Henry Huo (; born 18 September 1990) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and actor.
He gained fame by placing in the top three in singing competition Asian Wave ãÂÂ声å¨äºÂæ´²ã He became popular nationwide by winning the first season of Sing My Song (ä¸Âå½好æÂÂæ² 第ä¸Âå£), a competition for songwriters to sing their own compositions. His original 'Rolled-up Pearl Curtain' (Juán Zhà « Lián) drew praise from both judges and audience alike. The song was awarded Song of the Year. 13 days after his win, Henry was asked to perform in the CCTV Chinese New Year Eve Gala, which was broadcast worldwide, thus cementing his position as China's newest composing prodigy. Meanwhile, Henry claimed the main prize in the Tianjin Satellite Channel Drama Contest Season 1 (ãÂÂå½è²天é¦ÂãÂÂ第ä¸Âå£) by playing a dan (ç·æ¦) in the Peking Opera. He was awarded the title '2014 Drama King'.
Henry was born and raised in Shanghai, China. He also lived in Guangzhou and Shenyang for a period of time. His father, Feng Huo, is from Shenyang and his mother, Xiaoping Zhong is from Shanghai. Both were famous singers from whom he inherited his musical talent. His first language is Mandarin, but he also speaks the Shanghai dialect and English fluently. He sings in Mandarin, English, and Japanese.
Henry's mother quit her job to raise him. She was his first music teacher and took care of Henry throughout childhood. Henry expressed the deep bond between him and his mother in his introduction on Sing My Song. Mrs Huo loved the songs of Michael Jackson and Teresa Teng so much that Henry grew to be influenced by their music. He was also influenced by Cape No. 7 of Kousuke Atari and finally developed his own singing style. Henry is known for his crystal clear healing voice and vocal technique, similar to that of Hong Kong singer Anita Mui.
Henry started to learn piano at the age of 10 years and soon showed his affinity for music. He won the Individual Vocal Group Silver Award at the Shanghai Student Art Contest in 2004. In 2005, he placed third in the Middle School Group at the Shanghai 10th Youth Piano Contest.
In 2010, Henry was recommended by his college to participate in the Shanghai University "Zhiyin Cup" Piano Contest, where he won the Gold Award.
In 2011, Henry performed La campanella on piano for the University's New Year concert. The show was a huge success and made Henry popular on campus for his musical talent. In the same year, Henry was approached by the owner of Universal Music Group during a singing performance. Although he was soon signed by Universal Music Group, Henry stayed in SHU-UTS SILC Business School until he earned his bachelor's degree in Business Management.
In the summer of 2012, Henry finished within the top three in the Asian Wave music talent show, where he was awarded the Glory Star. His fame continued to grow from this first exposure.
In March 2014, Henry was crowned winner of Sing My Song, for which he composed and sang "Rolled-up Pearl Curtain" (å·ç å¸Â). The song was so touching that judge Liu Huan shed tears the first time he heard it during Henry's audition. Soon after this song was first heard, Henry was recommended to perform again in 2014 CCTV Chinese New Year Eve Gala, which was broadcast worldwide, further expanding his fame.
In 2014, Henry participated in Season 1 of Tianjin Satellite Channel's Drama Contest and played a dan (ç·æ¦) role in the Peking Opera.
His performance included QiÃÂnlàZhë Wài (ãÂÂÃ¥ÂÂéÂÂä¹Âå¤ÂãÂÂ, Thousands of Miles Away), YÃÂnhuàYì LÃÂng (ãÂÂçÂÂè±æÂÂå·ãÂÂ, When Fireworks Fade), MÃÂilì De Shénhuà(ãÂÂç¾Â丽çÂÂç¥Âè¯ÂãÂÂ, Beautiful Myth), WàShì Huò Zà «n (ãÂÂæÂÂæ¯éÂÂå°ÂãÂÂ, I am Huo Zun), Fènghuáng Yú FÃÂi (ãÂÂå¤å°äºÂé£ÂãÂÂ, The Flying Phoenix), Yënwèi àiqÃÂng (ãÂÂå 为ç±æ ãÂÂ, Because of Love), Zài NàTáohuàShèngkÃÂi Dì DìfÃÂng (ãÂÂå¨é£æ¡Âè±çÂÂå¼ÂçÂÂå°æ¹ãÂÂ, At the place where the peach blossom blooms), ShÃÂjiÃÂn Dà Âu Dào NÃÂ'er Qùle (ãÂÂæ¶é´é½å°åªå¿å»äºÂãÂÂ, Wherever did the time go), and "Time To Say Goodbye".
His beautiful portrayal of women, his grace, clear voice, self-confidence, and humility were highly praised by professionals including Song Xiaochuan (å®Âå°Âå·Â) and Xiao Xiangyu (å°Âé¦ÂçÂÂ). Henry won the contest and was hailed as The 2014 Drama King.
Later in the year, Peking Opera artist Méi BÃÂojià(梠èÂÂçÂÂ) led the ballet of Méi Lán Fong (梠堰è³) to memorise the master in Beijing, China. On 9 December, Henry was invited to sing its theme song Huàyàchán (ãÂÂè±é 禠ãÂÂ, The Zen in Grace and Flowers) which greatly enhanced the atmosphere of the performance.
While Henry is known for his singing, he has also acted in films. In 2013, he played the role of a singer in the film Ashes to Ashes, ãÂÂä»ÂåªéÂÂæÂÂ¥ å°åªéÂÂÃ¥Âȋ (lit. From Whence One Comes, There One Will Return). This is a film about children with reading disabilities and the singer turns out to be an angel at the end. He composed and sang the theme song "Duì NiÃÂo" (ãÂÂ对é¸ÂãÂÂ, Singing Birds).
In 2021, he joined the cast of Call Me By Fire as a contestant. He subsequently withdrew from it in light of recent controversies, shortly after the show's premiere and his first performance on it. He would then be blurred and censored out in later episodes.
On 25 October 2014, Henry Huo held his first full-house performance at the Nanjing Red Bull Unplugged Concert. He sang his famous first audition song and other traditional Chinese songs such as HuÃÂxën (ãÂÂè±å¿ÂãÂÂ, The Flower Heart), TiÃÂnyá gÃÂnà(ãÂÂ天涯æÂÂ女ãÂÂ, The Wandering Songstress), Mo Li Hua (ãÂÂèÂÂèÂÂè±ãÂÂ, Jasmine Flower), Tào màgÃÂn (ãÂÂå¥Â马æÂÂãÂÂ, The Horses Shot), and Teresa Teng's classic ballad "The Moon Represents My Heart".
In 2015, Henry went to North America to sing at the Chinese New Year Gala. On the night of 12 February, he was invited to sing ãÂÂå·ç å¸Âã at the United Nations New York Headquarters where representatives from 47 countries watched the performance. On the night of 22 February, he sang three songs, including "ChuánqÃÂ" (ãÂÂä¼ å¥ÂãÂÂ, The Legend) in the Orpheum Theater in Vancouver, which received wild applause from the audience.
Henry's original songs include ãÂÂYou Are Everything to MeãÂÂ, XÃÂng (ãÂÂéÂÂãÂÂ, Wake up), JuÃÂn Zhà « Lián (ãÂÂå·ç å¸ÂãÂÂ) Fàng kÃÂi nàsÃÂnguó (ãÂÂæ¾å¼Âé£ä¸Âå½ãÂÂ, Let Go of The Three Kingdoms), Duì NiÃÂo (ãÂÂ对é¸ÂãÂÂ, Singing Birds), ãÂÂA Poem of Tang Ã¥ÂÂè¯ÂãÂÂ, and Dà ÂngfÃÂng yÃÂn (ãÂÂä¸Âé£Âå¼ÂãÂÂ, Inspired by the Wind from the East).
He published his first EP on 8 July 2014. The EP includes the theme song QiàhÃÂo (ãÂÂæ°好ãÂÂ, What Is Appropriate) for the theatre drama (ãÂÂå±±æ¥Âæ Âä¹ÂæÂÂãÂÂ, The Love Under the Hawthorn Tree), Që duàliánhuà(ãÂÂä¸Âæµè²è±ãÂÂ,"Seven Lotuses"), and JuÃÂn Zhà « Lián (ãÂÂå·ç å¸ÂãÂÂ, Pearl-decorated curtain rolled up).
Henry is also the first singer of Yù fú chuándÃÂng (ãÂÂçÂÂä½Âä¼ ç¯ãÂÂ, The Jade Buddha is Passing the Light), Méiguë bÃÂolÃÂi (ãÂÂç«ç°堡åÂÂãÂÂ, The Rose Castle), and Huàyàchán (ãÂÂè±é 禠ãÂÂ), The Zen in Grace and Flowers).
The songs Huo sang in the Asian Wave included LàRén (ãÂÂ离人ãÂÂ, The One Who Left), Mo Li Hua (ãÂÂèÂÂèÂÂè±ã The Jasmine Flower), Only You (ãÂÂæÂÂåªå¨ä¹Âä½ ãÂÂ), Fly Apart (ãÂÂÃ¥ÂÂèªè¿Âæ‹ÂÂ), WúyÃÂlúnbàdì mÃÂilì (ãÂÂæ ä¸Â伦æ¯ÂçÂÂç¾Â丽ãÂÂ, Unparalleled Beauty), Scarborough Fair, Chuánqà(ãÂÂä¼ å¥ÂãÂÂ, The Legend), Dàn Yuàn Rén Chángjià(ãÂÂä½Âæ¿人é¿习ãÂÂ, I wish you could stay forever), WàYuànyì (ãÂÂæÂÂæ¿æÂÂãÂÂ, I Will), WàDe Chéng (ãÂÂæÂÂçÂÂÃ¥ÂÂãÂÂ, My City), XÃÂng (ãÂÂéÂÂãÂÂ, Wake), and Jìdé (ãÂÂè®°å¾ÂãÂÂ, Remember).
In the 2014 Taiwan TV gala titled Matsu Light in My Heart (ãÂÂå¦Âç¥Âä¹Âå Âï¼Âå¨æÂÂå¿Âä¸ÂãÂÂ), Henry sang WàQÃÂdài (ãÂÂæÂÂæÂÂå¾ ãÂÂ, Never say goodbye).
On 9 April 2014, Henry sang the theme song So Young(ãÂÂè´éÂÂæÂ¥ãÂÂ) from the film So Young at the Fifth Annual Awards of Directors Association ceremony.
In August 2021, Huo's ex-girlfriend Chen Lu, a dancer, came forward claiming that Henry had cheated on her throughout their 9-year relationship. She also alleged that Huo had multiple one-night stands with different women whilst they were together. She claimed that when she confronted Huo, he asked "How much do you want me to pay you?". She also professed that he told her to "delete all traces of him on my (Chen's) Weibo" when she wanted to publicize their relationship.
Later that week, Chen also exposed Huo's distaste for reality television, including Sisters Who Make Waves and its male counterpart. In their conversations leaked by Chen, Huo expressed that "The price theyâÂÂre offering is not bad. But IâÂÂm still thinking about it because it feels like IâÂÂll be making myself look very 'low' (â¦) I really dislike stuff like Sisters Who Make Waves. IâÂÂm a musician and artiste, but IâÂÂll have to turn myself into a trainee again just to be part of some idol group made up of has-beens." Netizens concluded that this show that he referred to was "Call me by fire" which he participated in. They thus called for his leave from the show. Afterwards, it was announced that he was withdrawn shortly after the series pilot, and his appearance in two performances were pixelated.
On 14 August, Huo issued a notice of withdrawal from the entertainment industry as the controversy had affected many others' lives. He thanked Chen for their 7 years and 4 months together, apologized that he made a few rash comments, but refuted Chen's other claims politely. He hope that his departure would put an end to the damage inflicted to all.
In light of the controversy, online fan groups dedicated to Huo were shut down, and his Weibo account was disabled.
On 17 August, writer Chen Lan exposed that Chen Lu used records of Huo's private messages to blackmail him for a nine million "break-up" fee. Huo gave her five hundred and eighty thousand, then stopped as he feared Chen would be charged with extortion if her acts were exposed. After Chen Lan reviewed all evidence Huo had in possession, she exposed that Chen Lu's accusations about Huo were fabricated lies. The group chat messages were cut and pasted to blur the timeline and photoshopped to deceive readers. Chen Lu could not provide any evidence of the 3 million she claimed to have spent on Huo. Conversely, Huo's wechat records showed he regularly sent Chen Lu spending money in the ten thousands range. Chen Lu did not help build Huo's career and did not end her own career because of him. It was in fact Huo and his mother who helped Chen Lu to advance in her career. Chen Lu and her friend Wang Meng were captured by security camera while proceeding to blackmail Huo. Chen Lan exposed the evidence online and encourage Huo to sue Chen Lu for extortion.
On 22 December, Chen Lu was arrested by police for extortion. Civil suits for libel will follow after the criminal case for extortion.