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Kenji Wu

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Wu.
Kenji Wu
Kenji Wu at Taipei New Year's Eve Party 2011
Born (1979-10-18) 18 October 1979 (age 45)
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Alma materNational Taiwan University of Arts
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, actor, television host, director
Years active2000–present
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese吳克群
Simplified Chinese吴克群
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWú Kèqún
Southern Min
Hokkien POJNgô͘ Khek-kûn
Musical career
Also known asWu Kei-chun
Wu Kequn
GenresMandopop
Instrument(s)Guitar, piano
LabelsPourquoi Pas Music (2019–present)
Warner Music Taiwan (2014–2017)
Sony Music Taiwan (2013–2014)
Seed Music (2004–2012)
Virgin Records (2000)

Kenji Wu (traditional Chinese: 吳克群; simplified Chinese: 吴克群; pinyin: Wú Kèqún; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ngô͘ Khek-kûn; born 18 October 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, actor and director.[1][2]

Early life

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Wu was born on 18 October 1979 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.[3] When he was six, he moved to Argentina, but came back to Taiwan to compete in MTV Taiwan's "New Artist Fight Game".[2]

He attended the National Taiwan University of Arts[3] majoring in theater.

Career

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After competing in the "New Artist Fight Game" competition in 2000, he was subsequently signed to Virgin Music.[2] Within half a year,[4] Wu released his debut album Tomorrow, Alone (一個人的Tomorrow).[5] Despite the involvement of top producers, the album received lukewarm response and weak sales.[4] However, this gave him opportunities to act in Taiwanese drama such as Peach Girl and Moonlight Forest.[2][4] During his time acting, he continued to perform songs he wrote and composed at pubs.[4]

With an intense passion for music, Wu made a comeback to the music industry in November 2004 with a self-titled album, released by Seed Music.[2] All ten songs in the album were written by him. Critics around Asia gave highly positive reviews. The hit song Wu Ke Qun cleverly incorporated the impersonations of well-known singers such as A-do, Leehom Wang, David Tao, Jay Chou, Fei Yu Ching, Emil Chau and Shin band. The song demonstrated Wu's determination to be a unique singer in his own right. In Hong Kong, it peaked at the 7th spot out of 20 in RTHK's Chinese chart for the week of 20–26 February 2005;[6] however, the song did poorly in Singapore, debuting at 19th position on YES 933's chart for the week of 9–15 January 2005,[7] and remained on the chart for only 2 weeks.

He returned in October 2005 with a new album titled The Kenji Show (大頑家 – 吳克群),[3] also released by Seed Music. Working on a theme of having fun, the album comprises songs with his style of simple yet intriguing lyrics. Songs like "Da She Tou" (literally "Big Tongue") and "Bu Xie Ji Nian" rose to hit charts and were popular among students mostly. He has nominated for the best Chinese male singer in Taiwan at the 2006 and 2007 Golden Melody Awards,[2] but the award went to Leehom Wang and Korean-born singer Nicky Lee, respectively.

In 2006, Wu released a new album entitled A General Order (將軍令)[3] and again, all songs were written by Wu himself showing his creativity. This time he experimented with the Chinese music style, therefore the title song was written in that way. Other Chinese style songs including "Peaked You And Me" and "Champion" as well as the hit ballad "Cripple" are featured on this album. Wu will also be featured on a track on Hakka-Pac's album called Doing it Chikan Style. He also had a cameo appearance in Brown Sugar Macchiato.

In 2008, he release the album Poems For You (為你寫詩),[3] in which he composed all the songs. This album was number one on the sales chart for 7 weeks. All of the five MVs that were released from this album were ranked in the top 10 in two of the largest KTV chains, thus breaking a record.

Aside from writing songs only for his own albums, he also composed and produced songs for other popular singers. He wrote "Ai Ku Gui" for Maggie Chiang, "Sha Gua" for Landy Wen, "Nan Ren Nu Ren" for Valen Hsu and A Mu Long, and "Da Ming Xing" for the superboys Yu Hao Ming and Wang Yue Xin.

In 2010, he released his eighth studio album Love Me, Hate Me (愛我 恨我) under Seed Music.[8] The track "沒關係" (No Relations) is listed at number 24 on Hit Fm Taiwan's Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart (Hit-Fm年度百首單曲) for 2010.[9]

Discography

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Main article: Kenji Wu discography
  1. A Lonely Tomorrow (一個人的Tomorrow) (2000)
  2. First Creative Album (吳克群) (2004)
  3. The Kenji Show (大頑家) (2005)
  4. General's Command (將軍令) (2006)
  5. Poems for You (為你寫詩) (2008)
  6. Love Me, Hate Me (愛我 恨我) (2010)
  7. Parasitism (寄生) (2010)
  8. How To Deal With Loneliness? (寂寞來了怎麼辦？) (2012)
  9. On The Way to the Stars (數星星的人) (2015)
  10. Humorous Life (人生超幽默) (2017)
  11. I Am Listening (你說 我聽著呢) (2020)

Selected compositions

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Filmography

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Television series

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Year English title Original title Role Notes
2001 Peach Girl 蜜桃女孩 Kazuya Tojigamori
Sunshine Jelly 陽光果凍
2002 Moonlight Forest 月光森林 Chang Ching
2003 The Rose 薔薇之戀 Mao Ji's friend Cameo
2005 The Doctor 大熊醫師家 Himself Cameo
2007 Brown Sugar Macchiato 黑糖瑪奇朵 Himself Cameo
2011 Love Recipe 料理情人夢 Fu Yong-le
2015 Heart of Steel 鋼鐵之心 Jimmy Cameo
2016 Golden Darling 原來1家人 David Cameo
2018 Age of Rebellion 翻牆的記憶 Himself Cameo
2019 The Legends of Monkey King 大潑猴 Tianpeng

Film

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Year English title Original title Role Notes
2003 Rain Coat 雨衣 / 7–11之戀 Chih Also known as Love at 7–11
2008 The Fatality 絕魂印 Ho Shih-jung / Asanee
2012 Million People 萬人•迷 Kevin Short film
2014 The Old Cinderella 脫軌時代 Kang Shao
2016 70 80 90 708090之深圳戀歌 Liu Mingzhe
2017 Hanky Panky 大釣哥 Chang Shih-pang
2018 Crazy Little Thing 為你寫詩 Chen Shijie Also as director[10]

Variety and reality show

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Year English title Original title Notes
2008 Unbeatable Youth 無敵青春克 Host
2013 Celebrity Battle 全能星戰 Participant
2022 Call Me by Fire (season 2) 披荊斬棘 Participant

Music videos

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As director

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Year Song title Artist
2006 "The Genius of Drama 戲劇天才" Himself
2008 "Hold My Hand 牽牽牽手"
"Love Hurts 愛太痛"
2009 "Closer Hearts 把心拉近"

Appearances

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Song title Artist
"Legend 神話" Valen Hsu
"Meet Another Person 遇見另外一個人"
"In a Wink 轉眼" Penny Tai
"On What Grounds 憑什麼" Qu Ying
"What Time Is It There? 你那裡幾點" Ginny Liu
"In Your Heart 留在誰心裡" Maggie Chiang
"Missing You, Again 我又想起你"
"Gentleness of Both Hands 雙手的溫柔"
"Must Meet Again 要再見" Cindy Chen
"Only If You Can Remember Me 只要你想起我"

[11] [12]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2006 17th Golden Melody Awards Best Mandarin Male Singer The Kenji Show Nominated
2007 HITO Radio Music Awards[13] Most Popular Singer-songwriter (popular vote) — Won
Singapore Hit Awards 2007 Most Popular Male Artist — Nominated
18th Golden Melody Awards Best Composer "A General Order" Nominated
Best Mandarin Male Singer A General Order Nominated
2015 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Taiwanese Act — Nominated
2016 The 4th V Chart Awards Best Singer-songwriter of the Year — Won

References

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  1. ^ "Taiwanese singer glad to meet fans". The Star Online. 22 December 2005. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f 吳克羣: 個人檔案 (in Chinese). KKBox. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Seed Music Artists". SEED Music. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d 褚姵君 (31 December 2010). "吳克羣曾25元捱一天 不愛拜金女". 聯合報. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Kenji Wu new album Love Me Hate Me". MandarinTopTen.net. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  6. ^ "RTHK Chinese chart for 2005, week 8 (中文龙虎榜 – 2005年第08周榜单)" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 28 December 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2006.
  7. ^ "YES 933 chart for 2005, week 2 (醉心龙虎榜 – 2005年第02周榜单)" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 14 November 2006. Retrieved 13 June 2006.
  8. ^ "音樂 > 吳克羣". Seed Music. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  9. ^ (in Chinese) HITO Radio Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart- 2010 (#1 to 50) Retrieved 10 May 2011
  10. ^ 吳克群自導自演愛情喜劇片 《為你寫詩》廣州開機. NOWnews 今日新聞 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  11. ^ Kenji Wu at douban.com
  12. ^ FKenji Wu at chinesemov.com
  13. ^ (in Chinese) HITO Radio 2007 HITO Radio Music Awards winners list 4 February 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2011
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