할 것"". tvdaily.co.kr. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  54. ↑ "SM Entertainment files lawsuit against Kris and companies that hired him | allkpop.com". www.allkpop.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  55. ↑ ddangha. "Kris (Wu Yi Fan) Releases Official Statement in Response to SM Entertainment’s Lawsuit". Soompi. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  56. ↑ "Sina Visitor System". www.weibo.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  57. ↑ "Kris Official Weibo" (in Chinese). 2014-06-20.
  58. ↑ "Heart Ali". Baidu Baike (in Chinese).
  59. ↑ "Kris Joins Fan Bingbing′s Community Service Project to Help Children with Heart Disease". MWave. 2014-06-23.
  60. ↑ "吴亦凡公益新旅程 不凡荣誉球场正式启动". ent.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  61. ↑ "Wu Yifanto cameo in Stephen Chow's Mermaid.". Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  62. ↑ http://weibo.com/1188552450/CFdDAkY9n?from=page_1035051188552450_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&type=comment#_rnd1446613462309
  63. ↑ "Kris Wu is Male Lead in So Young 2.". QQ.com (In Chinese.). Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  64. ↑ "Luc Besson on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  65. ↑ "Baidu Weekly Music Charts" (in Chinese). Baidu.
  66. ↑ "Jessica, Kris, and Kiko Mizuhara Sit Side-by-Side at 2014 SOHU Fashion Awards". Soompi. 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
  67. ↑ mssylee (2014-12-23). "Jessica, Kris, & Mizuhara Kiko take home awards + sit next to each other at 'Sohu Fashion Awards'". allkpop.com. Retrieved 2015-01-03.

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