Prince Mak
Prince Mak 프린스 맥 | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Henry Prince Mak, Mai Heng Li |
| Born | May 24, 1990 Sydney, Australia |
| Genres | K-pop, dance |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Voice Bass Guitar Guitar Piano |
| Labels | Jackie Chan Group Korea, SidusHQ |
Henry Prince Mak (born May 24, 1990),[1] commonly known as Prince Mak, is a Chinese-Australian entertainer. He is a member of Jackie Chan's Korean pop boy group, JJCC, but is currently pursuing solo acting activities in China.[2] He was the Chinese Ambassador of Sydney in 2016.
Early life
Mak was born in south-western Sydney, Australia to Chinese parents. His given name is 'Henry' after English kings and middle name is 'Prince'.[3] His father is a builder and his mother works in a Chinese restaurant. He has one younger sister born in 1993. He attended Casula Primary School, Moorebank High School and Macquarie Fields High School for 2 years.[4] He learned piano as a child and played bass guitar in a band. He later became interested in hip-hop and began popping and locking.[5] He studied music at the University of New South Wales before pursuing a career in the Chinese entertainment industry. Mak can speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese and basic Korean.[6]
Career
Pre-debut
After graduating from University of New South Wales, Mak worked as a dance teacher at Crossover Dance Studio in Chinatown, Sydney.[7] While he was a dance teacher, he was approached by Korean entertainment company, JYP to become a trainee. His parents did not approve so he did not accept the opportunity.[8] Henry studied acting at the Actors College of Theatre and Television. However he found it difficult to find acting opportunities in Australia as most roles were not targeted at Asians.
In 2012, he 'ran away' to China where he thought he would have greater luck in breaking into the entertainment industry.[9] He auditioned for SM Entertainment and made it to the final round however he was considered too old. He entered and won a talent competition in Beijing run by Jackie Chan. Subsequently, Chan hand-picked Mak to become a member of his new K-Pop boy group, JJCC.[10]
JJCC
Mak moved to Korea in February 2014 and debuted on March 14, 2014 in K-Pop group JJCC (pronounced Double-JC, Hangul: 더블제이씨) despite not knowing any Korean language.[11] He adopted the stage name of 'Prince Mak' as his given name of 'Henry' was already in use by Henry Lau. Mak did not feature in JJCC's debut music video, "At First" due to an injury.[12] While working with JJCC he lived with together with them with several pets in a house. He described each day involved starting at 5.30am with a 13km run followed by dance practice, vocal training, learning Korean and then dancing until 1am or 2am.[13] Due to the rigorous training regime Mak lost 9 kilograms after joining the group.[14]
Mak was a co-host along with his bandmate, Eddy, for the weekday music show Pops in Seoul. He also hosted his own radio show on Australian music show SBS PopAsia in 2015 and returned to host in late 2016.[15] Mak was absent from JJCC's 'Today' promotions due to tympanitis.[16] Due to his absence from 2016 promotions there was much speculation that he had left JJCC. In September 2016 he confirmed that he would now be pursuing solo acting activities in China, but would remain a part of JJCC.[17] As fans continued to speculate, he later confirmed again, in December, that he was still a member of the group.[18]
Solo career
Mak is currently based in Beijing in order to pursue acting. He is also learning some martial arts. Mak travels to Korea once a month to visit his fellow bandmates.[19] He is also currently hosting a radio show 'The Prince Mak Hour' on Australian digital radio station, SBS PopAsia, on Tuesdays at 8pm AEST.[20] He also has a video diary series, the 'Prince Mak's Prince Diaries', which is aired roughly every two weeks on the SBS PopAsia YouTube channel as well.
Influences
Despite debuting in a K-Pop group, Prince Mak originally was not interested in K-Pop. His biggest influence is Michael Jackson.[21]
Television
| Year | TV station | Program | Note |
| 2014 | Arirang TV | After School Club | Himself with JJCC |
| 2014 | Arirang TV | KPopulous | Himself with JJCC |
| 2015 | Arirang TV | Pops in Seoul | MC |
| 2016 | |||
| 2016 | ABC | 7.30 | Interview |
| 2016 | SBS Viceland | The Feed | Interview |
References
- ^ "Happy Birthday to JJCC's Prince Mak and Wassup's Nada!". Officially Kmusic. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "K-pop sensation Prince Mak pursues acting career with help from Jackie Chan". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "[Exclusive Interview] The JJCC Members Explain Their Unique Names". Mwave. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "Korean pop star Prince Mak is 'just an Aussie-born Chinese guy' from Casula discovered by Jackie Chan". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Jackie Chan enlists Sydney singer for No.1 K-pop hit". Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Prince Mak: K-pop's Australian star". Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Prince Mak: K-pop's Australian star". Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Jackie Chan enlists Sydney singer for No.1 K-pop hit". Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Prince Mak: The price of K-pop stardom". SBS The Feed. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "Prince Mak returns to Australia a K-Pop star mentored by Jackie Chan and on a strict diet". News.com.au. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Jackie Chan's K-Pop band JJCC inspires Aussie hopefuls searching for fame". ABC. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "K-EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Prince Mak from JJCC". Kmusic. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Korean pop star Prince Mak is 'just an Aussie-born Chinese guy' from Casula discovered by Jackie Chan". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Prince Mak: The price of K-pop stardom". SBS The Feed. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "Australian K-pop star Prince Mak on the price of fame". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "JJCC's Prince Mak will be absent from upcoming activities". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ "K-pop sensation Prince Mak pursues acting career with help from Jackie Chan". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ ""EXCLUSIVE: Prince Mak clarifies whether he's still in JJCC"".
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "K-EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Prince Mak from JJCC". Kmusic. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Prince Mak on surviving as an Asian Pop star away from home". SBS Popasia. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ "Prince Mak: K-pop's Australian star". Retrieved 7 September 2016.