Ken Chu

Chu was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Raised by a single mother, he was sent to Singapore for school when young. At 17, he returned to Taiwan, where he worked as a waiter until he was discovered by TV producer Chai Zhiping, who cast him in the TV series Meteor Garden (2001), its supplementary mini-series, Meteor Rain (2001), and its sequel, Meteor Garden II (2002). With the huge success of Meteor Garden, Chu with three other co-stars formed boy group F4, the name of the fictional group from the show. Chu was the lead in Sky of Love (2003) and Tokyo Trial (2006). In 2007, Chu starred alongside Iza Calzado in the movie Batanes: Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, directed by Adolf Alix. In January 2005, he released his debut solo album, On Ken's Time. The tracks "永不停止" (Never Stopping) and "La La La" were nominated for Top 10 Gold Songs at the Hong Kong TVB8 Awards, presented by television station TVB8, in 2005.^[1] In 2006, he released a cookbook, Mei Wei Guan Xi (Delicious Relations) in Taiwan, China, and Japan.

On February 24 and 25, 2007, he held his first solo concert in Japan. In 2009, he had a falling-out with his label over his second and final album, as the label failed to meet the production budget. After his ten-year management contract expired—during which he often struggled with depression due to high pressure and media scrutiny—Chu’s career declined.^[2]

Throughout the 2010s, Chu mainly lived in Beijing, where he opened an antique shop but closed in the late 2010s.^[2] In 2014, after disbanding his 8-year-old fan club, Chu was enrolled as an undergraduate of Department of Directing at the Beijing Film Academy.^[3] In 2019, Chu graduated with a master’s degree in retail management from the NEOMA Business School in collaboration with University of International Business and Economics.^[4] Chu moved back to Taiwan since the COVID-19 pandemic. In a 2021 interview, Chu acknowledged being the “least successful member of F4,” revealing that he had little to no income in Taiwan over the past two years. Since the 2020s, he has primarily focused on creating online content, including travel shows and e-commerce.^[5]

• Mei Wei Guan Xi (Delicious Relations) – cookbook
• With F4
  • F4@Tokyo – 2005 photobook
  • Comic Man – The First Anniversary of F4 – 2002 photobook
  • Meteor in Barcelona – 2002 photobook
  • F4 Music Party – 2001 photobook

• Qingdao Beer (2002, Taiwan)
• Acer Mobile Phones (2000, Taiwan)
• With F4
  • Pepsi – 2002~2005 Taiwan, Hong Kong, China
  • YAMAHA – 2003 South East Asia
  • S&K – 2002–2006 Taiwan, Hong Kong, China
  • Asgard On-line Game – 2003 Taiwan
  • Mingle Sneakers – 2002 Hong Kong
  • Lenovo computer – 2002 China
  • Lupiao Shampoo – 2002 China
  • Chinesegamer On-line Game – 2001 Taiwan
  • Siemens 2118 – 2001 Taiwan

• 2008 KEN CHU CONCERT 2009 ~Freedom~ March 21–22, 2009 Tokyo, Japan / March 24, 2009 Osaka, Japan
• 2008 [I-KEN] 2nd Solo Concert March 8–9, 2008 Tokyo, Japan
• 2007 [I-KEN] 1st Solo Concert February 24–25, 2007 Tokyo, Japan
• F4 Forever 4 – March 22–25, 2006 Hong Kong
• On Ken's Time Mini Concert – 2005 Hong Kong
• F4 Bangkok Fantasy – 2004 Thailand
• F4 Happy New Year 2004 – 2003 Philippines
• The Event (with Vanness and ASOS) – 2003 Philippines
• Fantasy F4ever Live Concert World Tour – 2002~2003 Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China and the U.S.
• F4 Music Party – 2001 Taiwan

• Played the main lead in the recently concluded mainland comedy stage play, "Love on A Two Street/He and His Two Wives", which played to different cities in China from November 2009 to February 2010.