Cheng Xiao

Cheng Xiao (; , born July 15, 1998) is a Chinese singer, dancer, and actress. She made her debut as a member of the South Korean girl group WJSN in 2016. In early 2018, she began her solo activities in China and took a hiatus from the group since then. After a five-year hiatus from WJSN, she left the group in March 2023. As an actress, she is best known for her role as Tong Yao in Falling into Your Smile.

Early life Cheng was born on July 15, 1998, in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong. She has a younger sister, Cheng Chen . Cheng studied in Shenzhen Art School, and graduated from School of Performing Arts Seoul in 2016, where she studied under the Department of Practical Dance.

Career 2015–2016: Debut with WJSN

On December 10, 2015, Cheng was revealed as one of the members of WJSN's Wonder Unit. On December 21, she released a Christmas cover of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey with WJSN through JuseTV's YouTube Channel.

Cheng debuted with WJSN on February 25, 2016, with the release of their debut mini album Would You Like?, including the title tracks "Mo Mo Mo" and "Catch Me".

In August 2016, Cheng, together with fellow group mates Exy, Seola, Soobin, Eunseo, Yeoreum, and Dayoung, teamed up with label mate Monsta X to form the unit Y-Teen, a project unit group that promoted as CF models for KT's phone fare service.

On September 14, she was proclaimed winner of Pitch King, and on September 15, she won gold for the rhythmic gymnastics segment during the Idol Star Athletics Championships XII.

Cheng along with GFriend's Eunha, Oh My Girl's YooA, Gugudan's Nayoung, and Momoland's Nancy formed a special project group Sunny Girls for Inkigayos Music Crush Project. They released their single, "Taxi" on November 27, 2016.

2017–present: Solo activities and departure from WJSN On January 30, 2017, Cheng participated in the Idol Star Athletics Championships XIII, where she won a bronze medal during the rhythmic gymnastics segment. That same year, Cheng became a cast member of SBS' Law of the Jungle.

In 2018, Cheng was a cast member and dance mentor in the reality survival show Idol Producer. The same year, she was cast in her first costume drama, Legend of Awakening. In November 2018, Cheng released her first solo song "If Love", an OST for online game Xuanyuan Sword which debuted at No. 3 in QQ Music.

In 2020, Cheng acted in her first drama, Detective Chinatown.

In January 2021, Cheng debuted as a solo artist, with the single "Focus X". Throughout the year, she was also cast as the main role in various dramas such as the Chinese e-sport romance comedy television series Falling Into Your Smile.

On March 3, 2023, Starship Entertainment announced that Cheng had departed from WJSN after her contract expired.

Discography

Extended plays +List of extended plays, showing selected details, and sales figuresTitleDetailsSales1st Gold Released: August 23, 2024 Label: Yuehua Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming CHN: 8,612

Single albums +List of single albums, showing selected details, and sales figuresTitleDetailsSalesFocus-X (聚焦-X) Released: December 28, 2020 Label: Yuehua Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming CHN: 147,000+ Lonely Beauty Released: February 25, 2022 Label: Yuehua Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming CHN: 23,000+ Imagine Released: May 25, 2023 Label: Yuehua Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming CHN: 21,000+

Singles + List of singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Album CHN As lead artist "Focus-X" (聚焦-X) 2020— Focus-X "Lonely Beauty" 2022— Lonely Beauty "Imagine" 2023— Imagine Collaborations "Taxi" 2016—Inkigayo Music Crush Part. 2 "Confession Song" (告白情歌) 2017 — Promotional song of Once Again "The Shadow of the Shark" 2018 9 Promotional song of The Meg Soundtrack appearances "If Love" (若情) 2018 — Xuanyuan Sword OST "I Don't Believe You" (别轻易相信) 2020 — Detective Chinatown OST "Soulmate" (第一默契) 2021 95Falling Into Your Smile OST"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Filmography

Film Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 2021 Detective Chinatown 3 唐人街探案3 Lu Jingjing Cameo The Umbrella Man 撑伞人 Na Na 2025 We Girls 向阳·花 Guo Aimei

Television series Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 2020 Detective Chinatown Lu Jingjing Legend of Awakening Qin Sang Falling Into Your Smile Tong Yao Lu Qingqing Lie to Love Su Xieyi 2022 Cheng Miao 2024 Qin Yanran / Yan Nanxing Cameo (ep. 7) Fangs of Fortune Pei Sijing 2025 Back For You Chun Ying Shadow Love Ji Tianjiao Cameo Glory Rong Yunxi Support role Light of Dawn Long Yu

Television shows Year English title Original title Role 2017 Law of the Jungle in Kota Manado 정글의 법칙 Cast member 2018 Idol Producer 偶像练习生 Dance mentor Best Friends' Perfect Vacation 闺蜜的完美旅行 Cast member Brave World 勇敢的世界 Pajama Friends 파자마 프렌즈 2019 One More Try 极限青春 We Are In Love 我们恋爱吧 Panelist 2020 Final Expert 终极高手 Manager We Are Young 少年之名 Mentor 2022 Great Dance Crew 了不起舞社 Team leader 2023 Great Dance Crew Season 2 了不起!舞社 第二季 Chinese Restaurant Season 7 中餐厅7 Cast member Asia Super Young 亚洲超星团 Dance mentor

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Nominated work Results Cosmo Beauty Ceremony 2018 Annual Youthful Beautiful Idol Sina Fashion Awards 2019 Popular Idol of the Year Sohu Fashion Awards 2024 Annual Potential Actress 2024 Fangs of Fortune Top Chinese Music Awards 2017 New Force Idol Wenrong Awards 2024 Top 10 Best Young Actor Fangs of Fortune