Chenle

Chenle
Chenle
	Chenle in December 2023
Born	Zhong Chenle; 22 November 2001 (age 22); Shanghai, China
Occupations	Singer; actor;
Years active	2009–present
	Musical career
Genres	K-pop; Mandopop; Children's;
Instruments	Vocals; Piano;
Labels	SM;
Member of	NCT; NCT Dream; SM Town;
Formerly of	0090; Zeke & The Kiddos;
Website	Official website
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	鍾辰樂
Simplified Chinese	钟辰乐
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōng Chénlè
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Chiong sîn-ga̍k
Korean name
Hangul	종진락
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Jong Jin-rak
McCune–Reischauer	Chong Chinrak

Zhong Chenle (Chinese: 钟辰乐; born 22 November 2001),^[1] known mononymously as Chenle (Hangul: 천러), is a Chinese singer and actor based in South Korea. Chenle began his career as a child singer, having performed in various concerts and television shows in China and abroad. At age nine, he became the youngest singer to be invited to perform solo at the Golden Hall of Vienna.^[2] Through his solo career, Chenle has released three albums and hosted one concert in China. At the age of fourteen, Chenle signed with South Korean entertainment company SM and subsequently moved to South Korea in 2016 to debut as a member of the South Korean boy band NCT through its sub-unit NCT Dream, which has gone on to become one of the best-selling boy groups in South Korea.

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Zhong Chenle was born in Shanghai, China on 22 November 2001. He has an older brother by 13 years.^[3] He attended Shangwen Middle School, and then studied at the Beijing Contemporary Music School, graduating as part of the class of 2020.^[4]

In 2006, Chenle entered the Shanghai Ying Siu Sing School and attended dance classes. In 2008, he was admitted to the Shanghai Little Star Art Troupe and studied vocal music under Huang Jing.^[5]

2009–2015: Early solo career in China

In 2009, Chenle participated in the Haha children's channel held by Yueyue Elf Vs Season Trial, where he was runner-up and won the Elf Genie Award.^{[citation needed]} Chenle first rose to prominence in 2010 participating in China's Got Talent, performing the song "Memory" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.^[6] In 2010, he participated in the National Chinese Young Talent Selection and won a gold medal.^{[citation needed]} In 2010, Chenle made television appearances as part of the duo 0090, made up of himself and Xu Zehui, both coming from the Shanghai Little Star Art Troupe.^[7]

In September 2010, Chenle signed a record deal with Lin Teng Culture Media.^[8] He released three albums with them.^[9]

On 25 January 2011, at age nine, Chenle was invited to perform at the Chinese New Year concert held at Golden Hall of Vienna; at the time, he was the youngest singer to have performed as a soloist at the venue.^[10]^[2] In June, Chenle played the co-lead role in the children's musical Joy of Growing Up, alongside fellow China's Got Talent auditionee Zhang Aiqing.^[11] On 16 June, Chenle led the audience in singing the Chinese national anthem at the second Nie Er Music Week opening ceremony in the Shanghai Grand Theater.^{[citation needed]} In July, Chenle released his twelve-track second solo album, My Wings. At the end of the month and in August, he participated in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Shanghai International Children's Art Festival on the Shanghai Grand Stage at the Shanghai International Convention Center.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2012, Chenle participated in the First Plenary Session of the Huangpu District of Shanghai and was elected as the district director for the Young Pioneers.^[12]

In 2013, Chenle participated in the first season of Let's Sing Kids, as part of Yang Zongwei's team.^[13]^[14] His first known minor acting role was in 2013, when he featured in Chinese drama The Queen of SOP 2 at age 11.^{[citation needed]}

In 2014, Chenle held his first solo concert, Music With You, at the Shanghai Concert Hall.^[15]^[5] He consequently released his concert album, of the same name, Music With You, that same year. Chenle joined the World Organization of Rising Leading Diplomats, headquartered in Washington, D.C., founded and presided over by pianist-songwriter-producer Ezekiel Palmieri, representing China as a young cultural diplomat. He served as Chinese Ambassador at an international multicultural show created by Palmieri at the Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires on 15 and 16 August 2014;^[16] he performed "The Dragon's Romance", a song Palmieri wrote specifically for him.^{[citation needed]}

Throughout 2015, Chenle would participate as a performing member of the "Chinese Cultural Paradise" outstanding student troupe, visiting multiple countries including South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]

During his time as a child entertainer in China he would record and perform many cover songs, including many from Declan Galbraith.^[2]

2016–present: Debut with NCT and NCT Dream

After being given a casting offer by SM Entertainment in 2015, Chenle signed to SM Entertainment in March 2016.^[21] In August 2016, at age 14, Chenle would make his debut as a member of NCT Dream, a sub-unit of NCT.^[22]

On 20 May 2020, Chenle and Renjun's graduation song "A New Beginning" was released by Beijing Contemporary Music Academy on Chinese sites.^[23] Chenle hosted TBS eFM 101.3 MHz's Yuedong Seoul, a Chinese-language radio show, from 12 October 2020 to 12 September 2021.^[24]^[25] Chenle's NCT U debut was marked by the release of NCT's two-part second studio album, NCT 2020 Resonance, featuring on the single "From Home".^[26]

In February 2021, Chenle featured on the song "Too Good" from IMLAY's fourth EP Utopia.^[27] In March 2022 it was announced that Chenle had suffered an ankle injury in the run-up to NCT Dream's Glitch Mode promotions, which he ultimately chose to participate in in a limited capacity.^[28] On 6 December 2023, Chenle released his first self-produced song "Marine Turtle" by NCT U as part of the NCT Lab project.^[29] In January 2024, Chenle participated in "Do It (Let's Play)", the official theme song for the NCT Zone mobile game, with fellow NCT members Jungwoo, Xiaojun, Jeno, and Yangyang.^[30] On 31 May 2024, it was announced that Chenle would be participating in the OST for the Chinese drama The Double, with the ending theme, "Live and Love".^[31]^[32]

In May 2017, Chenle together with fellow NCT Dream member Renjun volunteered with CJ Dream Classroom in Nanjing.^[33] CJ Dream Classroom in Nanjing is part of a global social contribution program providing better cultural arts education opportunities for children of Chinese labourers.^[34]

In 2019, Chenle went viral for his instant ramen recipe, coined by the Korean media as "Chenle Ramen" and has also been covered by international outlets.^[35]^[36]^[37] The viral recipe which includes the addition of Lao Gan Ma sauce, has been seen as being part of a mala trend in Korea.^[35]