Childhood & Early Life
Lu Han was born on April 20, 1990 in Haidian, Beijing, China.
He started his education at the Beijing Shida Middle School and later attended the Beijing Haidian Forein Language Shi Yan School. Thereafter, he attended Yonsei University in South Korea as an exchange student. Han majored in Applied Music from the Seoul Institute of Arts.
Han’s first tryst in music was unsuccessful. In 2008, he auditioned for JYP entertainment at their global audition in China but failed to clear the trial. Two years later, while studying in Seoul, he was scouted by an S.M. Entertainment representative who suggested him to audition for the company. The audition went successfully as he was enrolled as a trainee under the agency.
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Career
Lu Han’s first ever televised performance was with Tao, Chen, and Kai at the SBS Gayo Daejeon on December 29, 2011.
He started his career as a member of the South Korean-Chinese band EXO, and its Mandarin language subgroup EXO-M under S.M. Entertainment in South Korea and Avex Trax in Japan. He became 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.
The group held their first pre-debut showcase in Seoul’s Olympic Stadium with their prologue singles ‘What is Love’ and ‘History’. Immediately day after, they came up with their second showcase and first press conference in the Great Hall of the Beijing University of International Business and Economics, in Beijing.
EXO came up with their group's official debut single ‘Mama’ on April 8, 2012. Same day, EXO-M made their first televised performance in China, at the 12th Yinyue Fengyun Bang Awards performing their debut single ‘Mama’. They followed it up with an EP ‘Mama’.
The band’s first-ever commercial success came with their debut studio album ‘XOXO’. It became the first album in twelve years to sell over a million copies in South Korea. They soon followed it up with the 2014 album ‘Overdose’ that was well received both domestically and overseas. ‘Overdose’ also entered the Billboard 200 chart in the US.
In October 2014, Han filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to nullify his contract with EXO. He left EXO subsequently. Following year in July, Han announced his solo album. In 2015, he collaborated with David Tao in a bidding song for the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Beijing.
*The first part of Han’s debut album ‘Reloaded’ was released on September 10, 2015 via QQ Music charts. The album sold 880,000 copies on its first day itself, thus setting the record for the highest sales number on the first day of official release. ‘Reloaded’ reached over one million sales on QQ Music, setting the record for fastest digital album sales. It’s lead single, ‘Medals’ topped the V Chart as well as Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first Mandarin single to top the latter.
The complete album ‘Reloaded’ was released in December 2015. The album topped the Tower Records chart in Japan, and became the only album from mainland China to enter the Top 5 of Taiwan's G-Music chart. It was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, becoming the first album in mainland China to do so.
Following the magnanimous success of ‘Reloaded’, Han embarked on his first solo concert tour ‘Luhan Reloaded: 2016 Luhan 1st China Tour’. The itinerary of the tour included cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
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In October 2016, Han released his second album ‘Xperience’ with the title track ‘Catch Me When I Fall’. He soon followed it up with his third album ‘Xplore’.
Apart from singing, Lu Han also made his presence felt as an actor. He made his film debut in 2015 for the movie ‘20 Once Again’. The film was a raving success as it topped box office charts and broke several records to become the highest-grossing Korean-Chinese co-produced film.
He has starred in a couple of television shows including ‘Hurry Up, Brother’, ‘The Witness’, ‘Back to School 2’ and so on. His first ever reality show came in 2016 for ‘Hello, is it Lu Han?’ which was broadcasted online on Youku and Tudou.
Han’s other film projects include the fantasy-action-adventure film ‘Time Raiders’ which topped box office charts, becoming the biggest summer hit of 2016 and the historical epic ‘The Great Wall’. He did a cameo for ’12 Golden Duck’ and ‘See You Tomorrow’.
His future projects include his first ever television drama, ‘Fighter of the Destiny’ a fantasy wuxia series.
Major Works
Lu Han’s best bit came for his debut album ‘Reloaded’ the first version of which was released on September 10, 2015. The album sold over one million copies, setting the record for fastest digital album sales. It’s lead single, ‘Medals’ topped the V Chart as well as Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first Mandarin single to top the latter.
The completed version of ‘Reloaded’ was released in December 2015. It topped the Tower Records chart in Japan, and became the only album from mainland China to enter the Top 5 of Taiwan's G-Music chart. It was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, becoming the first album in mainland China to do so. Hans also became the first Chinese singer to achieve a double platinum record, having sold over 2 million copies of ‘Reloaded I’.
Awards & Achievements
At the 2014 Baidu Moments Conference, Lu Han won the Most Valuable Male Star award. He also won the Asia Popular Idol award at the iQiyi year-end Awards. Same year, he was named Person of the Year at the Tudou Young Choice Awards. He made it to the 37th position in the Forbes list of highest-earning celebrities in China.
His debut film, ‘20 Once Again’ earned him ‘Newcomer of the Year’ award at the Beijing International Film Festival as well as the ‘Most Popular Actor’ award at the Beijing College Student Film Festival.
In March 2016, Han’s debut album ‘Reloaded’ won the Best Digital Album of the Year as well as the Best Male Singer of the Year at the QQ Music Awards.
Same year, at the Chinese Golden Charts Awards, Hans also won the All-round Artist of the Year and Media Recommended Album of the Year awards. He was also credited with the Album of the Year and Artist of the Year awards at the 4th V Chart Awards.
