Simu Liu's surprising musical history
The Marvel superhero has just been announced as this year's Juno Awards host
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu will be returning home to Canada this May to host the 2022 Juno Awards in Toronto.
While Liu's Marvel superhero status makes him an A-list choice for the annual awards, some people may be stumped as to why an actor is hosting Canada's biggest music event of the year. But actually, the former Kim's Convenience star has a fascinating, hidden history of performing and working in the music world. In fact, he's even hinted at releasing music of his own, telling Complex earlier this year that he's currently working with 88Rising, the Asian-American collective that executive produced the Shang-Chi soundtrack.
Ahead of Liu's hosting gig at the Junos, let's take a look at some of his best musical moments over the years.
You can tune in to the 2022 Juno Awards on Sunday, May 15. You can watch live on CBC-TV and CBC Gem, listen on CBC Radio One and CBC Music and stream globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos.
That time he starred in an Avicii music video
Four years before he landed his breakthrough role as Jung on Kim's Convenience, Liu worked on a couple of high-profile music videos. In what appears to be one of his first acting gigs ever, Liu briefly appears in EDM star Avicii's video for "I Could be the One" as a suited-up corporate employee.
He was also in a Fall Out Boy video — sort of
While Liu isn't visibly in the music video for Fall Out Boy's 2014 song "Centuries," the Canadian actor did work as Pete Wentz's stunt double during the coliseum battle scene. Liu even posted proof on Twitter, sharing a photo of him and Wentz onset.
He loves to cover songs
In between filming for Kim's Convenience, it appears that Liu found time to jam with friends, appearing on the YouTube channel Covers and Friends. In the video below, Liu pays homage to hometown superstar Drake by performing a mash-up of the 2013 hit "Hold on, We're Going Home" and Daft Punk's single from that same year, "Get Lucky."
He's also a fan of K-pop
In a 2019 Instagram Live, Liu, who noted that he doesn't speak Korean, tried his hand at singing K-pop when he covered Taeyang's 2014 song "Eyes, Nose, Lips."
He already has a song with over 2 million streams
Liu not only starred in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, he also made an appearance on the film's star-studded soundtrack: he sings on the track "Hot Soup."
Perhaps he'll surprise Juno viewers with a musical number?
Like the time he sang the below opening song at the 2019 Asian American Awards. Just imagine all the Canadian artists he can duet with at the Junos!
Bonus: revisit his episode of CBC Music's Jam or Not a Jam with Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
Fun fact: Liu is a big Justin Bieber fan.