Joker Xue

Joker Xue (simplified Chinese: 薛之谦; traditional Chinese: 薛之謙; pinyin: Xuē Zhīqiān, born 17 July 1983) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and record producer.

Xue is known for his hit songs and stage charisma with his signature musical style. Since his 2006 debut, Xue has produced a string of great hits detailing love's triumphs and woes. His musical style melds the classic pop pairing of piano and strings with folk-tinged acoustic guitar and sultry R&B beats. His next several albums explored a variety of genres and concepts, which received wide critical acclaims and secured his status as a leading singer of his generation. He is among the most-streamed Mandopop artists on Spotify. Xue has also found success on many high-profile variety shows, and is recognized as a popular TV personality for his sense of humor.

Xue has seen his fair share of ups and downs in his life. He was born and grew up in Shanghai, China. When he was four years old, his mother died of heart disease. He studied painting in his youth, then Hotel Management at Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland, before dropping out to pursue a music career. Xue first came to prominence in 2005, when his outstanding performance at the TV talent competition My Show gained him widespread popularity and earned him a seven-year contract with Shangteng Entertainment. His first few releases were a hit on the charts, but his career went downhill after the record company ran into financial difficulties. Not one to sit by the sidelines, Xue decided to open a hot pot business in a bid to fund his singing ambitions. He also ventured into the fashion world with one label under his belt and dabbled in acting and hosting. His business took off and he used the money he made to fund his career in music.

In 2006, Xue released his self-titled debut album “薛之谦” Xue Zhiqian, and was awarded the Most Popular New Artiste at the 6th Global Chinese Music Awards. The album was a great success and brought about a few major hits, such as “认真的雪” Serious Snow, “黄色枫叶” Yellow Maple and so on, which made him an emerging star in the Chinese music industry.

In 2007, Xue recorded his second album “你过得好吗” How Are You, and was nominated for seven categories at the Beijing Pop Music Awards, which established his reputation as a promising singer-songwriter in his early career.

In 2008, Xue released his third album “深深爱过你” Loved You Deeply. After listening to the song “传说” Legend in this album, Shinji Tanimura 谷村新司 was very impressed by Xue's outstanding composition, and invited him to the Asia Music Festival held in Osaka, Japan. On 25 July, Xue was honored as a torchbearer for the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay.

In 2009, Xue released a compilation album “未完成的歌” Uncompleted Songs, which lists selected tracks from several of his albums, along with three new songs.

In 2012, his long-awaited fifth album “几个薛之谦” Several Of Xue Zhiqian was released. It marked the end of his seven-year contract with “上腾娱乐” Shangteng Entertainment, which went out of business soon after he left.

In 2013, Xue released his sixth album “意外” An Unexpected Journey, under the record company Ocean Butterflies. This album can be seen as Xue's second milestone not only because he finally broke free of Shangteng Entertainment, but it also gained widespread positive reaction from both critics and supporters of his music. The most popular songs from this album are “丑八怪” Ugly and “你还要我怎样” What Else Do You Want Me To Do.

In 2016, Xue produced his seventh album “初学者” Beginner, which became another commercial and musical success. Since then his music has gained wide recognition throughout Chinese-speaking regions. As the lead single of this album, “演员” Actor (Official Music Video) has received over 150 million views on YouTube.

In 2017, Xue released his eighth album “渡” The Crossing, which was well-received by critics, so that Xue secured his established status as a leading singer of his generation. Songs favored by critics from this album include “高尚” Noble and “动物世界” Animal World. In the same year, Xue held his concert tour “我好像在哪儿见过你” I Think I've Seen You Somewhere.

In 2018, Xue released his ninth album “摩天大楼” Skyscraper, and continued his string of success. In this album, songs like “摩天大楼” Skyscraper and “肆无忌惮” Reckless incorporates different musical elements, while “最好” The Best features a more balladic composition. In the same year, he started his “摩天大楼” Skyscraper World Tour. He was the first singer from mainland China to headline the Wembley Arena in London, Sydney Super Dome and several other landmark venues around the world.

In 2012, Xue established his own hot pot restaurant "Shang Shangqian Hotpot". As of 2016, the hot pot restaurant has expanded to five stores.  While operating a hot pot shop, he squeezed out 500,000 yuan from the hot pot shop to create an independent brand to open a mid-range women's clothing store on Taobao. Because of the good online sales, the women's clothing store turned to open a physical store.

In 2012, Xue Zhiqian and Gao Leixin got married, and the two divorced in September 2015.

In 2015, Xue established a new clothes brand “Dangerous People”, which is for men’s wear and sells on Taobao, which mainly focus on Dark fashion, and the price is range from 300 to 800rmb.

In 2017,September 7,Xue Zhiqian and Gao Leixin announced their remarried on Weibo.

In 2017, September14, Li Yutong, Xue’s ex girlfriend and also his partner, disclosed that Xue’s deceit public and made her pay Gao Leixin a 10 million breakup fee. However, Xue denies her statements.  

In 2018,September 6,the children of Xue Zhiqian and Gao Leixin were born. The child's nickname was "Little Ice Cream"

When Joker Xue was 4 years old, his mother died of rheumatic heart disease. Xue was brought up by his father and grandma. When he graduated from high school, his father helped Xue to go to Switzerland to study Hospitality. Therefore, his father sold the house. He used the 600,000 yuan from the sale to send him to study in Switzerland and study hotel management. Xue, who came home on holiday, was spotted by the scouts of the brokerage company at the entrance of the mall. They mobilized him to stay as an artist and promised to sign a contract and produce a record. But after Xue decided to suspend his studies in Switzerland, the brokerage company asked him to pay 300,000 packaging fees. Xue was discouraged so he met the live-action version of "I am a fan". The crew was recruiting actors. He was lucky to get one of the roles. Unfortunately, due to copyright issues, the film was not successfully started.

In 2007, Joker Xue, as a representative of popular music, went to Russia with other artists to participate in the China Cultural Festival key project "Friendship Tour along the Volga River" jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation Cultural Film Agency.

On January 20, 2008, Joker Xue presented the "Wings of Happiness" charity evening; then, he was elected torchbearer and passed the torch in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and passed the torch. In March, a new book release was held in Shanghai. Not only donating part of the manuscript fee, he also took out 10 photos for auction. The proceeds were donated to the snow disaster-stricken area through the Shanghai Red Cross to support the reconstruction.

In April 2010, he attended the charity evening "Drought Relief and Disaster Relief We Are in Action" without paying, and at the same time he paid for the trip and expenses by himself.

In September 16, 2011, he presented for the ending concert of Mengniu's "Ecological Action to Help China".

In April 2012, he made a premiere ticket sale for the movie "Children of the Stars".In July, Xue helped a grandmother who collect trash to earn money. He accompanied her for an hour and helped the grandmother holding three big plastic bags, and lead her to go home. After that, he sent the location on Weibo to call on everyone to help the elderly together.

In March 2016, Xue participated in the launch of the "Beauty Skin Sunshine Program", advocated warm-hearted support for public welfare, and cared for left-behind children.

In July 2016, Joker Xue joined Han Hong as a member of "Gan Gan" to launch "Han Hong Caring, Aid of 100 People" For large-scale charity activities, he not only silently donated funds to this charity event, but also appeared at the forefront at the invitation of Han Hong. In August 13, he was hired as the chief of the "Love Flying Village Education Project" Dream officer, and participate in the tenth "Love Flying · Rural Education Project" rural teacher training public welfare activities.

“With more than a dozen programs in hand, in addition to long Weibo, an ordinary Weibo has hundreds of thousands of likes, but it also proves that in the eyes of more people, he is still a wise comedian and responsible . As long as he has watched the show on him, he will find that once there is a chance for him to sing, no matter what it is, he will not let go. Anyone who has seen Joker Xue knows that he has a naturally generated sense of humor, which may be destined to become an outstanding squad player” – by Sohu

Albums

MV

Singles