Chen (singer)

2011–14: Career beginnings

Chen became a trainee through S.M. Entertainment's Casting System in 2011 when he was 18 years old. On December 29, 2011, he was formally introduced as the fourth member of Exo. He made his first public appearance as an Exo member alongside Luhan, Tao, and Kai at the 2011 SBS Gayo Daejeon. The group officially debuted on April 8, 2012.

In 2014, Chen joined the ballad group S.M. the Ballad, initially formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2010. On the group's 2nd album Breath, he sang the Chinese version of the title track "Breath" with Zhang Liyin. He also sang a duet with f(x)'s Krystal titled "When I Was... When U Were...", and "A Day Without You" with Shinee's Jonghyun. Chen performed his duets with Krystal and Jonghyun live at the S.M. The Ballad Joint Recital on February 12.

In July 2014, Chen released his first solo song since debut titled "The Best Luck" as part of the soundtrack for SBS drama It's Okay, That's Love, which stars his fellow Exo member D.O.. "The Best Luck" was awarded the "Best OST by a Male Artist" and "Best OST Song" at the 5th So-Loved Awards and the 16th Seoul International Youth Film Festival respectively. Chen was also invited as a special performer at the 3rd APAN Star Awards on November 11, 2014, where he performed the track live.

2015–present: Solo activities and EXO-CBX

In June 2015, Chen co-wrote the lyrics for "Promise," a song from the reissued edition of Exo's fourth studio album Exodus, along with fellow members Chanyeol and Lay. In August 2015, he made his musical theatre debut playing the role of Benny in the SM C&C production In the Heights. He also participated in and became the runner-up in the eleventh round of the music television show King of Mask Singer under the alias "Legendary Guitar Man."

In January 2016, Chen performed John Lennon's song "Imagine" with world-renowned pianist Steve Barakatt at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, as part of UNICEF's "Imagine Project." In February 2016, Chen and South Korean singer Punch released a duet titled "Everytime" as a soundtrack for the KBS drama Descendants of the Sun. The song debuted at number one on Gaon's weekly digital chart. In April 2016, Chen and South Korean rapper Heize released "Lil' Something", a song produced by Vibe member Ryu Jae-hyun, as the ninth weekly single of S.M. Entertainment's Station music project. In August 2016, Chen collaborated with fellow Exo members Xiumin and Baekhyun on an original soundtrack titled "For You" for the SBS drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. In October 2016, he collaborated with DJ Alesso on another song for the Station project titled "Years". Later in October, together with Baekhyun and Xiumin, Chen became a member of Exo's first official sub unit EXO-CBX. The group made their debut with the extended play Hey Mama!.

In January 2017, Chen collaborated with Dynamic Duo in a song titled "Nosedive", becoming the first artist to be featured in the group's collaboration project "Mixxxture". The song reached number two on the Gaon Digital Chart. In February 2017, he released an original soundtrack titled "I'm Not Okay" for the MBC drama Missing 9 in which his fellow EXO member Chanyeol played a supporting role.

Personal life

On February 28, it was revealed that Chen has been accepted into the advertisement media MBA program at Hanyang Cyber University.