2021 was a huge year for Asian stars in Hollywood and there appears to be no shortage of talented artists on the horizon. In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, meet 10 breakthrough Asian stars to watch in 2021.
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Jessie Mei Li is taking big steps in Hollywood. Li, 25, was born in Brighton, England to an English mother and Beijing-born father. She scored a major role as Alina Starkov in Netflix's "Shadow and Bone" in 2021 and will also appear in Edgar Wright's upcoming horror "Last Night in Soho" alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Matt Smith.
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Vancouver-based R&B duo Manila Grey are doing Canada proud. The Juno-nominated Breakthrough Group of the Year consists of Filipino Canadian musicians Ghostride Neeko and Blame Soliven. Manila Grey dropped their sophomore album 'No Saints on Knight Street' on March 26.
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Plucked by mass media group 88Rising, Stephanie Poetri captured the Internet's imagination with "I Love You 3000" released in 2019. The American-Indonesian pop singer has amassed more than 1 million YouTube subscribers and scored 1.5 million views after premiering "Paranoia" in March.
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P1Harmony is on the way up. The South Korean boy group — consisting of Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul and Jongseob — released their sophomore 'EP Disharmony: Break Out' in late April. The three-time Seoul Music Awards nominees also starred in the movie, "P1H: The Beginning Of A New World".
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Beabadoobee is proving to be an immediate success. The Filipino-born British singer-songwriter released her debut studio album, 'Fake It Flowers', in October. The 20-year-old's first major release was critically acclaimed and landed on Top Album lists by several major publications.
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Cravity is soaring to new heights. The nine-member South Korean boy band consists of Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung and Seongmin. Their ability to reach fans globally in their first year, 2020, had them dubbed as "Super Rookies". They became the first 2020 rookie artists to debut on the Billboard K-pop Hot 100.
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Talk about reinventing yourself! Chong Keat Aun made an abrupt switch from a 12-year-long radio career and directed his first film, "The Story of Southern Islet" in 2020. The Malaysian filmmaker's debut was met with critical acclaim and earned him numerous accolades.