6 female K-pop stars you didn’t know were Chinese
Victoria Song – f(x)
Song Qian, known professionally as Victoria, is a talented Chinese singer, dancer and actress who made her debut as a member of the South Korean girl group, f(x) in September 2009.
She was spotted by record label and talent agency SM Entertainment in 2007 after winning first place in a Beijing dance competition.
In 2010, Song was cast in the first season of the variety show Invincible Youth, featuring seven female K-pop idols from different groups – collectively known as G7 – who had to cope with the challenges of living outdoors.
She was chosen to play the leading role in the 2012 Chinese-Taiwanese television series, When Love Walked In, for which she won the Best New Actress award at the China TV Drama Awards.
Victoria released a photo-essay book in December 2012, called Victoria’s Hong Ma, which reflects on her travel experiences in Hong Kong and Macau.
She released her song, Roof on Fire, and the music video ahead of the launch of her album in March this year.
Amber Liu – f(x)
Taiwanese-American rapper and singer Amber Liu is currently active in the South Korean music scene.
She was born and raised in Los Angeles before moving to South Korea in 2009 to join SM Entertainment’s girl group f(x).
Liu wrote some of f(x)’s songs, such as Goodbye Summer, from the group’s second studio album, “Pink Tape”, and Summer Love, which was a track on their third studio album, “Red Light”.
In 2015, she launched as a solo artist and released her EP, Beautiful, which debuted at number two on Billboard’s World Albums chart.
Liu collaborated with Japanese DJ Ksuke in 2016 to release her first English song, Breathe Again.
This year, she released an English solo mixtape featuring six tracks.
Tzuyu – Twice
Chou Tzu-yu, also known as Tzuyu, is a Taiwanese singer who is a member of the JYP Entertainment girl group, Twice.
She was discovered in 2012 by talent scouts at the MUSE Performing Arts Workshop in Tainan.
In 2015, Tzuyu appeared on the South Korean reality show Sixteen, during which she was chosen to become one of the nine members of the new girl group Twice. Twice made their debut in October 2015 and have been active ever since.
Fei – Miss A
Chinese singer and actress Fei (Wang Feifei) was a member of the South Korean girl group, Miss A, from the group’s debut in 2010 until they disbanded in 2017.
Fei studied dance at a school in Guangzhou before moving to South Korea and attending Seoul Institute of the Arts, alongside Miss A member Jia.
Fei made her acting debut in 2011 with cameo appearances in the KBS drama Dream High, and again in 2012 for its sequel. She also appeared on Dancing with the Stars 3 and MasterChef Korea Celebrity in 2013, in which she won first and second place respectively.
It wasn’t until 2016 that Fei made her solo singing debut with the single, Fantasy. It was named one of the 20 best K-pop songs of 2016 by Billboard magazine critics.
Jia – Miss A
Another Chinese former member of the South Korean girl group, Miss A, is Meng Jia, better known to her fans as Jia. In 2007, while attending school in Beijing, Jia was recruited by JYP Entertainment. She later attended Seoul Institute of the Arts.
In 2010, Jia was one of the three original members of Miss A, alongside Fei and Suzy, before a fourth member, Min, joined the group. When her contract with JYP Entertainment expired in 2016, Jia left the group and signed a contract with Banana Culture Music to pursue her solo activities in China.
Since Miss A, Jia has released several singles, including Who’s That Girl in 2017, which ranked number 6 on Billboard China.
Kyulkyung – Pristin
Pristin’s Kyulkyung, or Zhou Jieqiong, is also a K-pop star who is Chinese and was born in Zhejiang, China. She is now based in South Korea, and is signed under Pledis Entertainment.
She attended the Affiliated Secondary School of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music before being discovered by Pledis Entertainment scouts in Shanghai and moving to South Korea. Kyulkyung then attended the School of Performing Arts Seoul and graduated with a performing arts degree in 2017.
She took part in the survival TV show, Produce 101, in 2016. As a top contestant, she became a member of the final line-up for the girl group Ideal of Idol or I.O.I. After a year, I.O.I. dismantled and Kyulkyung joined Pristin, which debuted in 2017. In March 2017, Pristin released their first mini album, “Hi! Pristin”.
In May 2018, Pristin announced that they would be debuting a sub-unit called Pristin V, consisting of Kyulkyung and four other members.
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The ‘K’ in K-pop stands for Korean, but K-pop stars are not all Korean. Here are some female K-pop stars that you probably didn’t know were Chinese and Taiwanese