Since his K-pop debut as a member of Super Junior-M in 2007, Chinese-Canadian singer Henry Lau has become known as one of Asia’s most versatile musical talents – mastering 10 instruments, as well as singing, dancing, producing, and various other skills. On May 29, the singer made his official foray into the Western market with his English single, “ENJOY THE SHOW” – an explosive, genre-blending fusion that perfectly encapsulates Henry’s eclectic journey as a musician. With nearly 20 years of experience under his belt and many different titles to show for it, we’re taking a look at how Henry’s musical reputation is translating into his U.S. debut.

From a young age, it was clear that Toronto native Henry Lau was musically inclined – at four years old, he started learning to play the piano from his mother, and by five, he began taking violin lessons from Arkady Yanivker, a former violinist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Although he was too young to realize it at the time, this was the beginning of a musical prodigy, someone who’s inherently drawn to the arts like a moth to a flame. In 2005, he went on to learn to play the electric violin before receiving the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Regional Gold Medal for Level 10 in violin and piano.

But it wasn’t just instruments that Henry took an interest in or excelled at – by the time he was in high school, he had discovered a style of hip-hop dance called boogaloo popping. After trying his hand and naturally becoming quite good at it, Henry became head of both the after-school violin club and the popping club before coming up with the idea of combining the two skills. This is where we see the seeds of Henry maximizing his various skills to create something that’s uniquely him and one of a kind – a talent that would land him a contract with one of K-pop’s biggest companies down the road and kick off a soon-to-be illustrious career.

Although he frequently joked about it, being a singer was never part of Henry’s plan – he had already applied for colleges to study classical music. It wasn’t until a friend of his suggested auditioning for SM Entertainment that Henry did so, despite his lack of K-pop knowledge at the time. In an interview with The Laterals, the singer described his audition process and how his particular skills stood out from the rest. “When it was finally my turn, I performed a violin piece by Vivaldi where I incorporated “popping” dance moves while playing the fast passages,” he said. “I also did some acapella singing. The team was very impressed, and the following week, I got a call saying I made it into their company. I honestly didn’t know how big a deal it was at the time.”

However, even with SM’s co-sign to move and train in Korea, Henry’s father, in particular, still needed convincing to accept his son’s new career path. “I was really excited, but when I told my dad that I was going to South Korea to become a popstar, he simply answered, “No, you’re not, you’re going to university,” and that was that. So the next time the company called, I told them, “I’m sorry, I can’t come to Korea. My dad says I have to go to university, but thank you,” he recalled. But after Henry and his mother visited Korea to at least check it out, she ultimately convinced his father that letting him go would be a great opportunity.

After moving to Korea, Henry made his first K-pop appearance as a violinist in Super Junior’s “Don’t Don” music video in 2007. This was a common practice among K-pop companies to subtly tease their trainees to the public before officially debuting them in a future group. Even still, Henry’s training period was unlike that of most other trainees at the time. While some trained with SM years before finally debuting, Henry trained for four months before officially debuting as a member of Super Junior’s Chinese subunit (Super Junior-M) in 2007. Usually, when this happens, it’s safe to assume the trainees were already extremely well-adapted and skilled upon entering the agency. Otherwise, it could take as long as a decade for a company to decide whether they’re ready to debut.

Another appeal to Henry’s star factor, which most agencies actively seek out these days, is that he was also multilingual, having learned Cantonese, English, and (starting to learn) Mandarin by the time he was 10. This gave Henry an advantage, as it stood to reason that he’d also be able to pick up the Korean language fairly quickly – which he did in about three months.

During his career with Super Junior-M, Henry steadily became a household name, releasing two studio albums with the group, three EPs, and racking up accolades across Asian award shows. However, his itch for studying music on a deeper level persisted, so in 2010, the singer took a brief hiatus to study music composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he learned to sing and produce music. During this time away, he also befriended Singaporean singer-songwriter Gen Neo and convinced him to go back to Korea to work with him. Henry then began composing and writing songs of his own to be included in Super Junior albums in 2010 and 2011.

However, it wasn’t until Henry’s solo debut in 2013 with Trap that the singer truly stepped out into the spotlight and began making a name for himself. Combining his classical training in piano and his hip-hop dance background, “Trap” became Henry’s first fusion of the two distinct talents on a global scale, with even a bit of R&B vocal arrangements. The song was met with widespread critical acclaim and fan enthusiasm, solidifying his status as a triple-threat idol with even more surprises in store.

By then, Henry’s musical versatility became a recurring theme for the rest of his career, releasing his second solo album, Fantastic, in 2014, alongside its high-energy and violin-infused pop title track. The singer also became known for utilizing multiple instruments in a single performance – whether it was the guitar, piano, marimba, or even live loop stations, Asia became enamored with Henry, with Chinese netizens giving him the nickname of “one-man band.”

For the rest of his tenure with SM Entertainment, Henry continued releasing successful singles and OSTs, as well as co-writing songs for his labelmates, including EXO’s “The Eve” and Red Velvet’s “Rebirth.” But in 2018, the singer decided it was time to pursue a career independently, completing his contract with SM before teaming up with his brother to found Monster Entertainment Group. Since then, he’s optimized his trilingual fluency to its fullest, releasing music in English, Korean, and Mandarin at any given time.

Now in 2026, having already conquered Asia, Henry is setting his sights on the Western market, with “ENJOY THE SHOW,” a masterful blend of modern pop with country elements. With his violin expertise on full display again, the track is both electric and anthemic, perfectly tying together two decades' worth of what makes Henry Lau an all-around performer. From the rodeo-themed choreography, soaring vocals, and stadium-worthy progressions, “ENJOY THE SHOW” knows exactly what it wants to be and doesn’t hesitate to go there full throttle.

That’s probably why it seems to be resonating on a level that some of his previous English releases haven’t – while it may feel out of the blue for some, it comes as no surprise to longtime Henry fans. Within less than a week of its release, the music video for “ENJOY THE SHOW” has garnered 6.6 million views, with many newcomers suddenly discovering Henry’s talent and loving what they’ve heard so far. It also helps that on June 1, the singer made his U.S. daytime television debut on The Kelly Clarkson Show to perform his latest single.

Backed by Universal Music for distribution and promotion, "ENJOY THE SHOW" appears to be the opening move in a broader North American push. It's a pattern becoming more recognisable among Asian-American and Asian-Canadian artists who built their careers in K-pop – returning to Western markets not as newcomers, but as artists with two decades of credibility behind them. For Henry, the pivot makes sense. The question was never whether he had the range. It was whether the Western market was ready to find out.