Xu Minghao (; ko, 서명호; born 7 November 1997), better known as The8, is a Chinese singer and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the South Korean

boy group A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many ...

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

and its subunit Performance Team. In 2019, he had his official solo debut and served as one of the two dance mentors in the Chinese survival show ''

Youth With You ''Youth With You'' (Chinese: 青春有你), also known by its Chinese title ''Qīng Chūn Yǒu Nǐ'' or simply ''QCYN'', is a Chinese reality group survival show that premiered on the iQIYI video platform. Called ''Idol Producer Season 2'' befor ...

''.

Early life and education

The8 was born in

Haicheng, Liaoning Haicheng () is a county-level city in central Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China, located about southwest of the provincial capital Shenyang. It is under the administration of Anshan City, the seat of which lies to the northeast. H ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

on 7 November 1997. He attended Beijing Contemporary Music Academy.

Career

2008–present: Debut, singles, and ''Youth With You''

In 2008, The8 appeared on the Chinese program ''CCTV Variety Show''. Later on, he appeared on the Chinese program ''

Day Day Up ''Day Day Up'' ( zh, 天天向上; pinyin: Tiāntiān xiàngshàng) is a popular Chinese talk show broadcast on Hunan Television. The show is co-hosted by Wang Han (汪涵), Da Zhangwei (大张伟), Qian Feng (钱枫), and Wang Yibo_(王一 ...

''. In 2012, The8 participated in the 6th Shanghai World Dance Competition held from 27 to 30 April. He placed in the top 8. He made his first appearance on '' Seventeen TV'' in late 2014. The8 debuted as a member of the South Korean boy band

with their first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

'' 17 Carat'' on 29 May 2015. After debuting with Seventeen, The8 also landed a television role in ''Real Class - Elementary School'' in 2017. On 12 December 2017,

Pledis Entertainment Pledis Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to actress Nana, Hwang Min-hyun, Baekho, and K-pop groups Seventeen and Fromis 9. Its name originates from the pleiades, a star cl ...

announced that The8 would be suspending his promotional activities due to a waist injury. It was not until the release of Seventeen's special album '' Directors Cut'' that he returned to promotions. In 2018, The8 participated in the Chinese reality television show ''Chao Yin Zhan Ji'' alongside bandmate

Wen Junhui Wen Junhui (; ; born June 10, 1996), professionally known by his stage name Jun (), is a Chinese singer, dancer, and actor based in South Korea. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Seventeen and its subunit Performance Team. Before de ...

. In 2019, he served as one of the two dance coaches (alongside

Jolin Tsai Jolin Tsai (; ; born September 15, 1980) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of C-Pop", she is considered one of the most influential figures in Chinese popular culture. She is known for her continual rein ...

) in the Chinese survival show ''

Youth With You (season 1) ''Youth With You'' (), also known by its Chinese title ''Qīng Chūn Yǒu Nǐ'' or simply ''QCYN'', is a 2019 Chinese male group survival show that premiered on January 21, 2019 on iQIYI. Called ''Idol Producer Season 2'' before filming, it is ...

''. The8 made his solo debut on 9 June 2019 with the single "Dreams Come True". On 4 May 2020, The8 announced the release of a second single, "Falling Down". It was released on 8 May 2020. On 8 April 2021, The8 announced the release of his third single "Side by Side". It was released on April 13, 2021 in both Chinese and Korean. On 4 May 2021, The8 released a single called "Mom's Missed Call" along with bandmate

. All copyright proceeds will be donated to help children left behind in China. The single is a part of the Dandelion Philanthropy Music Project for the Chinese Children’s Charity Association. On 18 March 2022, The8 released the Chinese single "Hai Cheng" (海城).

Discography

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

Other songs

Released on the Chinese digital music platforms

QQ Music QQ Music () is one of the three Chinese freemium music streaming services owned by Tencent Music, a joint venture between Tencent and Spotify. As of 2018, the service is set to reach over 700 million users with an estimated 120 million subscribe ...

, KuGou Music and Kuwo Music unless otherwise specified.

Filmography

Television shows

Songwriting credits

All credits are adapted from the

Korea Music Copyright Association The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it i ...

, unless stated otherwise.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 births Living people People from Anshan People from Haicheng, Liaoning Chinese K-pop singers Korean-language singers of China Singers from Liaoning Pledis Entertainment artists Chinese expatriates in South Korea Chinese Mandopop singers 21st-century Chinese male singers Hybe Corporation artists