XIN Liu

I. Introduction

Liu Yuxin (Chinese: 刘雨昕; born April 20, 1997), known in English as XIN Liu, is a Chinese singer, rapper and dancer born in Guizhou Province. She is best known for finishing first in the iQiyi survival reality program Youth with You 2, becoming the centre of girl group THE9. She was also a former member of girl group LadyBees, along with fellow THE9 member Kong Xueer. Liu made her solo debut with the extended play XIN on May 20, 2018. XIN first gained recognition as a contestant on Chinese television talent show Up Young! (向上吧！少年) in 2012. In 2016, she competed in the girl-group survival reality program Lady Bees (蜜蜂少女队), debuting as a member of the resulting girl-group, LadyBees. In 2020, XIN finished first on iQiyi survival reality program Youth with You 2, leading to her debut as a member and the centre of THE9. As a dancer, Liu started learning street dance when she was ten years old and focused on popping dance techniques. She has performed a variety of dance styles ranging from street dance styles to modern dance styles, including popping, locking, krump, urban, hip-hop, jazz, house, waacking, contemporary, swag in different dance competitions and shows. As a singer, some of her representative works include "Never", "Hot Party", "Beatholic", and "BiuBiu". Liu's fandom name is “UM”, which stands for umbrella; her fandom colour is “XIN blue”.

II. Career

III. Early career

In 2012, XIN participated in Hunan TV's youth empowerment variety show Up Young! (向上吧！少年), winning the title of “Most Positive Youth Award”. In 2013, XIN participated in Dragon TV (SDTV)’s dance competition variety show So You Think You Can Dance (舞林争霸) and won the pass tickets from all four mentors including Yang Liping, Jordan Chan, Jin Xing and Fang Jun. In the same year, she was the winner of Sexy Dancer Popping competition in Guiyang, Guizhou, the winner of Top Battle in Beijing Contemporary Music Academy competition,[18] as well as the runner-up in China Popping Session. In 2014, XIN won the runner-up in Dance in Qian City and released her very first original song "Never" (从不). In 2015, XIN released another original piece "18" and won the first place in the contemporary dance division of the 5th Annual Panlong Cup dance competition in the College of Art & Culture of Tianjin University of Sport.

IIII. 2016 – 2019: LadyBees

In March 2016, XIN participated in Zhejiang TV's Chinese girl group survival reality program Lady Bees (蜜蜂少女队). Prior to recording, she was a trainee for a 3-month closed-door training hosted by Xunfeng Culture. During the competition, was mentored by Nicky Wu as a member of "Shining Dragon Ball" throughout the show. On May 28, 2016, She made her debut as the center of LadyBees. On April 26, 2017, XIN released a single “Only Have Music Left” (穷得只剩音乐) with Evey Zhang and Teresa Tseng, a promotional song in movie Hot Rival (热血情敌). On February 25, 2018, the network movie Lady Bees starring Liu was released on iQiyi. On March 17, 2018, XIN participated in iQiyi's dance reality show Hot Blood Dance Crew (热血街舞团). On March 23, XIN released her first solo EDM song “Feel Good”. On May 20, Liu released her first EP entitled XIN, including “Hot Party”, “Feel Good”, “It’s You” (就是你), and “Don’t Want to Miss You” (不要想念你). Liu also participated in the preparation and post-production process of this album. In July 2019, she participated in iQiyi's rap competition The Rap of China Season 1 (中国有嘻哈第一季) and passed audience approved by mentor Kris Wu.

However, due to conflict of schedule, she stepped down from the competition after advancement. In August 2018, she made a guest appearance in the movie iPartment 5 (爱情公寓5). In November 2018, LadyBees released the single and mini-album entitled Queen Bee, in which XIN starred in minifilm "Girl Power Age".

On May 18, 2019, XIN participated in Youku's street dance competition Street Dance of China Season II (这！就是街舞第二季). She successfully advanced from Vanness Wu’s audition with her popping performance but was eliminated at the seven to smoke battle in the 5th episode as the 49th place of the season. On August 3, she was a special guest in the VERVE Street Dance Show hosted by professional street dancer Viho Yang. Due to different personal and professional plans, LadyBees was disbanded later in 2019.

IIIII. 2020–present: Youth With You 2, THE9

In 2020, XIN participated in iQiyi’s reality survival show Youth with You Season 2. She performed her original song “My Opening Speech” (我的开场白) as a self-introduction on February 22, 2020. On March 22, 2020, XIN performed "No Joke" (adapted from Show Lo’s song) in her Preliminary Ranking stage, and was ranked as A-class. On March 26, 2020, XIN performed "The Eve" from EXO. She was voted as the first place of the group with 184 votes, and the group was ranked third place among all dance groups. On April 5, XIN was voted as the center of the theme song “YES! OK!” with 26 votes from fellow trainees. On April 18, XIN performed "Miss You 3000" (想见你想见你想见你) from the band 831 during the second public performance and won the 1st Place Sweepstake (MVP) with 291 votes. The group was ranked as the 1st Place among all performances. The original singer 831 publicly invited XIN to perform together through Weibo. On May 7, XIN performed "Lion" during the third public performance and won the 1st Place Sweepstake (MVP) with 183 votes. The group was ranked as the first place among all performances. On May 30, XIN performed "YES! OK!", "A Little Bit", and "Promise" with the top 20 trainees on the finale night. XIN finished first in the competition with 17,359,242 votes and debuted as the center of the project girl group THE9. XIN was also awarded the title International Most Popular Trainee at the finale. On June 1, 2020, XIN released the single “Beatholic”, a song she assisted with writing and producing. This is her 1st individual music production after debuting as the center of THE9. “Beatholic” was prepared in 2019 prior to XIN's audition for Youth with You 2. Japanese music producer Hiroshi Kawaguchi and photographer Mika Ninagawa were invited and assisted with the music and MV production in Japan. On June 5, 2020, “Beatholic” MV was released, featuring Japanese top street dance group KING OF SWAG.

On August 10, THE9 released their first EP “Sphinx X”. On September 11, XIN attended and performed at the Make Up For Ever new product release event as its brand ambassador.

On September 20, XIN attended the Christian Dior fashion event, DESIGNER OF DREAMS, performing “Hot party” and “Don’t Want to Miss You” (不要想念你) at its private live concert. On October 3, XIN performed <This is X> as a special guest at the season finale of Street Dance of China Season III (这！就是街舞第三季). In the same month, she participated in a podcast documentary, The Nth Years of Intangible Cultural Heritage (非遗第N年), organized by China Central Radio and TV station. As a storyteller, XIN narrated intangible cultural heritage elements from Guizhou province of China. From September 13 to October 26, XIN competed at the JiangsuTV’s Masked Dancing King (蒙面舞王). She was crowned as the Challenger of the second round. On the season’s finale, XIN battled in 8v8 routine dance, “Sanchakou” duet dance (a dance incorporating both Peking Opera and popping elements), and an urban dance “Try”. XIN won the Best Battle award of the season.

In December 2020, XIN's fashion reality show FOURTRY 2 (潮流合伙人2) was aired. On December 19, she attended the annual Sohu Fashion Award and received the “Most Popular Celebrity” award. On December 25, THE9 released its first album “MatriX” (虚实X境), featuring XIN's original song “Biu Biu”. On the same day, XIN was selected “Top Ten People of the Year” by Southern Metropolis Entertainment (南都娱乐). On December 28, XIN was selected as "Most Popular Female Celebrity" by iFeng (凤凰网). On December 31, she delivered her first "BiuBiu" performance on JiangsuTV 2021 New Year's Eve Concert. On January 5, 2021, XIN was featured on iFeng Entertainment’s End of the Year Special Campaign We Still Have Faith - Role Model of the Year (我们还有信仰 – 年度榜样). She was recognized for her tagline “I don’t forbid any tags” (我不忌讳任何标签). On February 9, XIN performed at the ShandongTV Spring Festival Gala with her solo “Hot Party” and “BiuBiu”. On February 10, XIN was a special guest for Liu Qian's magic show on ZhejiangTV Spring Festival Comedy Gala with her teammates.

On February 11, XIN performed “Youth on the Run” (奔跑的青春) at CCTV New Year's Gala. On the same day, Kuaishou 2021 Orange vs White Talent Show was aired; XIN performed "Miss You 3000" (想见你想见你想见你) and "BiuBiu". On February 12, XIN collaborated with singer Mao Amin on HunanTV Global Overseas Chinese Spring Festival, performing “BiuBiu” and “ Smiling at the Sight of You” (一见你就笑). On March 26 and 27, THE9 hosted their first online concert X-CITY (虚实之城), an online live-stream concert utilizing extended reality technology (a combination of virtual, augmented and mixed reality).

III. Philanthropy

On September 5, 2016, XIN participated in “Music Radio ‘I Want To Go To School’ 1200 Education Aid in Action” charity event and fundraiser to support left-behind children in need. On September 6, 2016, she attended the “Lu Chen Foundation – Music Loves to Smile, Hand in Hand for Reunion” charity event. On October 29, 2016, XIN performed in a roadshow organized by “Music Radio ‘I Want To Go To School’ 1200 Education Aid in Action” in Shanghai and sold autographed souvenirs during charity sales. In September 2017, XIN served as the Charity Ambassador for the “FACE Fashion Association Charity Event” and visited children with autism spectrum disorder in Shanghai Pudong Special Education School. In September 2018, XIN participated in the “Music Loves to Smile in School” charity event organized by Shanghai Hai Kang Bei Foundation to support children with autism spectrum disorder.

In September 2018, XIN participated in the “Daliang Mountain Charity Event” organized by FACE Charity Foundation and Cedar Charity. On January 31, 2019, XIN participated in the “Charity Sale Celebrity Referrer” hosted by Xiantou Commonweal, selling personal items and donating all proceeds to designated charity project “Education Aid for Tibet”, and contributing to the construction of the Hope Primary School located in Tibet, China. On May 25, 2020, XIN donated 10,000 CNY to the Aixiaoya Foundation Project of China Social Welfare Foundation, contributing to the promotion of feminine care and reproductive health education for girls in rural areas. On September 9, 2020, XIN served as the Goodwill Ambassador of Renren Charity and participated in the “Good School” project organized by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. On January 18, 2021, XIN was invited by Southern Weekly and participated in the creation of Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation (BCAF). The purpose of this foundation was to discover innovative culture and to motivate artistic philanthropic arts. Through "Renewal of Spring" (万象回春) new year stationary boxes, proceeds from this sale contributed to the development of BCAF Emerging Cultural Journalism Scholarships for young talents, further supporting the development of culture and arts.