Xu Song (singer)


Xu Song, also known as "Vae" in English, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, producer, writer, and music director. He has released 8 albums.
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Early life

Xu was born in Hefei, Anhui, China, on 14 May 1986. His father was once a dulcimer, so Xu Song had early exposure to music, after the influence of his father, Xu Song more interested in folk music. He started pursuing music while attending Anhui Medical University, where he studied management and graduated from in 2008.

Music career

2006-2010: ''Personalized'' and ''Sought and Got''

In the early days before his style was established, Xu uploaded covers of Jay Chou's songs. Because of the similarity in tone and singing style, he was once called "Little Jay Chou". He began uploading original songs online in 2006 under the pseudonym Vae. "Moth" was downloaded more than 70,000 times after its release. "Funeral for Roses" was particularly well received by critics and listeners. In December 2006, he was invited by Lenovo to create a song ahead of the release of their new cell phone and wrote "Pink Letterhead" as a result. In 2007, he released "Andersen Has No Regrets" following a swath of malicious comments online.
After graduating from college in 2008, Xu spent about half a year creating his first album Personalize which was released on January 10, 2009, with Xu credited as the composer, lyricist, and producer on all nine songs. The album, with songs such as "Why Not", "Bad Kid", "Shrewdness", "Excessive Explanations", ranked 6th among QQ Music's 2009 top ten albums by mainland China artists.
Xu released his second album Sought and Got on January 6, 2010, and was credited as the composer, lyricist, and producer on all songs. The song "Luzhou Moon" was ranked 2nd on the Internet Original Music Popularity Chart.

2011-2013: ''Socra Without Tes'' and ''Wonderland''

In March 2011, Xu signed with Ocean Butterflies. Xu released Socra Without Tes on April 1, 2011; the single "In Imagination" earned more than 1 million listens on the first day of release. The album was ranked first on the 9th Asia Pacific Music Chart awards. That same year, he held his first concert on October 25 at Beijing Exhibition Center.
In July 2012, Xu released Wonderland, the concept for the album came from a dream. In January 2013, Xu served as the image ambassador of the first Shanghai University Student Original Music Competition, sponsored by Shanghai Municipal Government and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. March 30, Xu won the award for Best Singer-Songwriter at the 20th Chinese Top Ten Music Awards In August, Xu published his first book, a photography essay collection Sea Spiritual Light with nearly 200 photos documenting Xu's travels in Greece, interspersed with his personal reflections.
From April 2012 to October 2013, Xu embarked on his first concert tour "Xu Song and His Friends" with 3 shows in Nanjing, Beijing, and Wuhan. The Hefei show, scheduled for September 29, was cancelled due to various environmental factors.

2014-2017: ''Go Drink Tea'' and ''Youth Evening Paper''

On August 23, 2014, Xu released his fifth album Go Drink Tea. The title is a reference to the Zen koan "空持百千偈，不如吃茶去" meaning it's better to return to simplicity; instead of studying the art of Zen, why not go drink some tea. It's the way Xu lives his life. Musically, it features many traditional Chinese instruments such as guzheng, guqin, and erhu.
In January 2015, Xu wrote and composed the song "Swallows Return to Their Nests", performed by Jane Zhang and Jason Zhang. It won Best Duet at the 15th Global Chinese Songs Ranking and Xu won Best Composer at the 23rd Chinese Top Ten Music Awards.
On June 28, 2016, Xu released his sixth album Youth Evening Paper. The song, "Appreciation of Both Refined and Popular Tastes" was praised by critics and earned Xu the awards for Best Songwriter and Top 10 Songs of the Year at the 24th Chinese Top Ten Music Awards. In July, Xu supported the charity event "Moji 35 °C Project", to raise awareness about global warming.
In 2017, Xu embarked on his second tour, Youth Evening Paper, from March to October. The tour had four shows, starting in Shanghai, then Beijing, then Nanjing, and concluding in Guangzhou.

2018-2021: ''Treasure Hunting'' and ''Breathing Wilderness''

In 2018, Xu released his 7th album Treasure Hunting on July 12. At the album release press conference, Xu announced that he has renewed his contract with Taihe Music Group.
In 2019, Xu embarked on his third tour, titled after the album, for a total of five shows from June to July. In 2020, Xu composed "A Warm Heart Equals the World", which was jointly produced and released by Taihe Music Group, Xinhua News Agency's "Voice in China", Beijing Municipal Press and Publication Bureau, Cultural Investment Holdings, and Douyin. It pays tribute to medical staff fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on the front line.
In 2021, Xu released his eighth album Breathing Wilderness on May 14, with "Raven" as the lead single. In August, Xu made his first variety show appearance on the music-oriented The Next Banger along with Penny Tai and Joker Xue. In December, Xu won Best Singer-Songwriter award and "Raven" was named one of the Top 10 Hits of the Year at Migu Music Awards.

2022-Present: Recent activities

In 2022, Xu collaborated with Vincent Fang on the song "Snow on Paper" which was part of the cultural program "Poetry and Painting of China" jointly launched by China Media Group, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Palace Museum, Beijing Normal University, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the National Art Museum of China. On January 21, 2023, Xu made his first appearance at CMG New Year's Gala and performed "In Tune" with Jilin Singing & Dancing Troupe.
In 2024, Xu embarked on his four tour titled after his eighth album. The Breathing Wilderness Tour began in Wuhan on April 13. On October 26, Xu performed for the first time at the Beijing National Stadium to a crowd of 60,000 people. On December 31, Xu performed "Heart to Heart" at the CCTV New Year's Eve Gala, titled "Set Sail for 2025."
In 2025, Xu plans to continued the Breathing Wilderness Tour in Changsha on April 12 and more shows to come in Nanjing, Shenzhen, Huzhou, Xiamen, and Luoyang.

Albums

  • Personalize
  • Sought and Got
  • Socra Without Tes
  • Wonderland
  • Go Drink Tea
  • Youth Evening Paper
  • Treasure Hunting
  • ''Breathing Wilderness''

Concert tours

  • Socra Without Tes Concert
  1. 2011-10-25, Beijing
  • Xu Song and His Friends Concert Tour
  1. 2012-04-30, Nanjing
  2. 2012-09-29, Hefei
  3. 2012-11-25, Beijing
  4. 2013-10-19, Wuhan
  • Youth Evening Paper Concert Tour
  1. 2017-03-18, Shanghai
  2. 2017-07-15, Beijing
  3. 2017-08-05, Ninjing
  4. 2017-10-07, Guangzhou
  • Treasure Hunting Concert Tour
  1. 2019-6-1, Chengdu
  2. 2019-6-8, Wuhan
  3. 2019-6-22, Shanghai
  4. 2019-7-6, Beijing
  5. 2019-7-20, Hefei
  • Breathing Wilderness Tour
  1. 2024-4-13, Wuhan
  2. 2024-4-27, Shenzhen
  3. 2024-5-18, Hefei
  4. 2024-6-1, Nanjing
  5. 2024-6-15, Chengdu
  6. 2024-6-29, Qingdao
  7. 2024-8-3, Dalian
  8. 2024-8-10, Hangzhou
  9. 2024-8-17, Taiyuan
  10. 2024-8-31, Shanghai
  11. 2024-9-7, Zhengzhou
  12. 2024-9-15, Chongqing
  13. 2024-9-21, Nanchang
  14. 2024-9-28, Wenzhou
  15. 2024-10-4, Suzhou
  16. 2024-10-6, Suzhou
  17. 2024-10-13, Xi'An
  18. 2024-10-26, Beijing
  19. 2024-11-9, Haikou
  20. 2024-11-16, Guiyang
  21. 2024-11-23, Fuzhou
  22. 2024-12-7, Fushan
  23. 2024-12-21, Nanning
  24. 2025-4-12, Changsha