Chen

I. Introduction

Chen is a South Korean singer and songwriter.

He is a member of the boy group EXO and its sub-unit EXO-CBX.

Apart from his group's activities, Chen has also recorded songs for various dramas most notably "Best Luck" for It's Okay, That's Love (2014) and ''Everytime'' for Descendants of The Sun (2016).

II. Early Life and Career Beginnings

Chen was born on September 21, 1992, in Daejeon.

He became a trainee at SM Entertainment through the company's Casting System in 2011 at the age of 19. On December 29, 2011, he was formally introduced as the fourth member of EXO.
In 2014, Chen joined the ballad group SM The Ballad , initially formed by SM Entertainment in 2010. On the group's second album Breath, he sang the Chinese version of the lead single "Breath" with Zhang Liyin.

He also sang a duet with F(x)'s Krystal titled "When I Was... When U Were...", and "A Day Without You" with SHINee's Jonghyun.

Chen performed his duets with Krystal and Jonghyun live at the SM the Ballad Joint Recital on February 12, 2014.

In July 2014, Chen released his first solo song since debut titled "The Best Luck" as an original soundtrack for the SBS drama It's Okay, That's Love which stars his fellow Exo member D.O.

"The Best Luck" was awarded the "Best OST by a Male Artist" and "Best OST Song" at the 5th So-Loved Awards and the 16th Seoul International Youth Film Festival respectively. Chen was also invited as a special performer at the 3rd APAN Star Awards on November 11, 2014, where he performed the track live.

III. Solo Activities and EXO-CBX

In June 2015, Chen co-wrote the lyrics for "Promise," a song from the reissued edition of Exo's second studio album Exodus alongside Chanyeol and Lay.

In August 2015, he made his musical theatre debut playing the role of Benny in the SM C&C production In The Heights.

He also participated in and became the runner-up in the eleventh round of the music television show King Of Mask Singer under the alias "Legendary Guitar Man''.

In January 2016, Chen performed John Lennon's Imagine with world-renowned pianist Steve Barakatt at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts as part of UNICEF's Imagine Project.

In February, Chen and South Korean singer Punch released a duet titled "Everytime" as a soundtrack for the KBS drama Descendats of The Sun.

In April, Chen and South Korean rapper Heize released "Lil' Something" as the ninth weekly single of SM Station.

In August 2016, Chen collaborated with fellow Exo members Baekhyun and Xiumin on an original soundtrack titled "For You" for the SBS drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo.

In October, he collaborated with DJ Alesso on another song for the SM Station project titled "Years".

Later in October, together with Baekhyun and Xiumin, Chen became a member of Exo's first sub unit EXO-CBX.

In January 2017, Chen collaborated with Dynamic Duo in a song titled "Nosedive", becoming the first artist to be featured in the group's collaboration project "Mixxxture".

In February, he released an original soundtrack titled "I'm Not Okay" for the MBC drama Missing 9 in which his fellow Exo member Chanyeol played a supporting role.
In March, Chen was accepted into the advertisement media MBA program at Hanyang Cyber University.

In July, he was revealed to have co-written the lyrics for the tracks "Touch It" and "Ko Ko Bop" from Exo's fourth studio album, The War.

In November, Chen collaborated with South Korean singer 10cm on a song titled "Bye Babe" for the second season of SM Entertainment's station project.In December, Chen wrote the lyrics for "Lights Out" from Exo's EP Universe, which he performed alongside fellow members Suho, Baekhyun, and D.O.

On October 16, 2018, Chen released an original soundtrack titled "Cherry Blossom Love Song" for the drama 100 Days My Prince in which fellow Exo member D.O. played the lead role.

He and Chanyeol also participated in writing lyrics for "Love Shot", the title track from the reissued edition of Exo's fifth studio album Don't Mess Up My Tempo.

IV. Solo Debut, Marriage and Military Service

On February 7, 2019, Chen released an original soundtrack titled "Make It Count" for the drama Touch Your Heart.

On March 8, SM Entertainment confirmed that Chen was preparing for his first solo album, which was set to be released on 1 April, 2019 named April and a Flower with the title track Beautiful Goodbye.

He also participated in writing the lyrics for one of the songs, "Flower''.

In May, Chen collaborated with South Korean singer Onestar for a single titled "May We Bye".

In July, he was featured on Ailee's song "Love" from her album Butterfly.

On October 1, Chen released his second mini-album Dear My Dear with the title track Shall We.

He participated in writing the lyrics for "My Dear", one of the songs on the album.

On January 13, 2020 Chen announced his upcoming marriage to a non-celebrity, with a private ceremony attended by both their families. It was also announced that Chen's fiancée was pregnant and their first child was born on April 29.

On January 23, 2020, Chen and Dynamic Duo released another collaboration song titled "You".

In September, he released an original soundtrack titled "Your Moonlight" for the drama Do You Like Brahms?

On October 16, Chen released a digital single titled "Hello" before announcing his enlistment as an active duty soldier on October 26.

V. Chen Facts

– Education: Hanyang Cyber University (Advertisement Media MBA)
– Personality: Kind, gentle, considerate, troll, prankster, funny, hyper, stubborn, polite, cheerful
– Habit: He sticks out his tongue whenever he laughs.
– The thing he is best at is singing high-notes.
– He has a powerful voice.
– His father is a main vocalist as well.
– He joined SM Entertainment in 2011 after being scouted out by an agent.
– Before joining SM Entertainment, he was auditioning for a music conservatory.
– If he weren’t an EXO member, he would be a vocal trainer.
– Before debuting, his parents were against him becoming a singer, but when they learned that it was SM Entertainment who offered him the opportunity, they became supportive.
– Chen has a humorous and very playful personality.
– He likes to joke around and prank his fellow members. He is considered the troll of the group, always messing with the other members.
– Even though he seems quiet in some interviews, he’s actually very hyper.
– A fan called him “Dancing Machine” at an event, causing the other EXO members to roar with laughter. The nickname has stuck ever since.
– He says that later on, he’ll master dancing, but for now, he’ll work on perfecting his singing.
– He was the last member to join EXO-M.
– He is the friendliest member at fansign events. He is very conversational, and treats fans, especially noona fans, very well. He laughs at all of his fan’s jokes, no matter if they’re bad.
– At an airport, a fan accidentally dropped her phone after someone bumped into her. Chen told all of the fans to be careful and watch their steps. He went over to pick up the phone and return it to the fan.
– He wasn’t into playing video games, but after living with the members of EXO, he finds himself playing them more and more.
– EXO members say that Chen always loses when they play games together.
– He speaks basic English.
– His hobbies are singing and playing the piano.
– His favorite type of music is R&B.
– His favorite cartoons: Donald Duck and Garfield
– His favorite color is pink.
– His favorite possessions: MP3 Player and Notebook.
– His favorite foods: Lamb Kebab, Chinese food, hotpot, steamed buns, fried cakes, fried bread twists, anything cooked at the Korean dorms. But he says that most of all, he likes his parent’s cooking the best (he misses it).
– He’s forgetful, so he’ll have to write things down (hence why his notebook is one of his favorite possessions).
– He says that he’s stubborn and likes to get what he wants.
– He’s very close with Xiumin.
– He is close to Super Junior’s Kyuhyun.
– He hopes to collaborate with Super Junior someday.
– He likes listening to Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5.
– According to Sehun, he is the least funny member, because he loves spend time by himself. (Knowing Bros ep 85)
– According to Baekhyun, Chen can comfortably sing “Tears” by So Chan Hwee. (Knowing Bros ep 85)
– Chen was in the Korean production of the musical “In the Heights.” He played the character Benny along with a bunch of other idols/solo performers.
– Chen participated in writing the lyrics for a few of EXO songs such as ‘Lights Out’, ‘She’s Dreaming’, and ‘Ko Ko Bop’ (co-credited).
– Chen sang the OST ‘When Cherry Blossoms Fade’ that is for 100 Days My Prince.
– Chen made his solo debut with “Beautiful Goodbye”.
– On January 13, 2020, SM Ent. confirmed he is getting married to his pregnant non-celebrity girlfriend.
– On April 29, 2020, he and his now-wife welcomed their first child together, a baby girl in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.

VI. Discography

Mini Albums

Digital Singles

Collaborations

Features

OST's

VII. Filmography

Web Dramas

Variety Shows

Theater

VIII. CHEN MVS