Eric Chou

Eric Chou (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chiu Hin-chet, born 22 June 1995) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter and actor.

He has been dubbed by the Taiwanese media as "king of the lovelorn people".

Eric Chou was born in Taiwan on 22 June 1995.

He has two brothers—younger brother Jimmy/James, and older brother Alex (周予天) who is also active as a singer-songwriter.

At a young age, he learned chess to improve his character, and even won a championship.

When he was nine, his uncle brought him to watch Jay Chou's concert rehearsal.

"When I heard him sing ‘Hair Like Snow’, that was the moment I was determined to become a singer-songwriter like him," Chou said.

At the age of twelve, he moved with his family to Boston in the United States, where he attended Fay School and Northfield Mount Hermon School.

Chou recalled not being able to sit still when he first started learning the piano and had to be forced by his mother.

However, playing the piano had become his outlet to express his emotions and started to play more during his spare time when he was in the US.

His inspiration for songwriting comes from movies, his friends and personal experiences.

During his time in Boston, he wrote the song, "The Distance of Love", inspired by his failed attempt to impress a girl he liked from high school.

"I thought I'd really get into music to make myself appear more charming, and that was actually the initial motivation," Chou said.

At eighteen, Chou returned to Taiwan due to his parents' work in Shanghai.

Chou was talent scouted by Taiwanese actor Edison Huang (黃懷晨) who heard from a friend that his son "can sing", and was asked to perform at his wedding with actress Queenie Tai when he was seventeen.

He performed the song "The Distance of Love" which will eventually be chosen two years after as the ending theme of the Taiwanese drama The Way We Were where Tai also appeared.

He also made his acting debut in the same drama by making a cameo as a singer.

Chou's self-composed smash hit "The Distance of Love", the ending theme of the 2014 Taiwanese drama The Way We Were, where he also made a cameo, reached 100 million views on YouTube, making Chou the youngest Mandopop artist to reach the feat at that time.

In August 2014, Chou released "The Distance of Love" as his first single under Sony Music Taiwan.

The song will eventually appear in his debut studio album My Way to Love which was released on 24 December.

The album went on to top 18 charts upon its release.

He won the TV Theme Song Award for "The Distance of Love" at the Hito Music Awards in 2015.

In 2016, Chou served as a composer for the Chinese television series Magical Space-Time.

He wrote three songs including "I Love You So" which was performed by his brother Alex Chou, "Fleeting Happiness" by Taiwanese singer A-Lin, and "Back to the Day" by Chou himself, and was used for the opening, ending, and theme song of the drama respectively.

He also had his first leading role in a micro drama for a ramen brand and released the theme song, "I Loved You".

On 5 August 2016, Chou released his second studio album, What Love Has Taught Us.

It contained his hit single "How Have You Been?"

which topped the KKBOX Mandarin Weekly Singles Chart for 30 consecutive weeks, and its music video reaching 185 million views as of July 2022.

The song earned him the title "king of the lovelorn people".

The album achieved success, and a solo concert, "This Is Love", has been announced to promote the album.

Tickets for the Taipei show in November sold out within two minutes.

The concert kicked off in Singapore on October, followed by Taipei in November, and then in Malaysia.

Chou also performed for ''Rock On!

2017'', the largest countdown party in Singapore on 31 December 2016.

In 2017, Chou performed at the 12th KKBOX Music Awards where he received the Artist of the Year award, the youngest singer to do so.

In February 2017, he held his Valentine's concert in Macau where he performed his new song "Unbreakable Love", as well as a cover of Hebe Tien's "A Little Happiness".

On 21 May 2017, Chou performed in his sold-out concert in Taipei where he also announced that he's already working on his new album.

In August 2017, he announced the ticket-selling for his second concert tour "22 TWENTY TWO" in Taipei and the tickets sold out within 6 minutes.

A second date has been added and tickets also sold out within an hour.

Chou wrapped up his concert tour "This Is Love" on October and commenced with his second concert tour "22 TWENTY TWO" in November, where he premiered his new song "Without Her" which will eventually appear on his new album.