Universal Music Group (UMG) has inked a recording deal with Kris Wu, who the major calls ‘one of Asia’s biggest stars’.
UMG will release Wu’s music across the globe excluding Japan and Korea, via a partnership between Universal Music China, Interscope Geffen A&M in the U.S. and Island Records in the U.K., as well as Universal’s operations in more than 60 countries.
An artist across music, film and television, in October 27-year-old Wu became the only Chinese artist to reach No. 1 on the U.S. iTunes Chart with the the single “Deserve,” featuring Travis Scott.
Along with gaining significant airplay on American radio, “Deserve” has racked up more than a billion streams to date.
Over the past few years, Wu has produced and written tracks including “July,” “B.M.”, “6,” and “Juice,” a song featured in XxX: Return of Xander Cage – a 2017 movie that co-starred Wu as a member of Vin Diesel’s super-agent team.
In addition to XxX: Return of Xander Cage, Wu has starred in films including Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) and Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017). He’s now set to appear in Wong Kar-wai’s upcoming film Blossoms.
In addition, Wu represents leading global brands including Mercedes-Benz’s Smart Cars, which introduced the “Kris Wu Edition” in China; American Express Hong Kong’s I.T. Cashback Card; and he serves as a brand ambassador for BVLGARI.
“Kris is an incredibly talented recording artist, songwriter, actor and entrepreneur. I’m thrilled that Kris is joining the UMG family and honored that we will have the opportunity to build upon his remarkably successful career.”
In addition, Wu is a global brand ambassador at Burberry, the first non-British person chosen to represent the luxury brand.
He’s also a brand ambassador for McDonald’s and he is the first Chinese brand ambassador for BEATS.
Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG’s Chairman and CEO, said, “Kris is an incredibly talented recording artist, songwriter, actor and entrepreneur. I’m thrilled that Kris is joining the UMG family and honored that we will have the opportunity to build upon his remarkably successful career.”
Kris Wu said, “It‘s my pleasure to be part of this collaboration with Universal Music Group. I’m enjoying the time to share creative and vision of my music. As a singer-songwriter and producer, the album I’m working on now is elaborately produced and rounded by me and I will keep working to deliver more beautiful works to all my audiences around the world.”
Sunny Chang, Chairman and CEO of UMG’s Greater China operations, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Kris and our sister companies to launch new global hit songs from Kris, who is a genuine musical talent. As one of the industry’s top producers and singer-songwriters, Kris has global ambitions and he’s fluent in Mandarin, English and Korean, allowing him to uniquely overcome any language barrier.
“As China grows into one of the world’s biggest music markets, Universal Music China will continue to develop Kris Wu as well as the very best Chinese talent and position its artists for success both in the local market and across the globe.”
John Janick, Chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M, said: “Kris is an incredible talent. There are literally and figuratively no boundaries when it comes to his musical and cultural reach. We are looking forward to working alongside Kris and his team to bring his vision to global scale.”
Darcus Beese, President of Island Records, said, “Kris is a fantastic talent who represents the incredible opportunity of the modern music business – one without borders, where hit songs can come from anywhere in the world and seamlessly translate into great success whether in Asia, North America or the U.K.
“We’re thrilled to work with Kris and excited about everything that he has in store for fans.”
[Pictured: L-R Sunny Chang (Chairman & CEO Universal Music China) , Kris Wu, Sir Lucian Grainge (Chairman & CEO UMG), John Janick (President, Interscope Records)]Music Business Worldwide
