Joker Xue
Joker Xue is a Chinese singer-songwriter and record producer.
Xue is known for his hit songs and stage charisma with his signature musical style. Since his 2006 debut, Xue has produced a string of great hits detailing love's triumphs and woes. His musical style melds the classic pop pairing of piano and strings with folk-tinged acoustic guitar and sultry R&B beats. His next several albums explored a variety of genres and concepts, which received wide critical acclaims and secured his status as a leading singer of his generation. He is among the on Spotify. Xue has also found success on many high-profile variety shows, and is recognized as a popular TV personality for his sense of humor.
Xue has seen his fair share of ups and downs in his life. He was born and grew up in Shanghai, China. When he was four years old, his mother died of heart disease. He studied painting in his youth, then Hotel Management at Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland, before dropping out to pursue a music career. Xue first came to prominence in 2005, when his outstanding performance at the TV talent competition My Show gained him widespread popularity and earned him a seven-year contract with Shangteng Entertainment. His first few releases were a hit on the charts, but his career went downhill after the record company ran into financial difficulties. Not one to sit by the sidelines, Xue decided to open a hot pot business in a bid to fund his singing ambitions. He also ventured into the fashion world with one label under his belt and dabbled in acting and hosting. His business took off and he used the money he made to fund his career in music.
Music career
In 2006, Xue released his self-titled debut album "薛之谦" Xue Zhiqian, and was awarded the Most Popular New Artist at the 6th Global Chinese Music Awards. The album was a great success and brought about a few major hits, such as "认真的雪" Serious Snow, "黄色枫叶" Yellow Maple and so on, which made him an emerging star in the Chinese music industry.In 2007, Xue recorded his second album "你过得好吗" How Are You, and was nominated for seven categories at the Beijing Pop Music Awards, which established his reputation as a promising singer-songwriter in his early career.
In 2008, Xue released his third album "深深爱过你" Loved You Deeply. After listening to the song "传说" Legend in this album, Shinji Tanimura 谷村新司 was very impressed by Xue's outstanding composition, and invited him to the Asia Music Festival held in Osaka, Japan. On 25 July, Xue was honored as a torchbearer for the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay.
In 2009, Xue released a compilation album "未完成的歌" Uncompleted Songs, which lists selected tracks from several of his albums, along with three new songs.
In 2012, his long-awaited fifth album "几个薛之谦" Several of Xue Zhiqian was released. It marked the end of his seven-year contract with "上腾娱乐" Shangteng Entertainment, which went out of business soon after he left.
In 2013, Xue released his sixth album "意外" An Unexpected Journey, under the record company Ocean Butterflies. This album can be seen as Xue's second milestone not only because he finally broke free of Shangteng Entertainment, but it also gained widespread positive reaction from both critics and supporters of his music. The most popular songs from this album are and .
In 2016, Xue produced his seventh album "初学者" Beginner, which became another commercial and musical success. Since then his music has gained wide recognition throughout Chinese-speaking regions. As the lead single of this album, has received over 150 million views on YouTube.
In 2017, Xue released his eighth album "渡" The Crossing, which was well received by critics, so that Xue secured his established status as a leading singer of his generation. Songs favored by critics from this album include and . In the same year, Xue held his concert tour "我好像在哪儿见过你" I Think I've Seen You Somewhere.
In 2018, Xue released his ninth album "摩天大楼" Skyscraper, and continued his string of success. In this album, songs like and incorporates different musical elements, while features a more balladic composition. In the same year, he started his "摩天大楼" Skyscraper World Tour. He was the first singer from mainland China to headline the Wembley Arena in London, Sydney Super Dome and several other landmark venues around the world.
Social Activities
In 2007, Joker Xue, as a representative of popular music, went to Russia with other artists to participate in the China Cultural Festival key project "Friendship Tour along the Volga River" jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation Cultural Film Agency.On 20 January 2008, Joker Xue presented the "Wings of Happiness" charity evening; then, he was elected torchbearer and passed the torch in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and passed the torch. In March, a new book release was held in Shanghai. Not only donating part of the manuscript fee, he also took out 10 photos for auction. The proceeds were donated to the snow disaster-stricken area through the Shanghai Red Cross to support the reconstruction.
In April 2010, he attended the charity evening "Drought Relief and Disaster Relief We Are in Action" without paying, and at the same time he paid for the trip and expenses by himself.
On 16 September 2011, he presented for the ending concert of Mengniu's "Ecological Action to Help China".
In April 2012, he made a premiere ticket sale for the movie "Children of the Stars". In July, Xue helped a grandmother who collect trash to earn money. He accompanied her for an hour and helped the grandmother holding three big plastic bags, and lead her to go home. After that, he sent the location on Weibo to call on everyone to help the elderly together.
In March 2016, Xue participated in the launch of the "Beauty Skin Sunshine Program", advocated warm-hearted support for public welfare, and cared for left-behind children.
In July 2016, Joker Xue joined Han Hong as a member of "Gan Gan" to launch "Han Hong Caring, Aid of 100 People" For large-scale charity activities, he not only silently donated funds to this charity event, but also appeared at the forefront at the invitation of Han Hong. In 13 August, he was hired as the chief of the "Love Flying Village Education Project" Dream officer, and participate in the tenth "Love Flying · Rural Education Project" rural teacher training public welfare activities.
Discography
Albums
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;《尘》(2019)#
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;《怪咖》(2018)
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;《渡》(2017)
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;《初学者》(2016)
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;《意外》(2013)
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Singles
Year | Title | Lyricist | Composer |
2016 | Tomorrow Never Ends 来日方长 | 常石磊 | 常石磊/袁娅维 |