Before you start, we invite you to listen to his powerful signature voice in his first single (click on the title):
I tried and tried
I persisted
I tried to be in your shoes
Like a fanatic
Obsessed
Reckless
Persistent
How presumptuous and naive
(Translator: Natalie)
Introduction
As fans of Liu Yu Ning as an OST singer, initially, we came together to highlight some of the artist’s extensive list of OSTs. Upon additional research, we thought that Yu Ning has an interesting life story that needs to be shared with those who don’t already know it. We took this article as a serious yet fun challenge to compile an informative Ultra Fan Guide to the artist.
Biography
Name: Liu Yu Ning (刘宇宁)
宇宁 means peaceful universe
Nicknames:
Xiao Ning, Ning Ge
Birthday: January 8, 1990
(Zodiacs: Capricorn, Earth Snake)
Birthplace:
Dandong, Liaoning, China
Height: 189 cm (6′ 2″)
Fandom Names:
Mo Fan, Peng Fei
Social: Weibo
Early Life
Liu Yu Ning lost his father at the young age of four and was raised by his grandparents while his mother left to work. They were very poor. He shared sleeping quarters on the floor around the fireplace with his mother, uncle, and younger brother. As a child, Yu Ning had always been intrigued by music and wanted to learn; however, he couldn’t afford to take lessons with the little income of the family. When he asked his uncle to learn music, he got an apologetic answer instead. He decided to support himself and not give up.
After graduating from Dandong Culinary Technical School, Yu Ning worked odd jobs. He passed out flyers, waited tables, and even had a hand in cooking as a chef. Of his first month’s paycheck of 200 RMB, he used 180 RMB to buy a guitar. He played the guitar in the restaurant’s supply room during breaks. While working on getting food in his stomach, Yu Ning’s passion for music was still burning inside him. He was willing to work as a singer for bars and hot pot restaurants even if he didn’t get paid, or only through customer’s tips.
At the age of 20, Liu Yu Ning auditioned for the show Super Boy but failed to make the cut to be a part of the official lineup to compete. Since he didn’t have enough money to participate in various audition activities, he recorded videos and recommended himself on various platforms. He said, whenever there is any kind of variety shows, people say that they have given up a lot for music, and how family members sacrificed to fund them. Yu Ning couldn’t relate to those sentiments. He said, “I don’t have any resources. If I had, why would I have made my debut at the age of 30?”
Wo Shi Ni Men De: I am Yours
It wasn’t until four years later that he established a group with Ah Zhuo (阿卓) and Big Fly/Da Fei (大飞), known as the band Modern Brothers (摩登兄弟) under an entertainment company. Through Modern Brothers, Yu Ning embarked on his new journey in music and in the entertainment world.
The original Modern Brothers band formation was five people. Two of them left since they couldn’t stand the little money that was evenly divided into five. Yu Ning was depressed, but Ah Zhuo and Da Fei stayed, and they had been together for several difficult years. As for now, Ah Zhuo and Da Fei have withdrawn from live performing with Yu Ning to focus on their family business. However, they are still a group and still contact each other for personal or business reasons, including discussing songwriting. To him, they are not only his bandmates but also best friends and soul brothers. Therefore, his self-introduction will always be Modern Brothers’ Liu Yu Ning (摩登兄弟刘宇宁), and the same goes for his Weibo page.
Changing the Game as a Street Performer
In 2015, Modern Brothers started streaming live performances on YY, a live-streaming platform in China. Their room is known as YY Live Room 4528. Filming covers inside a building, the group eventually moved to outdoor filming and street performing in 2017. Modern Brothers set up their stand in front of a restaurant on the street Liu Yu Ning’s hometown called An Dong Old Street (安东老街). Little did they expect that this street would soon be packed and shaking with support from their fans.
It wasn’t until Modern Brothers became part of Douyin’s platform in 2018 that the group found immense success (Douyin is a Chinese video-sharing-focused social networking service). Their 200,000 fan count skyrocketed to 1.5 million fans overnight through their cover of Tell the Truth (講真的). Through Douyin, they broke many records, surpassing many well-known celebrities with fan counts and videos with the most likes. They gained 10 million fans in 10 days through their posts on Douyin, and Yu Ning became known as the “Cover Harvester” (翻唱收割机) in countless articles. During their Douyin popularity surge in 2018, one of the popular celebrities they managed to surpass in the number of fans was Wu Yi Fan. Liu Yu Ning and the Modern Brothers will go down in history as the group that changed and created a new trend in the artists’ streaming platform industry.
With their new rise in popularity, YY invited Modern Brothers to participate in their pilot project to pivot their streaming platform to acquire young users. This successfully helped YY, as artists started utilizing the platform for their streaming purposes.
Liu Yu Ning’s popularity allowed him to collaborate with local and international artists. He has collaborated with non-Chinese musicians Olly Murs, Corsak, and Far East Movement (click each artist for song links). This was only the start of Yu Ning and the Modern Brothers, as he flew from an internet streamer and street performer into a talented rising star in the Chinese entertainment business.
Original Soundtracks
Liu Yu Ning has a handful of songs from his albums, EPs, and singles. However, over 40+ songs from his discography are dedicated to movies, dramas, and games. We can’t cover all of his official soundtracks and may have excluded some of your favorites. Or you may find some new favorites on this lengthy Singles and OSTs list or Cho Na’s list HERE. Some of his popular OSTs with links below:
- Toast the Wine 讓酒 (Rang Jiu) in Tomb of the Sea (2018). This is his first OST that played a major role in breaking out as an actor. After singing the OST, producer Bai Yi Cong asked if Yu Ning would like to act in a drama. Yu Ning replied he would love to and that was how he got his first role in Hot Blooded Youth, followed by Ultimate Note, both under the same producer.
- The Moment I Met You 当遇见你 (Dang Yujian Ni) in Skate Into Love (2020).
- Colored Glass 琉璃 (Liu Li) in Love and Redemption (2020).
- Ask Heaven 天问 (Tian wen) in Word of Honor (2021).
- Yearning 眷恋 (Juan Lian) in You Are My Hero (2021).
- A Love As Always 一爱如故 (Yi Jian Ru Gu) in The Long Ballad (2021).
Reality Shows
Liu Yu Ning is an all-rounder entertainer. He’s acted in movies and dramas and participated in many reality television shows. He has participated in singing competitions as a contestant in Singer 2019 and a host for Infinite Idol (2021).
Yu Ning is also a celebrity guest in other shows. For example, in Chinese Restaurant 4, he competed in running a Chinese restaurant. He was praised by the famous guest Chef Jack Lin (林述巍) as a reliable sous chef in the kitchen. In We Are on the Way 5 (我们在行动5), he even rolled up his sleeves and cooked using simple utensils and firewood.
Dramas
Although Liu Yu Ning played in several low-budget movies before his first drama, nothing made him stand out as an actor. His first debut in the film industry was in the 2016 movie Class 952 as the male lead, He Tao. It’s an inspirational youth film about He Tao, a high school boy trying to fulfill his musical dream and find love. However, recognition for Liu Yu Ning as an actor didn’t come until he starred in dramas. Only then did he received praise from both notable figures in the entertainment industry and the public.
Hot Blooded Youth (2019)
A young man named Wu Qian (Z. Tao) enters a lucrative but shady competition in a desperate bid to help his best friend, Wei Cheng Feng. Born at the bottom of society, Cheng Feng goes through the hardships of being a street teenager and climbs the ranks to become a patrol captain.
Since the director of the drama, Chu Yui Bun, was impressed with Yu Ning’s performance as Wei Chen Feng, he then recommended Yu Ning to the producer of The Long Ballad to play Hao Du, as both characters have a resemblance. Chu Yui Bun is also the director of The Long Ballad.
Ultimate Note (2020)
He Yan Jing (黑眼睛) means Black Shades, a skilled fighter, and a resourceful mercenary hired by the tomb-raiding team led by Wu Xie (Joseph Zeng). Yan Jing is a quirky character: a jokester, a money-hungry miser, and a shrewd salesman of any product and service he can sell.
Yu Ning said that He Yan Jing is similar to himself by being a jokester and resourceful. Indeed, Yu Ning is comical and it can be confirmed through his live streams. A lot of Yan Jing’s scenes were in low-light sets such as inside tunnels, tombs, caves, or underground. This made people impressed with his acting skills since his character had to wear sunglasses the whole time when shooting.
The Long Ballad (2021)
Hao Du is a foster son of Minister of War Du Hu Rui, who sees the protagonist Li Chang Ge (Dilraba Dilmurat) as a threat to Emperor Taizong of Tang. He is given an order by his father to hunt down and kill Chang Ge. Hao Du finds himself entangled with the timid Li Ye Yan.
Although Hao Du resembles his professional character as striving and determined, Yu Ning acknowledged that playing a costume drama is a big challenge. Unlike modern dramas, specific gestures and restrained speech are needed. Another challenge for Yu Ning was to show subtle changes in Hao Du despite not having many screen appearances for gradual character growth and relationship with Le Yan and Shu Yu.
When producer Yan Bei asked if he wanted to dub his character, Hao Du, Yu Ning took on the challenge even though two of his previous dramas were dubbed by voice actors. By enriching the character Hao Du through self-dubbing, Yu Ning wanted to become a real actor. Indeed, the Hao Du we saw in the drama was created by Liu Yu Ning, not the manhua creator or the scriptwriter!
In one of the scenes in the show, Hao Du chokes Le Yan with great anger. The first time Yu Ning tried, he couldn’t do it and burst into a sudden cry. People speculated that it might have been due to the traumatic experiences of being bullied while growing up without parents or being physically abused by his former girlfriend.
Heroes (TBA)
The upcoming wuxia drama is about a young man named Wang Xiao Shi (Joseph Zeng). In his adventures traveling down the mountain, he meets and befriends several like-minded peers. One of them is Bai Chou Fei (白愁飞), whose name means White Flying Threat. The novel indicates that he is mysterious and the most complicated character in the series.
When casting Yu Ning as Bai Chou Fei, the producers were a little worried at first. They only knew him as an OST singer. Yu Ning said he could understand their worries, but also his fan’s hope in him. No experience is not a concern: can you play it?
Conclusion
At the end of our article, we can now see how the multi-talented Liu Yu Ning has created such an impressive fanbase for himself through his career journey.
In 2015, Yu Ning started his career when he was already in his mid-twenties. Nowadays, this is uncommon in the Chinese entertainment industry when talented young artists strive to start as early as possible.
Despite having received no formal training in music, singing, or even acting, his persistence and hard work paid off to show people his passion. Once he staked his presence in the OST world, he continues to stand strong in released dramas today. His popularity soared with his acting role in The Long Ballad, but Yu Ning stays grounded in who he is by continuing to livestream for his fans despite his busy schedule. With his story from a humble beginning, incredible strength in never giving up, and breaking the mold of an internet celebrity, Liu Yu Ning will continue to be an endearing and inspirational figure to many people!
Before you leave, watch Yu Ning’s cover of the happy song and karaoke version of “Change Me,” Gaibian Ziji (改變自己). He filled in the melody with rapping, so cute!
The MV of the 2007 original song is also fun to listen to! The song is an R&B rock song by Leehom Wang (王力宏), found here: Youtube Leehom Wang channel.
Thank you for reading!
Special thanks to Kairi of the Sky; two strangers got the same inspiration to create this article together from her article! Thank you to the editors who edited this article. We do not own any of the images used. Credits go to the respective owners. Images are taken from the artist and fans’ Weibo pages, Douban, Google search, fans’ websites, drama stills/posters/screenshots, and YouTube fans’ accounts. Cho Na made GIFs from YouTube clips and drama scenes.
This is a collaboration article between cassiopeiastars and Cho Na. The original article was published on July 4, 2021. Link HERE.
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