Zhou Mi (Chinese name: 周覓, born (1986-04-19)April 19, 1986) is a Chinese singer active in South Korea and China signed under SM and co-managed with Baymon for his China-based activities. He debuted in 2008 as an exclusive member of the Super Junior's Chinese sub-group Super Junior-M and later participated in SM Entertainment's project group SM the Ballad. Aside from group activities, he also participates in various television variety shows, radio shows, and dramas. He released his first solo EP entitled Rewind in 2014. In 2016, SM established its own management group for his activities in China, Zhoumi Studio.
Early life
Zhou Mi was born in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on April 19, 1986, the only child of his family. He has been interested in music since childhood.[2]
Career
2002–2007: Pre-debut
In 2002, at age 16, Zhou Mi attended and won his first large-scale singing competition, MTV's Second Annual National Newcomer Singing Competition. After winning the national championship, he was approached for a record deal but turned it down to continue his studies. This happened multiple times up until 2006.[3]
He studied Broadcasting at Beijing Normal UniversityZhuhai Campus in Guangdong province.[citation needed]
In 2003, Zhou Mi won the title of Lively Star in the Wenquxing Star Ambassador Selection Competition. The contest earned him both a guest spot on Hunan TV's Happy Camp variety show and a spokesperson role for Wenquxing, an electronic dictionary maker.
At the Seventh Annual Shanghai Asian Music Festival Newcomer Singing Competition in 2004, Zhou Mi earned first place in the coastal region, as well as the National Newcomer Award.
Zhou Mi continued to participate in multiple singing competitions in 2005, even after moving from Beijing to Zhuhai, in southern Guangdong Province, for his studies. In 2005, he won four national championships and one regional championship, as well as a popularity contest at his university, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai. He also was invited to sing at a Wang Leehom fanmeeting.[4][better source needed]
Zhou Mi made a name for himself in the Chinese entertainment scene by participating in competitions.[5] In 2006, Zhou Mi joined CCTV's Challenging the Host, a televised national
competition for aspiring MCs from all over China. As a representative of Guangzhou, Zhou Mi and 79 other contestants attended an offscreen training camp, learning about broadcasting from professionals and CCTV mentors. Zhou Mi proceeded to the next round easily during the 80 to 40 challenge (Guangzhou vs. Haarbin, aired May 25, 2006), and again during the 40 to 16 challenge aired July 30, 2006. Before the final 16 could compete, Zhou Mi received an offer from SM Entertainment and decided to put his studies on hold in order to go to Korea in late 2006.[6][better source needed]
In 2007, Zhou Mi won the grand prize at the SM UCC Star Audition, although he didn't audition live. The auditions were conducted online from March 27 to early July 2007. His Korean friend, Kim Ki Hoon, signed him up to audition through the "Recommend a Friend" category, where he uploaded a video of Zhou Mi singing. he performed a song from Toy (토이) with the titled 내가 너의 곁에 잠시 살았다는걸 (That I was once by your side), and then he signed a contract with SM Entertainment and began his trainee career.[7]
Zhou Mi was appeared as MC the showcase of Zhang Liyin, and a few months later, he debuted in China as a member of Super Junior-M.[8]
Zhou Mi debuted as the main vocalist of Super Junior-M in 2008.[9][10]
They debuted in China at the 8th Annual Music Chart Awards, simultaneously with the release of their first music video, "U" on April 8, 2008. Their first studio album, Me, was released on April 23, 2008.[11]
Their album debuted in Korea's MIAK Monthly Charts as #10 [12] and reached #1 in China's Top in Music chart.[13]
For this album he wrote three songs: "Love Song", "A Man in Love", and "Marry U".[14]
Super Junior-M's first mini-album, Super Girl, was released on September 23, 2009.[15][16]
For this album he wrote two songs entitled "Confession" and "You and Me". The mini-album won many awards and even earned the group a nomination for "Best Vocal Group" at the 21st Golden Melody Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the Grammy Awards.[17][18][19]
2010–2012: Hosting, comeback with Super Junior-M, and acting debut
In 2010, alongside his group activities, Zhou Mi also hosted a Chinese show entitled Korean Impression. This is a mainland travel-based show that focuses on Korea's latest news and cultural history. Each episode covers several cultural topics unique to Korea, including things like recent fashion trends, Kpop idols, cuisine, and cultural attractions.[citation needed] Zhou Mi wrote three songs for Kangta's Chinese EP Breaka Shaka in 2010 - the lead single "Breaka Shaka", "Remember", and "Many Times".[20]
In February 2011, Zhou Mi played a supporting role in the Chinese drama Melody of Youth, which became his debut in that industry.[21][22]
He was also featured in the OST on the ending theme song "Youth Melody", and, along with other cast members, "Dandelion".[23][24] Super Junior-M's second EP Perfection was released on February 23, 2011. For this album he wrote the song "True Love".[25]
The album was one of the best-selling albums of 2011 in Taiwan.[26] He joined Super Junior-M with Henry Lau for the single "Santa U Are The One" taken from SMTown's eighth winter album, 2011 Winter SMTown – The Warmest Gift, which was released in December 2011.[27][28] Zhou Mi participated in the OST for Siwon and Donghae's Taiwanese drama series Skip Beat! on the track "Goodbye (不留紀念)". This song was released on December 11, 2011.[29]
In 2012, Zhou Mi was cast as the main role in the idol drama When Love Walked In alongside label-mate Victoria Song, and Calvin Chen of the group Fahrenheit.[30][31]
The drama premiered on August 27 on Anhui, Hubei, Shaanxi and Sichuan Satellite TV, and reached the number one spot in viewership ratings.[32][33]
2013–2014: Comeback group, SM The Ballad, and debut as soloist
Zhou Mi at press conference of Super Junior-M Breakdown in Bangkok.
Super Junior-M's second studio album, Break Down, was released on January 7, 2013, along with a single by the same name.[34][35] The album includes three songs written by Zhou Mi - "Go", "It's You" and "Tunnel".[36] The music for these songs were composed by fellow Super Junior-M member Henry Lau and his team Noize Bank. Their Korean-language version of "Break Down" was released on January 31. On the same day, they made their official debut in Korea on Mnet's M Countdown.[37][38]
Malaysian singer and composer Michael Wong contributed to this album by composing a song for Zhou Mi, called "Distant Embrace", with lyrics by Hong Kong singer and actress Crystal Cheung.[39][40] The lyrics of "Distant Embrace" are about the faint pain of a love.[41] On April 7, 2013, Zhou Mi released a travel scrapbook entitled Thai Perfect which documented his travel experience in Thailand.[42]
Two versions of the book were released on December 5, 2013, one written in traditional Chinese, the other in simplified Chinese.[43] In April 2013, Zhou Mi was cast in the movie Rhythm of Rain (聽見下雨的聲音).[44][45] He played a big boy who has a bright personality who is very sincere.[46][47] This movie was directed by lyricist Vincent Fang[48] and was released on October 4, 2013. Later in 2013, Zhou Mi was chosen to be a radio DJ on MBC's C-Radio Idol True Colour with Miss A members Jia and Fei.[49] The program on the new media platform showcases content produced by the network and targets the large number of 'hallyu' or 'Korean wave' fans in China.
The network produced one episode each week, and the show was released to Chinese viewers on a Chinese video site such as Youku and Tudou, without going through a Chinese broadcasting station.[50]
In February 2014, Zhou Mi became a new member of the ballad group SM The Ballad, initially formed in 2010. Zhou Mi participated in the group's second album, Breath, performing the Chinese version of "Blind".
Zhou Mi performed his song at the S.M. The Ballad Joint Recital on February 12.[51][52]
He also performed this song on Arirang's music program Simply K-Pop, MBC M's music program Show Champion, and SBS MTV's music program The Show.[53] In March 2014, Super Junior-M's third mini album, Swing, was released. The EP consists of six songs, which were released for digital download on March 21, 2014, in China and Taiwan by S.M. Entertainment. In this album, Zhou Mi contributed lyrics to their lead single, "Swing", and another song entitled "Fly High". The group released the album on Korean music sites, such as MelOn, genie, Naver music and more, on March 31, 2014, and promoted it on Korean music programs.[54] In 2014, Zhou Mi was chosen to host the Korean-Chinese Variety Show titled Strongest Group with his labelmate Victoria Song.[55] Zhou Mi then wrote the Chinese version of the track "Run" for another SM group, EXO's, second EP Overdose.[citation needed] On October 22, 2014, Zhou Mi became an MC for season 4 of the SBS MTV's music program The Show with Park Ji-yeon (T-ara) and Hongbin (VIXX).[56] His first solo EP Rewind was released on October 31, 2014.[57] This single featured members of each sub-group of EXO as rappers - the Chinese version featured EXO-M's rapper Tao, and the Korean version featured EXO-K's rapper Chanyeol.[58][59] All tracks on his debut album were written by Zhou Mi himself.
2015–2019: Variety show, acting role, and fanmeeting
Zhou Mi appeared as the Talk MC on the new season of fashion survival show
Fashion King - Secret Box, which premiered on April 25, 2015. This was a survival show starring top Korean and Chinese celebrities.[60]
In 2015, Zhou Mi was cast in the drama Best Couple alongside Lee Da-hae. This drama is set in the modern day Korean entertainment industry and is the first TV production project from China's e-commerce company Alibaba.[61] This drama aired in China in early 2016, and garnered more than 100 million views.[62][63][64][65] Zhou Mi also participated in Super Junior special album, Devil, was released to celebrate the group's 10th anniversary. He wrote lyrics for "Forever with You", which was sung by Super Junior-M.[66][67]
In early 2016, it was confirmed that Zhou Mi would continue to host the 5th season of SBS MTV The Show with new co-MC, GFriend's Yerin. He stepped down from his MC position on August 2 of that year, having hosted The Show for almost two years.[68][69]
Zhou Mi's second EP What's Your Number? was released on July 19, 2016.[70]
He wrote the Chinese lyrics for the lead single "What's Your Number?" and "Empty Room".[71][72]
On April 19, 2018, Zhou Mi released a digital single entitled 'I Don't Care'.
On the following day, he held a fan meeting in Beijing, China to celebrated his birthday with his fans. On December 26, 2018, Zhou Mi released a single entitled "The Lonely Flame", which was written and composed by himself. The music video was directed by fellow Super Junior member Shindong.[73]
On May 6, 2019, Zhou Mi held a fan meeting in Tokyo, Japan, and the Japanese version of "The Lonely Flame" was released on the same day. On November 23, 2019.[74] Zhou Mi participated in the music event dedicated to the 70th anniversary of China and sang "Sing a Folk Song for the Party".
2020–present: Comeback to music and collaboration
In 2020, Zhou Mi collaborated with two members of WayV, Kun and Xiaojun, on the single "I'll Be There", which was released on February 28, 2020. The track was written and composed by himself. "I'll Be There" was a tribute song for the frontline workers and those who were affected by COVID-19, especially in his hometown of Wuhan, China.[75][76][77] On June 22, 2020, Zhou Mi collaborated with fellow Super Junior-M member Ryeowook for a song entitled "Starry Night". The Chinese version of the track was written and composed by himself.[78][79][80]
On April 8, 2022, Zhou Mi signed an exclusive contract with Bymon Entertainment who agreed to cooperate with SM Entertainment to manage his activities in China.[81]
On June 1, 2023, Zhou Mi collaborated with fellow Super Junior-M member Eunhyuk to release a new single "Mañana (Our Drama)". The single was originally released in Korean and Chinese, the latter written by himself, and a Japanese version was released on July 24, 2023.[82][83][84]
On January 1, 2024, Zhou Mi released the single "And" from the Casting in the Corner project with Sin Ye-young. "And" aimed to reinterpret the retro R&B of the 90s.[85][86] On June 29, 2024, Zhou Mi collaborated with Zhang Liyin released a new single, "Don't Go Today", through Easy Entertainment, as a remake of the original by Ben and Im Se-jun. "Don't Go Today" was released in both Korean and Chinese.[87][88] On August 5, 2024, Super Junior-D&E collaborated with Siwon, Zhou Mi, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun to release a new single entitled "Promise". The lyrics were written by Zhou Mi in collaboration with Super Junior co-member Donghae.[89] On September 11, 2024, Zhou Mi featured WayV Hendery to release a new single entitled "Utopia".[90] "Utopia" is a pop genre song that combines bright, warm and grand sounds and rich vocals with positive energy, and the lyrics that capture the endless progress toward the utopia of one's dreams are impressive. The Chinese version of the track was written by himself.[91][92] On October 30, 2024, Zhou Mi collaborated with Chanyeol to released a new singled entitled "Goodbye Goodnight (GBGN)". This track was written by himself.[93] On November 13, 2024, it was announced that Zhou Mi would be releasing a new single "Ex Games" on November 21.[94]
Other ventures
Philanthropy
On December 14, 2018, The China Population Welfare Foundation (CPWF) held the ‘Healthy Together, Happy Together - Creating Happy Families Activity Theme Publicity Activity’ at the Beijing International Convention Centre. Zhou Mi was not only invited to attend the event as a volunteer representative, but was also honoured to receive the certificate of China Population Welfare Foundation's Ambassador of Love, which was presented by the foundation's leadership.[95]
On October 19, 2024, Zhou Mi was invited by Half Smile Foundation to promote the art shirts derived from the paintings of autistic children.[96]
^Yu, Myung-joon (December 6, 2011). SMTOWN, 4년 만에 겨울 앨범 발매…앨범 전곡 영어로 수록 [SMTOWN, Releases Winter Album After 4 Years…All the Songs on the Album are in English]. Kuki News (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
^Wong, Jerome (June 1, 2011). "Michael Wong's latest album". Yahoo! News Philippines. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
^SBS연예뉴스, SBS뉴스 (August 3, 2016). "조미, '그동안 더쇼 MC 너무 행복했어요'". SBS연예뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
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