Tan Jianci

Tan Jianci was born and raised in Beihai, Guangxi. He studied at the Beihai Haicheng No.3 Elementary School. At the age of six, he moved to Kumamoto, Japan with his family for a year. While living there, he changed his own name to Kenji (健次) due to his adoration for Kenshiro, a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fist of the North Star manga series. He returned to China at the age of seven and attended Beihai No. 3 Primary School of Guangxi. Inspired by Michael Jackson, he began to take dance classes in his spare time. At the age of 13, he attended the affiliated secondary school of Beijing Dance Academy where he learned professional ballroom dance. In 2006, he participated in three tournaments, Taoli Cup National Dance Competition – Latin (where he finished in first place in the group under 16), the National Dance Sport Championships Professional – Latin (1st place) and Modern (5th place) and the World Grand Prix Finals in Shanghai – IDSF – Latin (3rd place) and Modern (4th place). In 2007, he was admitted to the Beijing Sport University's Art department.

Music

In 2006, Tan Jianci was chosen as a trainee for Taihe Rye Music's project group, began a three-year training period in 2007. Adopting the stage name JC-T, he debuted as a member of the boy group M.I.C at the 2009 World Cyber Games (WCG) in Chengdu. That same year, the group competed in MIGU Star Academy and won the finals. M.I.C officially debuted in October 2010.

Tan release his first solo single titled Fly Away in December 2014. After several years, he made a career pivot to concentrate on acting in 2018, using his given name, Tan Jianci.

After a two-year hiatus, Tan returned to the stage in the variety show, Super Shine! Brothers. Three years later, on April 20, 2023, Tan released his first solo album, DREAMS. The album contains 16 tracks (eight songs and eight instrumentals), with a mix of ballads and two dance numbers, Imma Get It and Imma Get It (KAKA Remix).

In 2023, Tan released several original soundtrack singles for the dramas, Lost You Forever, and Love Me Love My Voice. The single, The Wait that Can't Be Waited (Chinese: 等不到的等待) marks Tan's first song to hit the top 20 on the China TME UNI Chart Top 100, debuting at number 11, and staying on the charts for twelve weeks.

Following a whirlwind year in 2023, Tan made a comeback at the Hunan TV spring festival show with his title single, Bad Mona Lisa, from his second album, Brilliance (Chinese: 焕). On June 12, 2024, the eight track album was released on Chinese platforms. In the second week of release, seven songs hit the China TME UNI Chart Top 100. The songs were carefully curated by Tan to tell a different story, among which, INU debuted as his first English song.

On September 26, 2026, it was announced via Warner Music Beijing on Weibo that Tan had joined hands with Warner Music China to launch a global strategic partnership, marking the release of his third solo album, TANGENT. Upon release, the album did exceptionally well overseas and charted in multiple countries on iTunes, including 1st in Hong Kong, 1st in Taiwan, 1st in Singapore, 1st in Malaysia, 2nd in Vietnam, 2nd in Thailand, 4th in Australia, and 6th in Canada.

Acting

Throughout Tan's acting career, he had experimented with all kinds of genres, including several low budget indie projects. At the age of 16, Tan was cast as Xiao Chuan, marking his acting debut in 2008, portraying a bereaved and sullen teenager. The coming of age film, Lost Indulgence, directed by Zhang Yibai, explores several themes of lost, lust, love, and teen angst.

Between 2015 and 2017, Tan appeared in a couple of acting projects—his first drama Hua Yang Jiang Hu (2015), first musical Tiny Times (2015), an adaptation from the film same name, and his first historical drama The Advisors Alliance (2017), as Sima Zhao, the second son of the protagonist Sima Yi. Tan received recognition for his acting skills ifor his portrayal of Sima Zhao.

Following his decision to pivot careers in 2018, Tan starred in Secret of the Three Kingdoms, where he portrayed Cao Pi, the second son of Cao Cao and the first emperor of Wei Dynasty. He then starred in the drama Never Gone, a coming of age romance drama about the group dynamics of childhood friends as they navigate adulthood, college, careers, and love. Tan portrays Zhou Ziyi, an athletic, carefree and frivolous young adult, on a soccer scholarship.

2019-2020 marks some significant landmark projects for Tan. After starring in the family drama Over the Sea I Come to You (2019), romance comedy film Adoring (2019), and family drama Centimeter of Love (2019), Tan starred in republican drama Winter Begonia (2020) and received praise for his performance as an opera singer. The same year he was cast in the drama Winner Is King, adapted from novel Sha Po Lang by Priest alongside Chen Zheyuan. His role as Gu Yun, a military commander, marks Tan's first male lead role. The drama license expired in May 2024, and the project has been shelved.

Tan's domestic breakthrough moment came in 2022 with his portrayal of Shen Yi, a genius painter who joined the police force to repay for his involvement in the death of a police officer. The IQIYI drama, Under the Skin, was a dark horse success. Season two was approved in 2023, and filming started in Spring 2024, wrapping up in June 2024. Tan also starred as the charismatic, Qin Huai, from Are You Safe?. The role nailed him two acting nominations at the Macau International TV Festival, including Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Outstanding Actor Award.

In 2023, Tan rose to international stardom for his portrayal of Xiang Liu, the Chenrong (Shennong) General of the resistance army, in the drama, Lost You Forever. Billed in a special guest role, Tan will bring to life the demon general based on the Chinese classical book The Classic of Mountains and Seas, propelling him into the A-list and earning him several acting awards. Lost You Forever is a live adaptation of Eternal Yearning, a novel by the Chinese novelist Tong Hua. Director Zhen Qin stated Tan 'was always the only candidate for the role of Xiang Liu."

In the same year, Tan wrapped up the filming of Go East, a historical costume drama based on the Chinese novel, Records of Kings of the Western Regions (Sifang Pavilion). Shortly after wrapping up filming, Tan's urban romance drama with Zhou Ye, Love Me Love My Voice aired on Tencent. While the drama was airing, Tan started filming Filter, a drama based on an original screenplay by Tong Hua.

In 2024, season 2 of Lost You Forever, aired in July 2024. In August, Go East aired on IQIYI.

Tan joined a new film project as announced on his Weibo account in February 2025. On February 24, 2025, Tan reunited with writer Tong Hua for the contemporary fantasy drama Filter, based on an original screenplay.

Tan was officially announced as the top-billed lead in the historical drama Dancing with the Tide, based on the novel of the same name by Xianyuke. Filming commenced on January 25, 2026. As of June 19, 2026 filming was completed and it is currently in post-production.

Variety shows

Tan has participated in several variety shows, spanning from his idol years in M.I.C to the present day. He is known for his participation in the dance competition show Shake It Up in March 2012, where he placed fourth in the final round. Tan's acting was showcased on the competition show I Am the Actor (2018), where he earned approval from the audience and achieved an A grade on the show.

He made his stage re-debut as an contestant in Shine Super! Brothers (2020), where he placed first place. In 2022, Tan joined several of his idol colleagues, Meng Jia and Rainie Yang, as mentors for the college dance competition Campus Go, which was hosted by KUN.

In 2022, Tan became a permanent member of the popular variety show, Hello Saturday. He renewed his contract for 2024.

Film

Television series

Television

Music Videos

Studio Albums

• DREAMS (2023)
• 焕 (2024)
• TANGENT (2026)

Singles