Henry Lau is a man of many talents. He trained in classical music at a young age, learning the violin when he was 6 and starting piano at the age of 7. He then decided to take up dance and became good at popping. Now, Henry is as an all-around musician, artist and actor. In his Tedx Talk at The Bund in Shanghai, Henry shares his story, the difficulties he encountered and his “Why Not” philosophy.
He Put Violin and Popping Together
Henry Lau shared the first time he asked himself “Why Not.” When his mom expected him to pursue classical music yet he wanted to dance, he came up with the idea of juggling both. He can actually play the violin while popping at the same time. A big company came to his school to hold auditions and even though it was completely different from the future his parents wanted for him, he figured “Why Not.” And the rest is history.
He Debuted to Screams of Rejection
Henry became a member of Super Junior-M under South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment. He was very happy when he signed with the company, thinking that it was his shot to fame. However, reality is a hard pill to swallow. Henry had his debut stage with the hugely popular Super Junior in 2007. He played the violin portion of their song “Don’t Don.” Henry recalls hearing screams during his performance. What he thought were chants for “Henry Lau” turned out to be “Henry Out” as his colleague who came to ask if he was okay pointed out. The audience rejected Henry as they were opposed to the idea that Henry might became the 14th member of Super Junior.
Henry shares that his work was reduced afterwards. He couldn’t perform nor promote with the others. This was when he thought about turning a difficult situation into an opportunity. Since he suddenly had a lot of free time, he asked himself “Why not become better?” Henry learned music production. Since he couldn’t perform his own songs as many people still ostracized him, he wrote music for others. Henry is known to be one of the composers of EXO’s hit song “The Eve.”
Just keep asking yourself WHY NOT
Fast forward to the present, Henry has acted in dramas and movies and even tried action as the protagonist of the 2020 Chinese fantasy film Double World. Recently, Henry is among three Kpop stars who debuted their artwork at a London exhibition. Henry is also a dance captain at Street Dance of China 4. He ends his Tedx talk with the message, “The best is yet to come, just keep asking yourself WHY NOT.”
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