View source for Kenji Wu

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Wu (surname)|Wu]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{infobox person
| name = Kenji Wu
| image = Kenji Wu@Taipei New Year's Eve Party 2011.JPG
| alt =
| caption = Kenji Wu at Taipei New Year's Eve Party 2011
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|10|18|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Kaohsiung]], Taiwan
| occupation = Singer, songwriter, actor, television host, director
| alma_mater = [[National Taiwan University of Arts]]
| years_active = 2000–present
| module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
| t = 吳克群
| s = 吴克群
|poj=Ngô͘ Khek-kûn
| p = Wú Kèqún
}}
| module2 = {{infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| alias = Wu Kei-chun<br>Wu Kequn
| background = solo_singer
| genre = [[Mandopop]]
| instrument = Guitar, piano
| label = [[Pourquoi Pas Music]] <small>(2019–present)</small><br>[[Warner Music Taiwan]] <small>(2014–2017)</small><br>[[Sony Music Taiwan]] <small>(2013–2014)</small><br>Seed Music <small>(2004–2012)</small><br>[[Virgin Records]] <small>(2000)</small>
}}
}}
'''Kenji Wu''' ({{zh|t=吳克群|zh|s=吴克群|poj=Ngô͘ Khek-kûn|p=Wú Kèqún|first=t}}; born 18 October 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, actor and director.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ecentral.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/12/22/music/12933682&sec=music |title=Taiwanese singer glad to meet fans |work=The Star Online |date=22 December 2005 |accessdate=22 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406115602/http://ecentral.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2005%2F12%2F22%2Fmusic%2F12933682&sec=music |archivedate= 6 April 2012 }}</ref><ref name="kkbox" />
==Early life==
Wu was born on 18 October 1979 in [[Kaohsiung]], Taiwan.<ref name="seed">{{cite web|url=http://www.seedmusic.com.tw/Singer/Profile.aspx?singerid=1|title=Seed Music Artists|publisher=SEED Music|accessdate=22 January 2011|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127115652/http://www.seedmusic.com.tw/Singer/Profile.aspx?singerid=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> When he was six, he moved to [[Argentina]], but came back to Taiwan to compete in [[MTV Mandarin|MTV Taiwan's]] "New Artist Fight Game".<ref name="kkbox">{{cite web|url=http://tw.kkbox.com/artist/NARv60lgOgpL.o90F02Ht08J-profile.html |script-title=zh:吳克羣: 個人檔案 |publisher=KKBox |language=Chinese |accessdate=23 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020203415/http://tw.kkbox.com/artist/NARv60lgOgpL.o90F02Ht08J-profile.html |archivedate=20 October 2010 }}</ref>
He attended the [[National Taiwan University of Arts]]<ref name="seed" /> majoring in theater.
==Career==
After competing in the "New Artist Fight Game" competition in 2000, he was subsequently signed to [[Virgin Music]].<ref name="kkbox" /> Within half a year,<ref name="udn">{{cite news|url=http://udn.com/NEWS/ENTERTAINMENT/ENT6/6065921.shtml|title=吳克羣曾25元捱一天 不愛拜金女|publisher=聯合報|author=褚姵君|date=31 December 2010|accessdate=23 January 2011}}</ref> Wu released his debut album ''Tomorrow, Alone'' (一個人的Tomorrow).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mandarintopten.info/2010/10/14/kenji-wu-new-album-love-me-hate-me/ |title=Kenji Wu new album Love Me Hate Me |publisher=MandarinTopTen.net |date=14 October 2010 |accessdate=22 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211021413/http://mandarintopten.info/2010/10/14/kenji-wu-new-album-love-me-hate-me/ |archivedate=11 February 2011 }}</ref> Despite the involvement of top producers, the album received lukewarm response and weak sales.<ref name="udn" /> However, this gave him opportunities to act in [[Taiwanese drama]] such as ''Peach Girl'' and ''Moonlight Forest''.<ref name="kkbox" /><ref name="udn" /> During his time acting, he continued to perform songs he wrote and composed at pubs.<ref name="udn" />
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.<ref name="kkbox" /> 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 [[impersonation]]s 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;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtvtop.net/top/html_top/top1/top1_200508.htm |title=RTHK Chinese chart for 2005, week 8 (中文龙虎榜 – 2005年第08周榜单) |accessdate=13 June 2006 |language=zh |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051228053744/http://www.mtvtop.net/top/html_top/top1/top1_200508.htm |archivedate=28 December 2005 }}</ref> however, the song did poorly in Singapore, debuting at 19th position on [[YES 933]]'s chart for the week of 9–15 January 2005,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtvtop.net/top/html_top/top7/top7_200502.htm |title=YES 933 chart for 2005, week 2 (醉心龙虎榜 – 2005年第02周榜单) |accessdate=13 June 2006 |language=zh |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114075909/http://www.mtvtop.net/top/html_top/top7/top7_200502.htm |archivedate=14 November 2006 }}</ref> 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),<ref name="seed" /> 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]],<ref name="kkbox" /> 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)<ref name="seed" /> 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),<ref name="seed" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seedmusic.com.tw/Singer/Music.aspx?singerid=1#|title= 音樂 > 吳克羣|publisher=Seed Music|accessdate=22 January 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{in lang|zh}} HITO Radio [http://www.hitoradio.com/charts/3c.php?ch_year=2010 ''Hit Fm Annual Top 100 Singles Chart''- 2010 (#1 to 50)] Retrieved 10 May 2011</ref>
==Discography==
{{Main|Kenji Wu discography}}
# ''A Lonely Tomorrow'' (一個人的Tomorrow) (2000)
# ''First Creative Album'' (吳克群) (2004)
# ''The Kenji Show'' (大頑家) (2005)
# ''General's Command'' (將軍令) (2006)
# ''Poems for You'' (為你寫詩) (2008)
# ''Love Me, Hate Me'' (愛我 恨我) (2010)
# ''Parasitism'' (寄生) (2010)
# ''How To Deal With Loneliness?'' (寂寞來了怎麼辦？) (2012)
# ''On The Way to the Stars'' (數星星的人) (2015)
# ''Humorous Life'' (人生超幽默) (2017)
# ''I Am Listening'' (你說 我聽著呢) (2020)
===Selected compositions===
* 2007 – "瘋了瘋了" (Going Mad) for [[Genie Chuo]] in ''[[Oxygenie of Happiness]]''
* 2008 – "女生" (Girl) for [[Hey Girl (group)|Hey Girl]] in ''Hey Girl Self-Title Albunm''
* 2010 – "錯的人" (Wrong Person) for [[Elva Hsiao]] in ''[[Miss Elva]]''
==Filmography==
===Television series===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! English title !! Original title !! Role !! class="unsortable"|Notes
|-
| rowspan="2"|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 (Taiwanese TV series)|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===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! English title !! Original title!! Role !! class="unsortable"|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  || ''[[708090 (film)|70 80 90]]''|| 708090之深圳戀歌 || Liu Mingzhe||
|-
| 2017 || ''[[Hanky Panky (2017 film)|Hanky Panky]]'' || 大釣哥|| Chang Shih-pang  ||
|-
| 2018 || ''Crazy Little Thing'' || 為你寫詩|| Chen Shijie  || Also as director<ref>{{cite web|script-title=zh:吳克群自導自演愛情喜劇片 《為你寫詩》廣州開機|url=https://www.nownews.com/news/20171223/2667716|website=NOWnews 今日新聞|accessdate=27 December 2017|language=zh-TW}}</ref>
|}
===Variety and reality show===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! English title !! Original title  !! class="unsortable"|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===
====As director====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Song title !! Artist
|-
| 2006  || "The Genius of Drama 戲劇天才" || rowspan=4|Himself
|-
| rowspan="2"|2008  || "Hold My Hand 牽牽牽手"
|-
|  "Love Hurts 愛太痛"
|-
| 2009  || "Closer Hearts 把心拉近"
|}
====Appearances====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Song title !! Artist
|-
| "Legend 神話" || rowspan=2|[[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" ||rowspan=3|[[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" ||rowspan=2|Cindy Chen
|-
| "Only If You Can Remember Me 只要你想起我"
|}
<ref>[https://movie.douban.com/celebrity/1313730/ Kenji Wu at douban.com]</ref>
<ref>[http://chinesemov.com/actors/Kenji%20Wu.html FKenji Wu at chinesemov.com]</ref>
==Awards and nominations==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Award !! Category !! Nominated work !! Result
|-
| 2006|| [[17th Golden Melody Awards]]|| [[Golden Melody Award for Best Male Vocalist Mandarin|Best Mandarin Male Singer]] || ''The Kenji Show''  || {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan=4|2007 || [[Hit FM (Taiwan)|HITO Radio Music Awards]]<ref>{{in lang|zh}} HITO Radio [http://www.hitoradio.com/news/45749 2007 HITO Radio Music Awards winners list] 4 February 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2011</ref> || Most Popular Singer-songwriter (popular vote) || {{n/a}} || {{won}}
|-
| [[Singapore Hit Awards 2007]] || Most Popular Male Artist || {{n/a}} || {{nom}}
|-
|  rowspan=2|[[18th Golden Melody Awards]] || Best Composer || "A General Order"  || {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Melody Award for Best Male Vocalist Mandarin|Best Mandarin Male Singer]] || ''A General Order''  || {{nom}}
|-
| 2015|| [[2015 MTV Europe Music Awards]]|| [[MTV Europe Music Award for Best Taiwanese Act|Best Taiwanese Act]] || {{n/a}} || {{nom}}
|-
| 2016|| [[The 4th V Chart Awards]]|| Best Singer-songwriter of the Year || {{n/a}} || {{won}}
|}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Kenji Wu}}
*{{IMDb name}}
*{{hkmdb name|35161}}
*{{facebook|iamkenjiwu|Kenji Wu}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Kenji}}
[[Category:1979 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Taiwanese male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Taiwanese singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Taiwanese male film actors]]
[[Category:Taiwanese male television actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Kaohsiung]]
[[Category:Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:National Taiwan University of Arts alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century Taiwanese male singers]]
[[Category:21st-century Taiwanese singers]]
[[Category:21st-century Taiwanese male actors]]
[[Category:Musicians from Kaohsiung]]
[[Category:Writers from Kaohsiung]]