In June 2013, Lau debuted as a solo artist with his first extended play, Trap. It peaked at #2 on South Korea’s Gaon Album Chart and spawned the single with the same name, which peaked at #28 on South Korea’s Gaon Digital Chart, also peaked at #18 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Weekly singles. In April 2018, Lau left SM Entertainment following the expiration of his contract and effectively leaving Super Junior-M. In July 2018, Lau established his own studio, Henry Workshop. Later that year, he signed with Monster Entertainment and Korea label AXIS.
Henry Lau’s Career
Debut with Super Junior-M In 2007-2009
Henry appeared as a violinist in the music video of the South Korean group Super Junior, for the single “Don’t Don” from the second studio album of the same title, released in September 2007. The song contains a violin section, which Henry plays. In October 2007, S.M. Entertainment announced that Han Geng, from Super Junior, and Henry were selected as members for the new subgroup of Super Junior, which will debut in China, named Super Junior-M with “M” representing the word “Mandarin”. The group debuted in China on April 8th, 2008, at the 8th Annual Music Chart Awards, with the release of their first official album, Me (Chinese: 迷; pinyin: Mí), and its lead single, “U”, which was remade into the group’s main single, with music video. The song is different from the Korean release: it contains heavy bass instruments, a closer approach to hip-hop and jazz music. The song also has additional music bridges, such as the violin bridge performed by Henry and a dance bridge added. The group was very active in China, taking part in variety shows, doing concerts, and attending fan meetings. Henry made a cameo appearance in Han Geng’s drama, Stage of Youth, as himself, which was broadcast on CCTV2 in 2009. Henry returned to the music industry after a year of rest with the release of Super Junior-M’s first mini-album, Super Girl, on September 23rd, 2009. The mini-album was very successful, won numerous awards, and won a nomination for “Best Vocal Group” at the 21st Golden Melody Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the Grammy Awards. Henry features as a rapper in Zhang Li Yin’s first single album, Moving On, released on October 29th, 2009, on the track “Love Me” (Chinese: 愛 我; pinyin: Ài wǒ). Henry appeared in Super Junior’s second Asian concert, Super Show 2, as part of Super Junior-M, and also appeared as a solo artist with a song called “Sick of Love,” which he produced, composed, and wrote by himself. The song was sung in English and has never been released.
Solo Activities In 2011
He worked with Super Junior’s leader Leeteuk again, and together they composed a song called “Andante” (Korean: 안단테; Revised Romanization: Andante) for Super Junior’s 5th repackaged album, A-CHa, released on September 19th, 2011. He toured with Super Junior as a member of Super Junior-M for their 4th tour, Super Show 4. He performed “Baby” by Justin Bieber once again during Super Show 4’s opening stops in Seoul with another new arrangement with f(x)’s Amber performing alongside him as a featured rapper. He also performed various other songs. At Osaka, Japan, he performed a medley of songs by American singer Bruno Mars: he started by singing “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy with his guitar, then he sang “The Lazy Song” with a band, and finally sang “Lighters” by Bad Meets Evil with the piano, and finished by playing the violin. In Singapore, he also performed his solo song “Off My Mind.” Super Junior with Henry Lau and fellow Super Junior-M member Zhou Mi released the single “Santa U Are The One,” taken from SMTown’s eighth winter album, 2011 Winter SMTown – The Warmest Gift, released on December 13th, 2011. Henry participated in the OST for the Taiwanese drama series Skip Beat! by featuring as a rapper on the track “This is Love” (Chinese: 這是愛; pinyin: Zhè shì ài) sung by fellow Super Junior-M member Donghae. The OST was released on February 24th, 2011. He was featured in BoA’s single “One Dream” with SHINee’s Key. The song was released on March 18th, 2012, and served as the opening song for the audition program K-pop Star on Seoul Broadcasting System. The single was included in BoA’s 7th Korean studio album, Only One, released on July 22nd, 2012. Henry was cast as the main role for the movie Final Recipe (originally known as Cooktales) alongside Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, who also produced the film. The film tells the story of young aspiring chef Mark, played by Henry Lau, who participates in an international cooking contest to save his grandfather’s restaurant from going out of business. He became a member of the project group Younique Unit with fellow Super Junior-M member Eunhyuk, SHINee’s Taemin, EXO’s Kai and Luhan, and Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon, for a collaboration between S.M. Entertainment and Hyundai. Their single “Maxstep” was released on October 31st, 2012.
Solo Debut In 2013
Henry Lau was featured in Girls’ Generation’s comeback performance Romantic Fantasy on MBC’s Music Core. He performed “I Am” (Korean: 나는; Revised Romanization: Naneun) by Yoon Mi-rae with Yuri and Hyoyeon on January 1st, 2013. Super Junior-M’s second studio album, Break Down, was released on January 7th, 2013, along with the lead single of the same title. The album includes two songs produced and composed by Henry Lau’s music production team, Noize Bank, titled “Go” and “It’s You.” The lyrics for both songs were written by fellow Super Junior-M member Zhou Mi. Noize Bank is a music production team consisting of Henry Lau, Gen Neo, Neil Nallas, and Isaac Han. Their Break Down Korean version was released on January 31st. They made their official debut in Korea in the music program Mnet’s M! Countdown on January 31st. On February 6th, he was confirmed to be a contestant in O’live MasterChef Korea Celebrity, the celebrity version of MasterChef Korea. On May 30th, 2013, it was announced that Henry will be making his solo debut making him S.M. Entertainment’s first male in 13 years, since Kangta. His first solo extended play, Trap was released on June 7th, 2013. The title track is featuring Super Junior’s Kyuhyun and SHINee’s Taemin. The Chinese version of the extended play, Trap, was released on August 14th. Following, were promotions for a re-release of his song 1-4-3 (I Love You) from Trap as a digital single featuring label mate, Amber from f(x) on August 23rd. In February 2014, Henry Lau joined the cast of the Korean real-time military-variety show Real Men, with fellow celebrities, Chun Jung-myung, Park Gun-hyung, K.Will. He quickly became the break-out star and variety favorite because of his natural optimism and eagerness to learn Korean culture, despite being Canadian-born and completely unfamiliar with the Korean military. In addition, his appearance in Star King further cemented his skills, along with his appearance in Real Men propelled his rising popularity, leading to more variety show opportunities, like being chosen as the first guest star in JTBC’s Crime Scene and his first solo endorsement opportunity with KFC Korea and netting his second solo endorsement with Sprite Korea. After almost seven months of production, his follow-up EP, Fantastic was released on July 14th, 2014. Henry made his Japanese debut with the release of the single record Fantastic on October 8th. The record includes a Japanese version of “Fantastic” and “Trap.”
End of Contract, Henry Lau Leaves SM Entertainment and Label SJ
Unpleasant news came from Super Junior’s unit, Super Junior-M that one of its members, Henry Lau, decided not to renew his contract with SM Entertainment. Reported from Soompi, on Monday (04/30/2018), S.M. Entertainment revealed, “Henry Lau’s exclusive contract is up, and we ended it in good terms.” Super Junior’s agency which is a subsidiary of S.M. Entertainment, Label SJ, also issued its confirmation. “On April 29th, 2018, our exclusive contract with Henry Lau expired. We have decided not to renew the contract.” Henry has been with S.M. Entertainment for 10 years since his debut with Super Junior-M in 2008. Henry was also active as a solo artist under the auspices of S.M. Entertainment and also Label SJ in 2013.
After Leaving SM Entertainment And Super Junior-M, How Is Henry Lau’s Career Developing?
Although he chose to part ways with S.M. Entertainment, that did not mean Henry Lau stopped working. He was reported to have joined a new label, AXIS, which overshadowed singer Katie Kim. After signing a contract with a new global management agency called Monster Entertainment Group earlier this month, Henry has now joined an additional new label to support his career in South Korea. The AXIS label has shared a teaser poster on their official Instagram account and revealed that Henry has joined the label. The poster was made by AXIS’ art director and signaled that they would create a new direction with Henry. AXIS is a platform founded by former YG Entertainment creative director, SINXITY. Another artist under this label is Katie Kim, who is the winner of K-Pop Star 4, and was previously a trainee at YG Entertainment. With Henry’s music as the focus, AXIS will work with this former Super Junior-M member and do music production, planning, and marketing to issue a trendy new release. Henry’s agency, Monster Entertainment Group said, “We will provide our support so that Henry can continue his music career through his contract with AXIS music labels.” Henry and A & R AXIS crew worked hard for the new album with a comeback goal in the first half of 2019.
Henry Lau Establishes a One-Man Agency After Leaving SM Entertainment
Shocking news came from singer Henry Lau as the 28-year-old Canadian-born artist was recently reported to have ended his exclusive contract with Label SJ. After leaving the agency, Henry was said to have established a one-man agency to continue his career in the entertainment world. In fact, Henry also plans to establish a one-man agency in China and will focus on promoting as a solo singer there. After the news spread on various Korean media, Henry’s last Instagram post was immediately flooded with comments from his fans. Some fans claimed not to believe Henry left the agency that had hyped his name. Others supported the decision and encouraged him. “Thank you Henry. I will support your decision. You are a talented musician and I hope you shine brighter than before,” wrote one netter. While others revealed, “Do whatever makes you happy, we will not force you. Fans will always support whatever you do. We just hope you are always happy and healthy.” Another netizen added, “When everything feels heavy for you, it doesn’t matter if you cry. That will make you feel better. Sorry if we haven’t been the fans that are good for you and thank you for making us happy. You will always be in our hearts and once again, we will always support you to the end @henryl89.” “Actually I’m sad about your decision. But I believe, you will be more successful after leaving S.M. Entertainment. Fans only hope that you continue to maintain good relations with S.M. Entertainment artists and staff. I will always support you,” added another fan of Henry. Henry joined S.M. Entertainment in 2008. At that time, he joined the Super Junior sub-group, namely Super Junior-M. The group was based in China and performed Super Junior songs in Chinese. On May 30th, 2013, S.M. Entertainment promoted Henry as a solo musician by releasing a mini-album, Trap. A year later, he released another mini-album, Fantastic. In addition to actively singing, he has also explored acting by appearing in Final Recipe and Oh My Venus.
Henry Lau Will Debut In Hollywood After Deciding To Leave SM Entertainment
Henry Lau focused on his career in America after deciding to leave S.M. Entertainment. He left the agency in April 2018 after being 10 years under their auspices. Henry then established his own agency in China. Henry reportedly will soon make his first American film debut. The news was also uploaded on his personal Instagram account, @henryl89. “It is a great honor to be able to work together with Steven Spielberg’s studio for the next film, A Dog’s Journey,” he wrote in the caption. He posted the upload on Monday (08/27/2018). Reported by Grid.ID from Soompi, the agency of The Cre8tive Lab confirmed that Henry will play in the film. A Dog’s Journey is the second sequel to the film A Dog’s Purpose that was released in 2017. The film was adapted from a book with the same title. A Dog’s Journey is a family film that tells the story of a dog that finds the meaning of its own existence through the connection with human life. Narrated from a dog’s perspective, the film will be directed by Gail Mancuso. Gail Mancuso is an American hit show director who directed the hit TV series Modern Family. A Dog’s Journey will be starring Dennis Quaid and Josh Gad, while Henry will appear as a character named Trent. A Dog’s Journey is expected to be released in May 2019.
