Eric Chou facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eric Chou
Chou in 2023
Born	(1995-06-22) 22 June 1995 (age 30) New Taipei City, Taiwan
Nationality	Taiwanese
Other names	Chou Hsing-che Zhou Xingzhe
Occupation	Singer songwriter actor
Spouse(s)	Dacie Chao ​ (m. 2022)​
Children	1
Family	Alex Chou (brother)
Musical career
Genres	Mandopop Ballad
Instruments	Vocals piano
Years active	2014–present
Labels	Sony Music Taiwan
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	周興哲
Simplified Chinese	周兴哲
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōu Xīngzhé
Pha̍k-fa-sṳ	Chiu Hin-chet
Jyutping	Zau1 Hing3 Zit3
Hokkien POJ	Chiu Hèng-tiat

Eric Chou Hsing-che (Chinese: 周興哲; pinyin: Zhōu Xīngzhé; born on June 22, 1995) is a famous Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and actor. He is sometimes called the "king of emotional songs" by the Taiwanese media. Eric Chou became very popular with his song "The Distance of Love." This song was the ending theme for the 2014 Taiwanese TV show The Way We Were.

The music video for "The Distance of Love" reached over 100 million views on YouTube. This made Eric Chou the youngest Mandopop artist to achieve this amazing goal at that time.

Eric Chou's Early Life and Career

Growing Up and Discovering Music

Eric Chou was born in Taiwan on June 22, 1995. He has two brothers: a younger brother named Jimmy/James, and an older brother named Alex. Alex is also a singer and songwriter. When Eric was young, he learned to play chess and even won a championship.

At nine years old, his uncle took him to a concert rehearsal for the famous singer Jay Chou. Eric said, "When I heard him sing ‘Hair Like Snow,’ that was the moment I decided I wanted to be a singer-songwriter just like him."

Moving to the United States

When Eric was twelve, his family moved to Boston in the United States. He went to Fay School and Northfield Mount Hermon School there. Eric remembers that he didn't like learning piano at first. His mom had to make him practice.

But soon, playing the piano became a way for him to show his feelings. He started playing more in his free time while living in the U.S. He gets ideas for his songs from movies, his friends, and things that happen in his own life.

Writing His First Hit Song

While in Boston, Eric wrote the song "The Distance of Love" (Chinese: 以後別做朋友, romanized: Yi Hou Bie Zuo Peng You, lit. 'Don't Be Friends From Now On'). He was inspired to write it after trying to impress a girl he liked in high school. Eric said, "I thought I'd really get into music to make myself appear more charming, and that was actually the initial motivation." When he was eighteen, Eric moved back to Taiwan because his parents had work in Shanghai.

Getting Discovered

Eric was discovered by Taiwanese actor Edison Huang (黃懷晨). Edison heard from a friend that Eric "can sing." When Eric was seventeen, he was asked to perform at Edison's wedding with actress Queenie Tai. He sang "The Distance of Love" at the wedding. Two years later, this song was chosen as the ending theme for the Taiwanese drama The Way We Were, where Queenie Tai also acted. Eric also made his first acting appearance in the same drama, playing a singer in a small role.

Eric Chou's Music Career Milestones

2014–2016: First Albums and Big Hits

Chou in 2015

In August 2014, Eric Chou released "The Distance of Love" as his first song with Sony Music Taiwan. This song was later part of his first album, called My Way to Love, which came out on December 24. This album quickly became very popular, reaching the top of 18 music charts. In 2015, he won the TV Theme Song Award for "The Distance of Love" at the Hito Music Awards.

In 2016, Eric also wrote three songs for a Chinese TV show called Magical Space-Time. He wrote "I Love You So" for his brother Alex Chou to sing, "Fleeting Happiness" for Taiwanese singer A-Lin, and "Back to the Day" which he sang himself. These songs were used for the opening, ending, and main theme of the drama. Eric also got his first main acting role in a short drama for a ramen brand and released its theme song, "I Loved You."

On August 5, 2016, Eric released his second album, What Love Has Taught Us. This album included his super hit song "How Have You Been?" This song stayed at the top of the KKBOX Mandarin Weekly Singles Chart for 30 weeks in a row! Its music video has been watched over 185 million times. This song helped him earn the nickname "king of emotional songs."

Because of the album's success, Eric announced his first solo concert tour called "This Is Love." Tickets for his Taipei show in November sold out in just two minutes! The tour started in Singapore in October, then went to Taipei in November, and later to Malaysia. Eric also performed at Rock On! 2017, which was Singapore's biggest New Year's Eve party on December 31, 2016.

2017–2018: More Concerts and New Music

In 2017, Eric Chou performed at the 12th KKBOX Music Awards. He also won the Artist of the Year award, becoming the youngest singer to receive it. In February 2017, he held a special Valentine's concert in Macau. There, he sang his new song "Unbreakable Love" and a cover of Hebe Tien's "A Little Happiness."

On May 21, 2017, Eric performed in a sold-out concert in Taipei. He also told his fans that he was already working on a new album. In August 2017, tickets for his second concert tour, "22 TWENTY TWO," in Taipei sold out in just six minutes! An extra show was added, and those tickets also sold out within an hour. Eric finished his "This Is Love" tour in October and started his "22 TWENTY TWO" tour in November. During this tour, he first performed his new song "Without Her," which later appeared on his new album.

On December 15, 2017, Eric Chou released his third album, The Chaos After You. This album had ten songs, including the main song with the same name. He ended the year by performing at the Taoyuan New Year's Eve party.

In 2018, Eric Chou won two awards at the Hito Music Awards. These included the friDay Digital Song Award for his song "The Chaos After You." In August 2018, he joined a competition called Chao Yin Idols on Tencent. In this show, artists work with different people to create new music styles. During the competition, he helped write the song "What's Wrong" with Chinese singer and actor Wu Jiacheng. The live version they performed with Chinese singer Su Yunying was released online that same month. In November 2018, Eric Chou played the main male role in the IQIYI web drama The Elfin's Golden Castle. In December 2018, Eric Chou released a new song called "Nobody But Me" along with its music video.

2019–Present: New EPs and Albums

On January 10, 2019, Eric Chou released his first EP, Freedom. An EP is like a mini-album with fewer songs. This EP had five songs, including "What's Wrong" and "Nobody But Me" from the year before. At the 15th KKBOX Music Awards, Eric performed a mix of his songs, including "At Least I Remember" from his new EP.

On May 11, 2019, Eric Chou started his "How Have You Been" concert tour. This was his first time performing at Taipei Arena in front of 11,000 fans! Reports said the tickets sold out in just two minutes. The concert also took place at Kaohsiung Arena in August. In October 2019, Eric Chou released his song "Forever Beautiful" to support a breast cancer awareness campaign.

In December 2019, Eric Chou released a special version of his Freedom EP as his fourth album. It included the original five songs plus four new ones. Also, the music video for his song "What's Wrong" was named the most-watched Mandopop music video by YouTube. He was also listed as the second most popular singer in Taiwan in 2019, after Jay Chou and before Jolin Tsai. Eric Chou was also featured on G.E.M.'s song "Don't Force It."

On January 7, 2020, Eric Chou released his fifth album, When We Were Young. This album has eleven songs, including "I'm Happy."

On August 8, Eric Chou became the first singer to hold a concert at Taipei Arena since the COVID-19 pandemic began. This was part of his "How Have You Been Tour." The show was completely full, with 10,000 people attending. To help raise money during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eric Chou gave all the money from a new version of "Forever Beautiful" to charity. He sang this song with other Asian artists from Sony Music.

Eric Chou's Personal Life

In January 2019, Eric Chou announced that he was in a relationship with news anchor Dacie Chao (born around 1989) since March 2018. The couple later broke up in October 2020 but got back together in 2021. Eric Chou announced their engagement in October 2022. He shared that he had asked Dacie to marry him on a hotel balcony in Europe in March of that year. In March 2023, Eric Chou announced that he and Dacie were expecting their first child. In August 2023, Eric Chou announced that their daughter had been born. In January 2025, the couple announced the birth of their first son.

Discography

• My Way to Love (2014)
• What Love Has Taught Us (2016)
• The Chaos After You (2017)
• Freedom (2019)
• When We Were Young (2020)
• Almost (2024)

Filmography

Film

Television series

Television show

Concerts

Concert tours

• This Is Love (2016–2017)
• 22 Twenty Two (2017)
• 22 Plus (2018)

Awards and Nominations