Song Qian (; born February 2, 1987), known professionally as Victoria or Victoria Song, is a Chinese singer, dancer, actress, model, host and author known for her work as a member of South Korean girl group
f(x)
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
.
In 2010, Song gained fame as part of ''
We Got Married Season 2,'' as well as being a cast member of
KBS's ''
Invincible Youth
''Invincible Youth'' () is a South Korean variety show which aired its first season on KBS2 from October 23, 2009 to December 24, 2010. Season 1 featured seven girls (collectively known as G7) from K-pop idol groups wherein they experience how it ...
''. She is also known for her roles in television series ''
When Love Walked In
''When Love Walked In'' () is a 2012 Chinese-Taiwanese co-produced television series starring Victoria Song of f(x), Calvin Chen of Fahrenheit and Zhou Mi of Super Junior-M. The series premiered on GTV on 27 August 2012.
Victoria Song won the ...
'' (2012), ''
Beautiful Secret
''Beautiful Secret'' ( Chinese: 美丽的秘密) is a 2015–2016 Chinese television series starring Victoria Song and Peter Ho. It aired on Hunan TV from 21 December 2015 to 12 January 2016. The drama achieved the highest average viewership rati ...
'' (2015), ''
Ice Fantasy
''Ice Fantasy'' () is a Chinese epic fantasy television drama based on Guo Jingming's bestselling novel, ''City of Fantasy''. The drama was produced by Shanghai Youhug Media, directed by Ju Jue Liang, and stars Feng Shaofeng, Victoria Song, Ma Tia ...
'' (2016), ''
A Life Time Love
''A Life Time Love'' () is a 2017 Chinese television series starring Huang Xiaoming, Victoria Song, Sheng Yilun and Zhang Li. It is adapted from the xianxia novel ''Once Promised'' () by Tong Hua. The series aired via Dragon TV from 12 June to 7 ...
'' (2017), ''
Moonshine and Valentine
''Moonshine and Valentine'' (Chinese: 结爱·千岁大人的初恋), also known as ''The Love Knot: His Excellency's First Love'', is a 2018 Chinese streaming television series based on the novel ''Jie Ai·Yihe Fenghuan'' (Chinese: 结爱·异客 ...
'' (2018),
Find Yourself (2020); and the films ''
My New Sassy Girl
''My New Sassy Girl'' () () is a 2016 South Korean-Chinese romantic comedy film directed by Joh Keun-shik, and starring Cha Tae-hyun and Victoria Song. This film, a sequel to ''My Sassy Girl'' (2001), was released in China on April 22, 2016 and r ...
'' (2016), ''
My Best Friend's Wedding
''My Best Friend's Wedding'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by P.J. Hogan from a screenplay by Ronald Bass. The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett.
The film received generally positive ...
'' (2016), and ''
Wished'' (2017).
Song ranked 74th on ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
''
China Celebrity 100
The ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 is a list published annually by ''Forbes'' that ranks the influence of Chinese celebrities. First published in 2004, it is similar to Celebrity 100 also published by ''Forbes''. Factors that are taken into acco ...
list in 2017, 41st in 2019 and 14th in 2020.
Life and career
1987–2011: Early life and career beginnings
Song Qian was born in
Qingdao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
. She left her hometown at a young age to study Chinese traditional dance at the
Beijing Dance Academy
The Beijing Dance Academy (BDA, ) is a municipal public professional dance college at Haidian, Beijing. The academy is the highest institution for dance education and assessment in the People's Republic of China, conducting the nationwide teache ...
.
After her high school graduation, she was accepted to the
Beijing Dance Academy
The Beijing Dance Academy (BDA, ) is a municipal public professional dance college at Haidian, Beijing. The academy is the highest institution for dance education and assessment in the People's Republic of China, conducting the nationwide teache ...
and majored in
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
ethnic dance.
In September 2007, Song was first scouted by an SM Entertainment casting agent while in Beijing dance competition and eventually cast into SM Entertainment after passing the audition under SM Casting System. She was originally trained to prepare for her acting and modeling career in South Korea.
Prior to debuting, Song was introduced to the public through various appearances in music videos and commercials; her first appearance is in ''Spris'' commercial with
Lee Joon-gi
Lee Joon-gi (born 17 April 1982) is a South Korean actor, singer, dancer, and model. He rose to fame on his first leading role playing a clown in the critically acclaimed film ''The King and the Clown'' (2005) and gained further recognition in ...
in early 2008. She made her official debut as a member of
f(x)
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
in September 2009.
In June 2010, Song became a cast member for the first season of the variety show ''
Invincible Youth
''Invincible Youth'' () is a South Korean variety show which aired its first season on KBS2 from October 23, 2009 to December 24, 2010. Season 1 featured seven girls (collectively known as G7) from K-pop idol groups wherein they experience how it ...
'' in which she was a part of G7, consisting of 7 female idols from various groups.
She was also cast on the reality show ''
We Got Married
''We Got Married'' () was a South Korean reality variety show that aired on MBC from 2008 to 2017. The show paired up celebrities who pretended to be married couples and completed various challenges together. The show ran for four seasons and ...
'' with
Nichkhun
Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul ( th, นิชคุณ หรเวชกุล; ; born June 24, 1988), better known mononymously as Nichkhun ( ko, 닉쿤), is a Thai American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and model who is currently based in Sout ...
of
2PM.
The couple was collectively known as Khuntoria in the variety show. Nichkhun and Song both gained entertainment-wide popularity as a result of the show's success. At the end of the year, Song won the 'Popularity Award' at the
MBC Entertainment Awards
The MBC Entertainment Awards () is a Korean awards ceremony held annually and sponsored by MBC. The awards ceremony is held at the end of each year and lasts approximately 140 minutes, being broadcast in two parts on MBC.
Hosts
History of w ...
for her stint in ''We Got Married''.
2012–2017: Acting roles and rise in popularity
In January 2012, Song was cast to play the lead role in the Chinese-Taiwanese co-production ''
When Love Walked In
''When Love Walked In'' () is a 2012 Chinese-Taiwanese co-produced television series starring Victoria Song of f(x), Calvin Chen of Fahrenheit and Zhou Mi of Super Junior-M. The series premiered on GTV on 27 August 2012.
Victoria Song won the ...
'',
alongside label-mate
Zhou Mi, and
Calvin Chen
Calvin Chen ( zh, t=辰亦儒, w=''Chen I-Ju'', poj=Sîn E̍k-jû, p=Chén Yìrú; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ:Shìn Yi̍t-yî; Teochew pronunciation in Tâi-lô: Sîng Iā-dzû) is a Thai Chinese actor, businessman, model, singer, and television host. He ...
of the group
Fahrenheit
The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined his ...
. The drama reached the number one spot in viewership ratings. She won the 'Best New Actress' award at the
China TV Drama Awards
The China TV Drama Awards (), also known as the Domestic TV Series Ceremony, is an award show presented annually on Anhui Television to award excellence in Chinese television.
Categories Main Awards
*Top Ten Television Series ()
*Best Web Series ...
for her performance.
In December 2012, Song released a photo-essay book titled ''Victoria's Hong-Ma'', which included her travel experiences in Hong Kong and Macao.
The Chinese version of the book was subsequently released in 2013.
In 2013 she became the MC for KBS's program ''Glitter'' alongside actress
Kim So-eun
Kim So-eun (born September 6, 1989) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in 2009 in the popular television drama ''Boys Over Flowers''. She has since starred in ''Happiness in the Wind'' (2010), '' A Thousand Kisses'' (2011–12), ''Liar ...
.
In 2014, Song was chosen to host the Korean-Chinese variety show titled ''Strongest Group'' together with Zhou Mi.
She was also featured in his solo album single, titled "Loving You". Song then starred in
Zhang Liyin
Zhang Liyin (born February 28, 1989) is a Chinese singer and songwriter of Yi ethnicity. She has released singles in both China and South Korea, singing in both languages. Zhang has released only one studio album since her debut in 2006, but it ...
's music videos "
Agape
In Christianity, agape (; ) is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God". This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a deep and profound sacrificial love tha ...
" and "
Not Alone" as the lead female character alongside former
EXO
Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...
member
Tao
''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other philo ...
.
In 2015, it was also revealed that Song would team up with Chinese manager Jia Shikai for her local activities.
Following the setup of her studio, Song starred in
Hunan TV
Hunan Television or Hunan TV () is a provincial satellite TV station officially launched on 29 September 1970 and is currently China's second-most-watched channel, second only to CCTV-1, owned by China Central Television, although Hunan STV occasio ...
's music romance drama ''
Beautiful Secret
''Beautiful Secret'' ( Chinese: 美丽的秘密) is a 2015–2016 Chinese television series starring Victoria Song and Peter Ho. It aired on Hunan TV from 21 December 2015 to 12 January 2016. The drama achieved the highest average viewership rati ...
''. She released a solo single titled "Star Tears" for the drama's soundtrack. The drama eventually went on to record the highest average viewership ratings for the first half of 2016 in China.
In 2016, Song starred in ''
My New Sassy Girl
''My New Sassy Girl'' () () is a 2016 South Korean-Chinese romantic comedy film directed by Joh Keun-shik, and starring Cha Tae-hyun and Victoria Song. This film, a sequel to ''My Sassy Girl'' (2001), was released in China on April 22, 2016 and r ...
'' with
Cha Tae-hyun
Cha Tae-hyun (; born March 25, 1976) is a South Korean actor, singer, television personality, radio DJ and director. He is best known for his lead roles in the box-office hit comedies ''My Sassy Girl'' (2001), ''Scandal Makers'' (2008), ''Hello ...
. The film, a remake of ''
My Sassy Girl
''My Sassy Girl'' ( ko, 엽기적인 그녀, Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo, That Bizarre Girl) is a 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film directed by Kwak Jae-yong, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Cha Tae-hyun. The film is based on a true story told in a series ...
'' (2001), was released simultaneously in South Korea and China.
She then appeared in the
Chinese remake film of ''
My Best Friend's Wedding
''My Best Friend's Wedding'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by P.J. Hogan from a screenplay by Ronald Bass. The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett.
The film received generally positive ...
'', playing the role of Kimberly Wallace in the original film.
The same year, Song starred in ''
Ice Fantasy
''Ice Fantasy'' () is a Chinese epic fantasy television drama based on Guo Jingming's bestselling novel, ''City of Fantasy''. The drama was produced by Shanghai Youhug Media, directed by Ju Jue Liang, and stars Feng Shaofeng, Victoria Song, Ma Tia ...
'', an epic fantasy drama adapted from the novel of the same name by
Guo Jingming
Guo Jingming (; born June 6, 1983), also known as Edward Guo, is a Chinese young adult fiction, young adult writer. In addition to being an author and businessperson, Guo is also a Teen idol, teen pop idol and popular celebrity figure. On the o ...
.
She sang an OST for ''Ice Fantasy'', titled "Li Luo", which is also her character's name in the drama. Song was next cast in the modern romance drama ''Endless August'' by
Anni Baobei
Li Jie (), more commonly known by her pen name Anni Baobei or Annie Baby (), is a Chinese novelist, born 11 July 1974 in Ningbo, Zhejiang. Her first work in print was the 2000 novella ''Goodbye Vivian''.
She is nicknamed "Flower in the Dark" b ...
alongside
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
.
From January to April 2017, Song co-hosted the variety program ''Ace vs Ace''.
She also became a fixed cast on Zhejiang TV's ''Beat The Champions'', which started airing in April.
In June, she starred alongside
Huang Xiaoming
Huang Xiaoming or Mark Huang (, born 13 November 1977) is a Chinese actor, singer, and model. He graduated from the Performance Institute of the Beijing Film Academy in 2000. Huang first rose to prominence in 2001 for playing Emperor Wu of Han in ...
in the fantasy romance drama ''
A Life Time Love
''A Life Time Love'' () is a 2017 Chinese television series starring Huang Xiaoming, Victoria Song, Sheng Yilun and Zhang Li. It is adapted from the xianxia novel ''Once Promised'' () by Tong Hua. The series aired via Dragon TV from 12 June to 7 ...
'', based on the novel ''Once Promised'' by
Tong Hua.
In July, she co-starred in fantasy comedy film ''
Wished'', directed by
Dayyan Eng
Dayyan Eng, known as Wu Shixian in China (), born in Taiwan in 1975, is a Chinese-American filmmaker of Chinese, English, and Persian ancestry, who grew up in three continents. He studied film arts at the University of Washington and transferred t ...
,
which garnered good reviews for Song and had the highest audience scores across the top 4 ticketing platforms for local Chinese comedies released that summer. In August, she joined the cast of Hunan TV's female-centric reality show ''
Up Idol
''Up Idol'' () is a Chinese celebrity reality show broadcast on Hunan Television. The first season debuted on 1 August 2015 with 12 episodes featuring two captains and ten popular celebrities as they travel to different places and experience the ...
''.
2018–present: Solo debut, acting and debut album
In January 2018, Song starred in ''
The Chronicles of Town Called Jian
''The Chronicles of Town Called Jian'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel ''Tarot Goddess Sleuths'' () by Zhang Ranran. The series was produced by Li Shaohong and directed by Zeng Nianping. It stars Victoria Song, Jiang Jinf ...
'', a mystery period drama produced by
Li Shaohong
Li Shaohong (born 7 July 1955) is a Chinese film and television director and producer. She is considered a member of the Fifth Generation movement, and China's top woman director. Her films have won multiple awards in China and abroad, includin ...
; based on the "Tarot Goddess Sleuths" series.
The drama has previously completed filming in 2014.
On March 13, 2018, she released her debut solo single "Roof on Fire" along with its music video. She has also joined the dance-oriented variety show, ''
Hot Blood Dance Crew
''Hot Blood Dance Crew'' () is an original Chinese reality street dance variety show produced by iQiyi. The show was officially aired and broadcast online on March 17, 2018 on iQiyi.
Concept
''Hot Blood Dance Crew'' brings together 191 ...
'',
and talent scouting program ''
The Next Top Bang
''The Next Top Bang'' () is an original Chinese reality variety show produced by Dragon Television. It was first aired on 21 October 2018.
Concept
''The Next Top Bang'' brings together 108 trainees from 13,699 auditionees. Out of the 108 train ...
'' as a mentor.
In May 2018, Song starred in fantasy romance drama ''
Moonshine and Valentine
''Moonshine and Valentine'' (Chinese: 结爱·千岁大人的初恋), also known as ''The Love Knot: His Excellency's First Love'', is a 2018 Chinese streaming television series based on the novel ''Jie Ai·Yihe Fenghuan'' (Chinese: 结爱·异客 ...
'' alongside
Huang Jingyu
Huang Jingyu (; born November 30, 1992), also known as Johnny Huang, is a Chinese actor and model. He is known for his roles in '' Addicted'' (2016), ''Operation Red Sea'' (2018), ''Moonshine and Valentine'' (2018), and '' The Thunder'' (2019). ...
.
The series received positive reviews, and Song was praised for her acting performance. In October she starred in the fantasy adventure film ''
Legend of the Ancient Sword
''Legend of the Ancient Sword'' ( zh, 古剑奇谭之流月昭明) is a Chinese fantasy-adventure-action film directed by Renny Harlin and based on the video game '' Gu Jian Qi Tan 2''. The film was released worldwide on October 1, 2018.
Plot
Due ...
'', based on the video game ''
Gu Jian Qi Tan 2''.
The same year, she was cast in modern romance drama ''Broker'' alongside
Luo Yunxi
Luo Yunxi (, born 28 July 1988), also known by his English name Leo Luo, is a Chinese actor, singer, dancer who predominantly works in Chinese television drama industry. He graduated from the Shanghai Theater Academy where he majored in ballet.
...
, playing an intelligent and beautiful scientist.
On September 5, 2019, Song announced that her contract with SM Entertainment had expired and that she would be leaving the company. On the same day, SM Entertainment announced that Song had not yet left the company, but rather the two were finding new ways to work together.
In 2019, Song starred in the modern romance dramas ''Love Under the Moon'' and sung the opening theme song "Practice To Be Friends".
In 2020, Song starred in the romantic comedy drama ''
Find Yourself''.
The drama was a huge hit and Song gained further recognition for her role as a working woman who is inexperienced in love.
On May 19, 2020, Victoria released her self-titled solo album digitally after being postponed since 2017. The album consists of ten tracks, including the previously released single "Roof on Fire" (2018) and three English-language tracks. The lead single, "Up To Me" was also released in the same day along with its music video. The album sold over 250,000 copies in its first 22 hours of pre-sale, making Victoria Song the fastest Chinese female artist to reach diamond certification on QQ Music in 2020. The album reached #1 place on QQ Music after sold over than 300,000 copies in the first weeks. In the next few weeks, she also released music videos for "怀念" and "官能支配 (Functional Control)".
In the summer of 2020, Victoria participated in the 2020 edition of the Chinese version of "Produce 101", called ''
Chuang 2020'' where she was an MC and a mentor. She also performed on the show.
In August 2020, Victoria's female-centric drama ''Love Yourself'' was released both in China and Internationally. She stars as a television reporter who is lost about love.
In 2021, Song terminated her endorsement contract with the clothing manufacturer
H&M after it criticized China for
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
violations against
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
in the Xinjiang region of China where cotton for clothing products is grown. In April 2021, SM Entertainment announced that their contract with Victoria had ended.
Philanthropy
In 2008, Song and
Super Junior-M
Super Junior-M (stylized as SJ-M), an initialism for Super Junior-Mandarin, is a Chinese sub-unit of the South Korean boy band Super Junior. The sub-unit is the first international music group in the Chinese music industry to have members of both ...
participated in a campaign for Chinese athletes during the
2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. In 2010, she and fellow
f(x)
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
members were appointed ambassadors for a blood donation campaign for "
World Blood Donor Day
World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is held on June 14 each year. The event was organised for the first time in 2005, by a joint initiative of the World Health Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to raise ...
". The following year, she participated in the press conference to promote awareness for a fundraising campaign to help children in Africa, which was jointly organized by the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
and
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
.
In November 2012, she and
Kangta
Ahn Chil-hyun (born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Kangta (stylized sometimes in all caps and formerly as KangTa), is a South Korean singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, actor and radio personality. He is well known as a ...
also attended a cultural charity event in China, where they gave music and dance lessons to children in need. The event was organized by
SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...
and
CJ E&M
CJ E&M (Hangul: 씨제이이앤엠, an initialism for CJ Entertainment & Media) is a South Korean entertainment and mass media company created by CJ Group in 2011. As of July 2018, CJ E&M is a division of CJ ENM.
History
CJ E&M was established a ...
to celebrate 20 years of China and South Korea's diplomatic ties.
Towards the end of 2014, Song opened a flea market where she sold her personal items for charity. She donated all proceeds to
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
on December 31. In April 2015, she and other ''Beautiful Secret'' cast members launched "Beautiful Childhood Secret" to promote awareness for children with hearing disabilities. The members and crew ordered customized picture books for the disabled children. In the same month, Song also auctioned off a handmade doll, named "Song Song", on the UNICEF charity auction site and in June, she participated in UNICEF's "Help Nepal Children" charity bracelet project.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Collaborations
Soundtracks
Filmography
Film
Television series
Variety show
Bibliography
Awards and nominations
Forbes China Celebrity 100
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Victoria
1987 births
Living people
Singers from Shandong
Musicians from Qingdao
Chinese female dancers
Chinese K-pop singers
Chinese idols
F(x) (group) members
K-pop singers
Japanese-language singers
Chinese expatriates in South Korea
Actresses from Qingdao
Chinese film actresses
Chinese television actresses
Korean-language singers of China
21st-century Chinese actresses
SM Entertainment artists
Beijing Dance Academy alumni
21st-century Chinese women singers