Chenle of NCT: the Chinese child star who moved to South Korea to get into K-pop
- Chenle was a talented youngster who appeared on Chinese TV and sang with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
- He moved to South Korea in 2016, signed with SM Entertainment and debuted with NCT Dream
The K-pop industry is now so huge that many of the world’s biggest stars want a piece of the action.
Whether it’s the likes of Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran or Diplo collaborating with K-pop idols, or a famous Chinese child star moving to South Korea to find greater opportunities, connecting with the K-pop world can take an artist’s career to a new level.
Read on for a look at his life so far.
His early life
Zhong Chen-le was born in Shanghai in November 2001. A young Chenle learned the piano, took dance classes, studied vocals and attended the Beijing Contemporary Music School, establishing himself as a musical prodigy.
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While still a child, Chenle took part in various music festivals, competitions and even Chinese television shows to showcase his singing talents.
At just nine years old, he was invited to sing at a holiday concert at the Golden Hall of Vienna, performing Memory from Cats, accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber standard would become a signature song for Chenle, who performed it on several different television programmes and national variety shows on Chinese television, including the popular talk show Day Day Up in 2011.
Chenle went on to release three albums, appear on China’s Got Talent, record songs for various TV shows and movies, make acting cameos in movies and on television, and host his own concert at the Shanghai Concert Hall.
Chenle’s hard work as a child was not for nothing: after just a few months of training with SM, Chenle made his debut on the K-pop scene in August 2016 as a member of NCT Dream.
His role in NCT Dream
NCT Dream are a subgroup of SM Entertainment’s ambitious NCT boy band project that has an unlimited number of members and splits them into various units. NCT Dream was the third group in the NCT universe, originally only consisting of teenagers.
Chenle made his K-pop debut on NCT Dream’s first single Chewing Gum, alongside members Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Jisung and Renjun. Renjung is also from China.
Chenle is a vocalist in NCT and has been able to show his versatility as a singer with NCT Dream’s bubblegum pop tracks such as My First and Last, while also showcasing a more mature musical side with songs like the darker, hip-hop focused Ridin or the holiday ballads Joy and Candle Light.
His image
As a child star, Chenle began carving out a role as a Chinese diplomat. He represented his country as an ambassador for the World Organisation of Child Ambassadors of Peace and performed with other children around the world.
In an effort to connect with his favourite NBA player, Stephen Curry, Chenle filmed a fun video with NCT members Johnny and Mark to catch the athlete’s attention. While Chenle’s English-speaking bandmates tried to teach the young star some slang to get noticed by Curry, the athlete quickly reached out and invited Chenle to a game with his team, the Golden State Warriors, on Twitter.
Chenle’s bright demeanour is reflected in his nickname “Dolphin”, given for his high-pitched laughs and screams.
In his own words
Since his early brushes with superstardom, Chenle has experienced a lot as both a musician and person. But he is aware of how far he still has to go.
“I think that if you feel like you’re all grown up, that’s actually because you’re still young,” he said during a 2020 interview with Elle Korea magazine. “When I’m able to acknowledge my own shortcomings, that’s when I feel like I’ve grown … there are times when no one else notices it, but I personally feel that I’m lacking. That’s when I focus on practising the most.”
