Introduction
Aarif Rahman (Chinese: 李治廷; pinyin: Lǐ Zhìtíng, born 26 February 1987), also known as Aarif Lee Chi-ting, is a Chinese–Canadian actor, singer and songwriter.
Early life
Born in Hong Kong, Aarif Rahman is of mixed Arab, Malay and Chinese descent. He grew up in Hong Kong and attended King George V School, where he discovered his penchant for music and started playing drums, guitar and the piano, as well as dabbling in song-writing.
After graduating with a physics degree from the Imperial College London, Rahman signed with East Asia Record Production company.
Career
Rahman first gained the interest of the Hong Kong music scene when he was exposed as the writer who penned all the lyrics in Janice Vidal's 2009 English album Morning. Following this, in 2009 he released his debut album Starting from Today, which won him the Best Newcomer award at the Metro Radio Music Awards.
Rahman then made his film debut in the movie Echoes of the Rainbow (2010), which won him the Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer and Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild for Best New Actor of the Year – Silver Award. The theme song which he sang also won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Original Song. He then starred as Bruce Lee in the dramatic biopic film Bruce Lee, My Brother (2010) and as a police investigator in the crime thriller Cold War (2012).
In 2013, Rahman starred in the Mainland romantic comedy One Night Surprise. The low-budget film unexpectedly became a commercial success, and received positive reviews. Rahman won the Best New Actor award at the 1st China International Film Festival London and Outstanding Performance award at the Chinese Film Media Awards for his performance. Rahman then starred in historical dramaThe Empress of China, where he played the role of Li Zhi. The 82-episode TV series was broadcast on Hunan Television from 21 December 2014 to 5 February 2015, and earned increased recognition for Rahman in the Mainland region. He won the Best Actor in the Ancient Drama category at the Huading Awards for his performance.
In 2016, Rahman starred alongside Korean actress Kim Ha-neul in the family film Making Family. He also featured in Guo Jingming's fantasy animated motion captureL.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties, and reprised his role in the sequel of Cold War.
In 2017, Rahman starred alongside Jackie Chan in the action comedy film Kung Fu Yoga. The same year, he starred in Tsui Hark's science fiction wuxia film The Thousand Faces of Dunjia.
In 2019, Rahman starred in the historical romance drama Princess Silver as the male lead.
Discography
Studio albums
| Release date | Title | Track listing | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 November 2009 | Starting from Today | Track listing
|
Amusic |
| 5 February 2010 | Starting from Today 2nd Version | Track listing
| |
| 16 August 2011 | Everything | Track listing
| |
| 14 March 2014 | Aarif's Love | Track listing
|
Singles
| Year | English title | Chinese title | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Never Know" | 回家路上 | N/A | with Janice Vidal |
| "Growing Love For You" | 为你钟情 | Frozen OST | with Janice Vidal | |
| 2011 | "I love Hong Kong" | N/A | I Love Hong Kong OST | with Mag Lam |
| 2012 | "Our Starting Line" | 我们的起跑线 | N/A | |
| "Happy Together" | N/A | N/A | with Angelababy | |
| 2013 | "One Night Surprise" | 一夜惊喜 | One Night Surprise OST | with Fan Bingbing |
| 2014 | "Eagles Fly in September" | 九月鹰飞 | South of the Clouds OST | with Isabelle Huang |
| 2015 | "GODAGODA" | N/A | N/A | Theme song of Sisters Over Flowers |
| "Fighting For Dreams" | 为梦而战 | N/A | Theme song of Yes！Coach | |
| 2016 | "Gentlemanly" | 绅士作风 | N/A | |
| 2017 | "Coming Home" | 回家路上 | N/A | |
| "Who is the Biggest" | 谁是老大 | The Thousand Faces of Dunjia OST | with Da Peng and Wu Bai | |
| "Director Xu Ke I Have A Problem" | 徐克导演我有问题 | |||
| 2019 | "Xiao Zhi" | 小至 | Princess Silver OST | with Yisa Yu |
| "If Snow" | 若雪 | |||
| "I Know You Know" | N/A | My True Friend OST |
Awards
Music
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Metro Radio Hits Awards | New Singer Award | Starting From Today | |
| Best Singer Songwriter Album Award | ||||
| Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation | Best Male Newcomer – Gold Award | |||
| 2010 | IFPI Music Sales Awards | Best Selling Male Newcomer | ||
| 10th Chinese Music Media Awards | Best Cantopop Male Newcomer | |||
| 29th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Original Film Song | Sui Yue Qing Kuang | ||
| Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards Presentation | Most Popular Winning Song Award | |||
| Mandarin Hit Songs | ||||
| 7th CNTV's Music King Hit Global Chinese Music Award | Film Golden Song Award | |||
| 2011 | 8th CNTV's Music King Hit Global Chinese Music Award | All-Rounded Artist Award (Hong Kong/Taiwan) | N/A | |
| Singer-Song Writer Award | N/A | |||
| Golden Song Award | "Ni Gu La" | |||
| 2013 | 9th CNTV's Music King Hit Global Chinese Music Award | All-Rounded Artist Award | N/A | |
| Singer-Song Writer Award | N/A | |||
| 1st China International Film Festival London | Best Original Film Song | "One Night Surprise" | ||
| 9+2 Music Pioneer Awards | Most Popular Duet Song | |||
| Best Film Singer | N/A | |||
| 2014 | 2nd V Chart Awards | Best Collaboration | "One Night Surprise" | |
| Top Social Singer | N/A | |||
| Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards Presentation | Hit Singer-Songwriter Award | N/A | ||
| Mandarin Hit Songs | "Shui Qi Wei" | |||
| 9+2 Music Pioneer Awards | Best Trendy Singer-Songwriter | N/A | ||
| Best Global Premiere Song | "Bu Ke Si Yi" | |||
| 2015 | V Chart Awards | Hot Trend Artist of the Year (Hong Kong/Taiwan) | N/A | |
| 19th China Music Awards | Best Singer-Songwriter | N/A | ||
| Best Golden Song (Hong Kong/Taiwan) | "Fly" | |||
| KU Music Asian Music Awards | Most Popular Crossover Artist | N/A |
Film and television
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 29th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best New Performer | Echoes of the Rainbow | Won |
| Best Original Film Song (with:Lowell Lo (composer),Alex Law(lyricist)) | Won | |||
| Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Award | Best Newcomer – Silver Award | Won | ||
| 31st Hundred Flowers Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | 11th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best New Performer | Nominated | |
| 5th Asian Film Awards | Best Newcomer | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | 1st China International Film Festival London | Best New Actor | One Night Surprise | Won |
| 2014 | 14th Chinese Film Media Awards | Outstanding Performance | Won | |
| 2015 | 17th Huading Awards | Best Actor – Ancient Drama | The Empress of China | Won |