Xu Weizhou

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Xu Weizhou (born 20 October 1994) known internationally as Timmy Xu, is a Chinese actor and singer-songwriter best known for playing the character Bai Luoyin in Addicted. He was the first artist to achieve top spots on both China's V chart and Mandarin chart in Billboard China within the same week. In addition, Xu was the first solo artist from mainland China to hold a concert in South Korea and to be officially invited as a guest to Billboard Music Award in 2017.

Video Xu Weizhou

Early and personal life

Since childhood, Xu has pursued various artistic endeavors including dancing, singing, music composition, and playing instruments, especially the guitar. He learned Latin dance for more than 10 years and won the gold award from Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). In high school, Xu formed two rock bands with some of his schoolmates namely: "EggAche" and a death metal rock band "PROME", in which he was the lead guitarist. He and his band "PROME" also won the Midi High School band competition in Shanghai. Moreover, he, together with his band organized and arranged a winter vacation music festival in Shanghai and was featured in the local newspaper. Xu graduated from the Affiliated Senior High School of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. In college, he went to National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing and graduated in May 2017.

Maps Xu Weizhou

Career

2015-2016: Career beginnings, Addicted and rising popularity

While still in college, Xu debuted in a short film called Gaming Madness as one of the leads in October 2015. He also participated in various photo shoots that led him to be discovered and scouted as one of the main leads for a web series Addicted that was broadcast in January 2016. He was also chosen to compose and sing the opening and closing theme songs of the mentioned web series. Later, the full episodes of the series were uploaded on YouTube which made the lead actors popular locally and internationally. Afterwards, Xu began to focus on his music career and on 1 May 2016, he released his first album entitled "Light" and started his Asian concert tours from June to August 2016.

Apart from music, Xu also participated in various fashion magazine photo shoots. Later, he raised his profile and earned numerous awards as "Best New Artist". He was also named as one of Top 20 Most Popular Celebrities on Weibo by Sina Weibo Data Center and earned the title of "New Trend Idol of the year" from Star Magazine. Moreover, his growing popularity has also resulted in first places on several polls and was invited as a guest to a sundry of radio shows like Billboard Radio China, TofuPOP Radio - BEC Tero Radio in Thailand, Yang Lan 8 p.m. Show, Hongdou Live Interview, FM 101.7 Music Kaleidoscope and NetEase Cloud Music (Xu Weizhou Cold Jokes) as well as web shows and livestreaming events.

In 8 December, he released his single "Fun" which he placed first on several charts. The official music video was released on 15 December. His growing popularity also earned him 37th place on 2016 Top 50 Most Internet & Business Celebrity Influencers in China by Data Win.

2017: Variety show debut and miscellaneous activities

In late January, Xu made his first official variety appearance on Intangible Her that was broadcast on Tencent Video. His successful variety show debut made him reach 5th place on Top 10 Most Popular Variety Stars on the first half of the year. Later in March, Xu sang the Chinese version of "The Heroes", theme song of a Canadian film Snowtime! by Simple Plan where he topped on Billboard China V chart and Mandarin chart within the same week for the second time. He also performed the song live together with the rock band on 4 March at Beijing. In addition, the Canadian Embassy and Children's Film Association granted him an ambassadorial award to "China-Canada Cultural Exchange" and "Children's Film Promotion" during the film's press conference.

On 1 April, Xu appeared as a guest to a television music show Global Chinese Music Chart currently airing on CCTV15 and performed his song "Fun". Later on, he was selected to sing "Screaming Night", theme song for 2017 iQiyi Screaming Night Concert where its music video was first released during the concert's press conference.

In May, he was officially appointed as the "Starlight" ambassador and was the first mainland artist to be invited to Billboard Music Award in Las Vegas. Afterwards, he played the main character for VOGUE film project called Seize the Moment, a short film which debuted during Cannes Film Festival.

After the success of his debut album last year, he released the 1st quarter of his second solo album entitled "The Time" on 10 August which sold more than 450,000 copies and reached the double platinum record status. The 2nd quarter was released online for free on 20 October; same day of his 23rd birthday while the 3rd quarter was released on 12 December. He was also chosen to sing the theme song for a British-Chinese action thriller film S.M.A.R.T. Chase entitled "Ruins of Time" written by a famous singer, Jay Chou on 23 August. His songs, "So what", "Leave Me Alone" and "Ruins of Time" ranked 1-3 respectively on most viewed music videos for the 38th and 39th week consecutively on YinYueTai China V Chart.

On 1 September, he launched his first photo book entitled "This is Timmy" published by Jingdong. Later, CCTV officially announced that Xu was one of the hundred singers to sing the "China" song for celebrating the 40th anniversary of China's reforms. He also attended the annual Anhui TV Drama Awards on 16 December.

Sina Weibo revealed the "2017 Popular Star" list and Xu got 10th place on Top 10 stars with highest reposting amount with 65.99 million reposts. His post in Sanya got 10th on Top 10 most popular posts with 6.69 million fan-interaction amount. Moreover, 15 Minutes for Craziness ranked 4th on Top 10 music topics with 380 million views. His music video "The Heroes", posted in Sina Music also got 4th place on Top 10 popular music with 0.6 million like/repost/comment.

2018-present: TV Drama debut

20th Century Fox announced that Xu was selected to sing the Chinese promotional song "Maze" produced by Harvey Mason Jr. for the American film Maze Runner: The Death Cure. He was invited to participate in Chinese Spring Festival Gala of three famous China TV stations; Dragon Television, Anhui Television and Beijing Television. On 31 January, he released "The Time - Final Quarter 15 Minutes for Fantasy". After his second album "The Time" was completely released online, he held the press conference for its physical album in Taiwan on 3 February.

In April, he joined the SuperdrySounds project, performed both in the launching global party in London, and the Strawberry Music Festival in Shanghai later that month. On April 16, Xu started filming for new TV Series My Girlfriend. Xu finished the filming of My Girlfriend on June 22.

In May, Xu made his TV variety show debut when he guest-starred in Give Me Five on Zhejiang TV for 2 episodes. On May 16, the digital version of The Time was officially released in Thailand, and it went instantly on top on Itunes. On May 26, Xu held the Bangkok concert of his second Asia Tour. On May 28, Tencent announced Xu as their new spokesperson for short video app Weishi.

In July, Xu joined Shake It Up, a dance variety show on Shanghai TV. On July 5, the physical album of The Time started presale on JD.com, and sold more than 13000 copies within one hour. On July 10, the Taiwan version of the physical album of The Time started presale and instantly went on top of the sales rank.

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Fashion

In 2016, Xu was invited as one of the guests to several fashion ceremonies held in China, including Madame Figaro French Excellence Awards, 4th Anniversary of OK! Magazine Awards, Damiani's Dinner Party, Versace 7 Bags for 7 Cities Exhibition, iFeng Fashion Choice Awards, PEACEBIRD Woman 2017 S/S Fashion Show, L'Officiel Fashion Night, BVLGARI x Vogue GEM DREAM Exhibition, Vogue's 11th Anniversary Ceremony, Sina Weibo Fan Carnival, Bazaar's Men of the Year, 13th Esquire Man at His Best Award Ceremony, Trendshealth Award Ceremony, ELLE Style Awards Ceremony and Shanghai Divine Michelangelo Exhibition. In July 2016, China Luxury, Beauty and Fashion Insights published the Top 100 Most Valuable Fashion Influencers based on Key Opinion Leader Index (KOLs) and he ranked 4th on weibo celebrities category. In addition, Timmy Xu Limited Edition Eyeglasses, launched by INMIX, become best-selling series with 4,672 pieces.

In 2017, Men's Uno China has unveiled "Men's Uno Young", a brand new magazine for China's post-90s generation which he was the very first cover of Men's Uno Young representing the young attitude and spirit of post '90s youths. Its photographs were also published in Men's Uno Taiwan limited edition. Later on, he was invited to Vogue's Condé Nast Century Exhibition, Hong Kong Kenzo Grand Opening, Shanghai Longines Global Champions Tour, Tiffany & Co Night Party, Fendi PEEKABOO Exhibition, VOGUE film premier, London Superdry Music party, Valentino I Love Spike, Mika Ninagawa's Exhibition, 14th Esquire Man at His Best Award Ceremony, Grazia 60th Anniversary Street Fashion Power Exhibition, L'Officiel Fashion Night, Men's Uno Young Anniversary Party and HARPER's BAZAAR 150th Anniversary Exhibition. In addition, he was officially invited by Givenchy as a guest to its F/W 2017 Men's Paris Fashion Week in France. On top of that, his digital fashion video became a hot trending topic during that time. It also broke the historical record in the social posts and views with more than 500 million readings. And on 8 March, he was also invited by Moncler Gamme Rouge and Louis Vuitton to F/W 2017 Women's Paris Fashion Week. In April, he was officially announced as an ambassador for the 14th anniversary of Men's Health and Italian luxury Brand Fendi in June. Later, Givenchy decided to opt him, a KOLs who is especially popular among millennials, for promoting Chinese Mother's Day Campaign. He was also reported as one of most famous faces in China's activewear Market and one of most influential fashion stars in China's luxury market by New York Digital Marketing Agency. Afterwards, INMIX, an Eyewear brand, released a set of timmy's exclusive emoticon from the privilege granted by Emoji®. Subsequently, he was invited to Louis Vuitton S/S 2018 Men's Paris Fashion Week on 22 June, Coach S/S 2018 Women's New York Fashion Week on 12 September and Givenchy S/S 2018 Women's Paris Fashion Week on 1 October. He was the first Chinese star to become the face of South Korean cosmetics brand Laneige in China. Moreover, Bomoda China Key Opinion Leader Index (KOLs) on the first half of the year 2017 reported that Xu got first place on Top 30 Most Influential Social Celebrities and fourth place on Top 10 Potential Celebrities in China's consumer marketplace. On 23 October, Xu together with Dunhill and China's Esquire released a special short fashion film called "Urban Symphony" shot in Hungary. A yearly report on jewelry market by L2's Digital IQ Index : Luxury China mentioned that Tiffany & Co got strong engagement on Weibo due to their online promotions featuring with Chinese celebrity Xu Weizhou. On 20 November, he was invited as one of special guests to attend the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show held in Shanghai and his look was listed in British GQ's 10 best-dressed men in the world that week. In December, Xu was announced to be the first mainland artist to have the collaboration project with the British international branded clothing Superdry. Their limited collection had sold out within 100 seconds at Tmall and 2 hours at the stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. His appearance on Men's Uno cover was listed 9th on top 10 Best Men Fashion Magazine Covers of The Year by famous fashion blog site "FashionModels".

In 2018, China's COACH officially appointed him as their first COACH MEN spokesman on 4 January. Later, Xu, as Fendi's new power brand ambassador, attended Fendi F/W 2018 Men's Milan Fashion Week. He also attended Alexander McQueen F/W 2018 Men's Paris Fashion Week as the first Chinese male artist officially invited by the brand. Later, he has been officially announced as the new style brand ambassador for Tiffany & Co. and global spokesperson for British brand, Superdry. On May 19, Xu attended the launch ceremony of Libert'aime by Forevermark as the first Light Icon of the brand. The limited Le Light x Xu Weizhou collection sold out quickly in the online presale. On June 24, Xu attended Dunhill 2019 S/S fashion show in Paris. Xu featured on the cover of the June/July issue of ELLEMEN Hong Kong, this is his third time on the cover of this magazine in 3 years.

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Philanthropy

In 2016, Xu was appointed as a national ambassador to some charities including "Against Domestic Violence", "Rio Run", "Animal Welfare Charities" by Cabbeen, "Lucky Cat Welfare Organizations", "Hope For Home For Children" project of China Charities Aid Foundation For Children, "Moon bear protecting" project of Animals Asia Foundation (AAF), "1,000 rabbits look up at the moon" project of China Social Welfare Foundation, "Adopt pets instead of purchasing" project of Beijing Non-profit Adoption organizations, "Charity Stars : Love can touch" project of Bazaar Magazine and "Door of charity" project of China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF). He is also the founder of the foundation for "Light of love for the blind" and "10.20 km run to the light for the blind". In addition, he also joined the campaign of anti-violence against women project of Kering Foundation.

In 2017, he continued his charitable efforts by participating in the "Wuxi Marathon" project of Men's Health Magazine, "amfAR", "World Book Day - Read to Lead" project of Xinhua News Agency, "Love the Earth" project of New Media Exhibition of Global Sustainable Development, "Youth Attitudes - One Hundred Thousand Young People" project of NetEase, "Child Welfare & Protection Week" project of China Ministry of Civil Affairs and UNICEF, "Release An Aquatic Animal to Protect Natural Resources" project of Alibaba Foundation, "Caring for People with A Spinal Cord Injury" project of WeiboFit, China Foundation for Disabled Person and Xinhua News Agency, "Make A Promise - Lockit Series" project of Louis Vuitton and UNICEF and "Cat & Dog Daily - Adopt pets" project of NetEase. Moreover, he has also played as ambassador roles in "Adopt A Green Plant for Green Earth" project of Campus Public Welfare Foundation, "Caring for Disabled Children" project of Beijing Foundation for Disabled Person, "Caring for Blind Children" project of Sina Micro-Philanthropy, "Boiling Point Public Welfare" project of Baidu and "I want to go to school" project of Music Radio - China National Radio (CNR) and China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF). Later in July, China Charities Aid Foundation for Children announced that Xu was appointed as a charity ambassador of "Hope For Home For Children" project for 2 years consecutively. On 20 October, Shanghai Fire Department appointed him as their official firefighter ambassador to promote the external activities and survices. In November, he was appointed as Ice and Snow ambassador for SINA's sport classroom. In addition, Sina Weibo revealed that Xu's charity activities become one of 10 most influential charitable topics of the year.

In 2018, In April, Xu joined Netease's charity program as the ambassador for a book donating project for the kids in rural areas. The Care for Moonbear campaign continued to be shown in 9 major cities in China.

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Filmography

Films

Television/web series

Variety shows

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Discography

Singles

Extended plays

2016

• Light

Album

2017-2018

• The Time

Music videos

Concerts

Endorsements

Campaign

2018

• Forevermark : Libert'aime x Timmy Xu "Le Light collection"
• Coach : Coach x Timmy Xu

Commercial Endorsement

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Xu Weizhou's personal Sina Weibo (in Chinese)
• Xu Weizhou's personal Instagram
• Xu Weizhou's official Youtube channel
• Xu Weizhou on IMDb

Source of article : Wikipedia