Amber Liu (singer)

Life and career

1992–2010: Early life and career beginnings

Liu was born on September 18, 1992, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are from Taiwan and her father has Teochew ancestry. She has one older sister named Jackie. She attended El Camino Real High School in Los Angeles.

Liu excelled in SM Entertainment's Los Angeles global audition in 2008 where she and one male were selected to be trainees for SM Entertainment. After a year and a half of training, she debuted as a member of the South Korean girl group f(x) in September 2009. During an episode of the group's reality show, Go f(x), Liu revealed that her parents initially had mixed feelings regarding her music career. She stated: "My dad was very cautious, at first ...but then my mom was always supportive from the beginning. I really thank her and she also convinced my dad".

She has composed and written lyrics for some of the group's songs such as "Goodbye Summer" which was a single in their second studio album, Pink Tape, and "Summer Lover" from their third studio album, Red Light. Aside from featured songs, she also worked with fellow group mates Luna and Krystal for the soundtrack of KBS drama God of Study, in a song called "Spread its Wings".

She frequently collaborated with other SM Entertainment artists. Labelmate Yuri of Girls' Generation performed a cover of Ciara's song "1, 2 Step" at their first concert, Into the New World, held on December 19 and 20, 2009 in Seoul and featured her as a rapper and dancer. The song was then included in their first live album. In June 2010, she was featured in the lead single of Taiwanese singer Danson Tang's third Mandarin-language studio album, The First Second. She performed the Korean and English rap vocals and was also featured in the song's music video.

2011–2014: Television roles

Liu has also started a career on television. From October 2011 to April 2012, she was part of the reality show Invincible Youth. She had to leave the show to prepare for f(x)'s debut in Japan. In 2013, she was featured in the Korean version of the title track of Henry's's debut album, called "1-4-3 (I Love You)". She has hosted MBC's music show Show Champion with T-ara's Eunjung for a year, both of them stepped down as hosts on December 18, 2013. On June 6, 2014, she became a host of the KBS show, A Song for You with Kangin of Super Junior and Yook Sungjae of BTOB. She was also a host of We Got Married Global Edition. In the same year, she appeared in a 9-episode travel reality series, One Fine Day, with singer Ailee, who is a close friend of hers. The show, which aired on MBC Music, followed a vacation trip they took and was filmed on Jeju Island. On December 31, Liu was confirmed as a cast member for the second female soldier special of MBC's Real Men.

2015–2019: Solo debut

Liu officially debuted as a solo artist, releasing her debut EP, Beautiful, on February 13, 2015. The title track, "Shake That Brass", featured Girls' Generation's Taeyeon. A few days prior to the release of the album, a lyric video for the B-side track, "Beautiful", was released. The music video contained childhood photos of the singer, as well as photos since her debut as a member of f(x). Its lyrics tells the story of the difficulties she faced as she chased after her dreams of being an entertainer and how she liked herself the way she is. Beautiful debuted at number two on *Billboard'''s World Albums chart and number 19 on Heatseekers Albums. According to Jeff Benjamin of *Billboard K-Town'', this ranking shows Amber has a large international fanbase.

As a part of the SM Station project, Liu's solo single, "Borders", was released in March 2016. She participated in composing, lyrics writing and arrangement of the song. Written entirely in English, the hip hop track relates her childhood experiences and gives a message not to give up on oneself against life difficulties.

Liu released the digital single, "On My Own" on May 18, 2016. On May 25, she released another digital single titled "Need to Feel Needed". On September 9, 2016, SM Entertainment published the official music video for "Breathe Again". This was Liu's first entirely English song and her first collaboration with Japanese DJ, Ksuke. On April 15, 2018, Liu released her first English-language solo mixtape, Rogue Rouge, with six songs, free on SoundCloud. She also released a music video for one track, "Closed Doors", on YouTube, with plans to release a total of six videos.

In July 2018, she signed with Steel Wool Entertainment and was also registered by her real name. The agency represents and promotes her in the United States through singing, acting, as well as directing videos. Liu is also signed with United Talent Agency to represent her worldwide activities. In September 2018, Liu released a single album White Noise + Lost At Sea, which includes two songs "White Noise" and "Lost At Sea".

On September 1, 2019, Liu announced her departure from SM Entertainment. Five days later, she confirmed that she would continue forward with her Steel Wool Entertainment contract, and would release an album that she previously prepared with the label. On September 12, Liu announced that she was releasing her second EP, X, with six tracks. It was later confirmed that she would drop one track each month until the album's release on January 10, 2020.

2020–present: Post-SM career and activities in China

On January 28, 2021, Liu was confirmed to be a mentor on the fourth season of the Chinese version of Produce 101, titled Produce Camp 2021, which ran from February until April 2021 and formed the boy group INTO1. On April 5, 2021, Liu announced her third extended play, y?. Soon after on April 8, 2021, Liu released two versions of her song "Neon": a Mandarin version that featured Chinese hip-hop artist Blow Fever, and an English version featuring Peniel from BtoB with two accompanying music videos that she co-directed. On April 29, 2021, Liu released two more singles from her album y?: the Mandarin version of "blue" featuring MaSiWei from Higher Brothers, and an English song called "Vegas"; along with music videos for each. On May 27, Liu and Steel Wool signed a partnership with Ryce Entertainment for her solo activities in China.

On September 21, 2021, Liu announced her fourth extended play Z!, with the first single "Paradise" being released on September 24, and the second single "Bad Decisions" being released on October 29. It was released on February 25, 2022.

Discography

EPs and mixtapes

Singles

Other charted songs

Collaborations

As songwriter

Music videos

Filmography

Film and television

Reality TV

Concert tours

Note- excluding f(x) tours

• Gone Rogue Tour (2018)
• Tour X (2020)

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Zhao, Benjamin. (February 7, 2020). "Amber Liu: The K-Pop star breaking the mould".
2. (February 25, 2020). "Amber Liu goes it alone after 10 years with f(x)". [[South China Morning Post]].
3. CHEUNG, RAINER. (January 3, 2020). "f(x)'s Amber Liu speaks out on dark side of K-pop and bandmate Sulli's death: 'I miss her a lot'". AsiaOne.
4. "Amber's profile". Amber Official Website.
5. Jeong, Byung-ki. (March 24, 2016). "New song from Amber coming out Friday". [[Korea JoongAng Daily]].
6. 윤상근. (2017-01-09). "트와이스 모모·f(x) 엠버, SBS 설특집 '몰라도 다시한번' 합류".
7. chilloutb0x. (July 12, 2011). "[ENG SUB] 110517 Henry and Zhou Mi talked about Amber and Victoria".
8. (August 24, 2009). "SM Unmasks f(x) Members". allkpop.com.
9. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHo36Ghx2bM ''Go f(x)'' on MnetAmerica's official YouTube page] Youtube.com (July 24, 2013). Retrieved on May 21, 2014.
10. Oak, Jessica. (July 30, 2013). "f(x) Stay Quirky With Sophomore LP 'Pink Tape'".
11. (June 8, 2010}}{{cbignore). "Danson I'm Back feat. f(x) Amber Music Video".
12. Carla Sunwoo. (March 31, 2012). "Supermodel and female comic to take on the 'G8'".
13. link. News.nate.com
14. Ho, Stewart. (January 29, 2013). "T-ara's Ham Eun Jung and f(x)'s Amber Are the New MCs of MBC's 'Show Champion'".
15. Jung, Ji-won. (June 9, 2014). "Kangin, Amber and Yook Sung Jae Selected to Host 'A Song For You'".
16. [http://www.allkpop.com/article/2014/02/fxs-amber-to-host-we-got-married-global-youtube-spin-off-series f(x) Amber to host ''We Got Married Global''] Allkpop.com (February 23, 2014). Retrieved May 21, 2014
17. (December 15, 2014). "Ailee and f(x)'s Amber to Star in Their Own Reality Show "One Fine Day"".
18. ""Real Man's line up"".
19. (February 13, 2015). "Amber unveils first solo album". [[The Korea Herald]].
20. (February 9, 2015). "'f(x)' 'Amber' Begins Solo Activity with [Beautiful]...Releases Lyric Video". Star News.
21. Benjamin, Jeff. (February 19, 2015). "Amber's 'Beautiful' Solo Debut Swoops into World, Heatseekers Albums Charts".
22. Woorim Ahn. (March 23, 2016). "f(x)′s Amber to Release Solo Song on March 25". eNewsWorld.
23. (May 22, 2016). "f(x)'s Amber To Release Third Single In "Crossing" Series – Soompi".
24. "KSUKE×AMBER from f(x)コラボ作『BREATHE AGAIN』配信スタート！ ネオアジアMVも公開 – Ameba News [アメーバニュース]".
25. "f(x)'s Amber's mixtape 'Rogue Rouge' + 'Closed Doors' MV dropped".
26. Baltin, Steve. (July 9, 2018). "Exclusive: K-Pop Superstar Amber Liu On Making Her Big U.S. Push This Year".
27. "Amber Liu – UTA Music".
28. link
29. link. (September 1, 2019)
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31. link. (September 20, 2019)
32. "Amber Liu joins latest season of Produce 101 China as mentor".
33. Ju, Shirley. "NEW MUSIC, NEW MEANING & NEW PERSPECTIVE".
34. link
35. Lau, Elly. (May 27, 2021). "RYCE Entertainment teams up with Jackson Wang's Team Wang, announces Amber Liu as new artist".
36. "Gaon Album Chart".
37. "Heatseekers Albums Chart".
38. "World Albums Chart".
39. L, Sara. "Justin Park Releases 'Places Like Home'". MACG magazine.
40. Morin, Natalie. (August 16, 2019). "A year after 'The Light,' James Lee is shining brighter [Q+A]". Earmilk.
41. Benjamin, Jeff. "Watch FYKE & Amber Liu Wear Surprising New Looks in 'Get Myself' Video: Exclusive". [[Billboard (magazine).
42. (November 17, 2019). "Watch FYKE & Amber Liu Wear Surprising New Looks in 'Get Myself' Video: Exclusive". All KPOP.
43. Cha, E.. (May 22, 2020). "Exclusive: James Lee Talks About His Incredible Journey From K-Pop Star To Solo Artist, His New Single, Collaborating With Amber, + More". soompi.
44. (April 9, 2021). "F(x)'s Amber Liu Releases Comeback Single With BTOB's Peniel". koreaboo.
45. link
46. {{Citation. link. (December 15, 2023)
47. (February 7, 2020). "Rogue Rouge".
48. "ROGUE ROUGE. - YouTube".
49. (May 7, 2021). "y?".
50. (May 28, 2021). "No Fear".
51. (February 25, 2022). "Z!".
52. (January 23, 2018). "7 MVs Featuring f(x)'s Amber That Give Us Life".
53. Frances, Lai. (September 2019). "Amber Liu of K-pop Group f(x) Announces Departure From SM Entertainment". Pop Crush.
54. Susanato, Lya. (May 2018). "REVIEW: F(X)'S AMBER DROPS NEW MIXTAPE ROGUE ROUGE (LISTEN TO IT HERE!)". Hello Asia.
55. Benjamin, Jeff. "Amber Opens Up About 'Rogue Rouge' Mixtape, Heartbreak & Why 'Love Is Love'".
56. Chen, Lily. (September 20, 2018). "APREMIERE: F(X)'S AMBER LIU DEBUTS NEW MUSIC VIDEO, "WHITE NOISE"". Hype Bae.
57. Han, Sara. (February 12, 2019). "Amber Liu Talks About Her Style Evolution From K-Pop Star To "Rogue Rouge" Solo Artist". Buzzfeed.
58. Benjamin, Jeff. (November 30, 2018). "Amber Races Toward Her Solo Moment With 'Countdown'". Paper Magazine.
59. Lee, Jane J.. (December 16, 2019). "K-pop Artist Amber Liu Is Living For Herself Instead Of 'Other People'". Character Media.
60. Lam, Teresa. (October 2, 2019). "AMBER LIU ANNOUNCES 'X' NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2020". Hype Bae.
61. Kim, U. (November 21, 2019). "Watch: Amber Liu Is Full Of "Curiosity" In New Self-Directed MV". soompi.
62. (May 5, 2016). "f(x)'s Amber Reportedly In Talks To Join Cast Of New tvN Drama "Entourage"".
63. "The Eagle and the Albatross (2020)".
64. Kelley, Kaitlin. "Amber Liu of K-Pop Group f(x) Starring in American Indie Film 'The Eagle and the Albatross'". [[Billboard (magazine).
65. Bishop, Rollin. (May 21, 2020). "We Bare Bears The Movie Release Date Announced With First Trailer and Poster".
66. "K-Pop Sensation Amber Liu To Host New Original Show "I'll Ask The Stupid Questions" On Ficto Streaming Platform'". Cision PR Newswire.
67. "Amber Talks Feeling 'Lost at Sea,' the 'White Noise' of Her Career, Importance of Language & #MeToo".
68. [https://web.archive.org/web/20151208234006/http://mama.mwave.me/nominees?pageType=genre Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Dance Performance Solo] Originally from [[Mwave]] (2015). Archived on December 9, 2015. Retrieved on December 9, 2015.
69. "f(x)'s Amber, BTOB's Sungjae, and more pick up rookie awards at '2015 MBC Entertainment Awards' - allkpop.com".