Joker Xue

2011–2015: Self-funded music

In 2011, Xue opened his own hotpot restaurant, Shang Shang Qian (上上谦), its successes allowed him to keep pursuing music. In July 2012, Xue marked the end of his seven-year contract with Shang Teng Entertainment with the announcement of his fifth album Several Of... (几个薛之谦). He briefly signed with Shanghai Kunhong Media but soon terminated the contract due to Kunhong's inability to fulfill said contract.

In 2013, Xue signed with Ocean Butterflies and released his sixth album An Unexpected Journey (意外). It debuted at the top of Sino Chart and remained there for two weeks. In 2014, Xue appeared on many Chinese variety shows because "doing variety shows is to make money, and the ultimate goal of making money is to return to making music." He later called his style of humor during this period "hard humor" because he had to force himself to exaggerate his affectations for comedic effect.

In 2015, Xue founded his own streetwear brand Dangerous People. He gained significant popularity on Weibo for his humorous posts and later said the sudden fame was jarring but he was grateful for the chance to share his music with more people. On June 8, he released his first EP, Gentleman (绅士), which contained the highly popular song "Actor" (演员), one of the most-viewed Chinese music video on YouTube and one of the most-streamed Mando-pop songs on Spotify. On October 17, Xue released his second EP Half, which surpassed 100 million streams in less than a month.

2016–2020: Commercial success

In 2016, Xue changed his English name from "Jacky" to "Joker" as "Jacky" was the result of a guessing game he played at his debut and "Joker" reflected his sense of humor. In an effort for the audience to connect his name to his music after the success of "Actor", Xue pushed himself to appear in more than 40 variety shows. He was named "No. 1 Model Worker in Variety Shows" and ranked tenth on data analysis agency Standard Ranking's list of internet celebrities commercial value. However, the packed schedule took its toll on his physical and mental health. In July, Xue produced and released his seventh album Beginner (初学者), which won multiple awards, and was named Album of the Year on Apple Music's 2016 year-end list.

In January 2017, Xue was hospitalized due to acute gastroenteritis and later stated he plans to shift his focus to music, working toward becoming "Eason Chan of mainland and shedding the variety show star persona. In April, he embarked on his first concert tour I Think I've Seen You Somewhere Tour (我好像在哪见过你巡回演唱会). In June, Madame Tussauds Shanghai unveiled a wax figure of Xue. In December, Xue released his acclaimed eighth album The Crossing (渡). By the end of 2017, the total stream count of his songs across all Chinese platforms exceeded 12.7 billion. In early 2018, Xue suffered from laryngitis for several months before making a full recovery. In July, he began his Skyscraper World Tour (摩天大楼世界巡回演唱会). On December 31, he released his ninth album Freak (怪咖), which was well-received. In 2017 and 2018, Xue ranked first amongst solo artists cumulative playback volume on QQ Music.

In 2019, Xue concluded the Skyscraper World Tour in Hong Kong on May 19, setting the record for highest concert box office by a mainland China male singer. From July to November, he headlined four music festivals, debuting the "Joker" stage persona that was later officially adopted in 2023. In December, Xue released his tenth album Dust (尘) and was named Male Singer of the Year at CMIC Music Awards. Billboard magazine included "Puppet" (木偶人), the lead single from Dust, on their The Global No. 1s You (Probably) Never Heard list.

In 2020, Xue held his first online concert Dust in the World (尘浮世间线上音乐会) on May 23. On December 31, he released his eleventh album Extraterrestrial (天外来物). The title track "Extraterrestrial" was named among the Best Songs of the Year and Xue was named Most Influential Male Singer of mainland China at the 2021 Tencent Music Entertainment Awards.

2025-present: Recent activities

In January 2025, TVBS News reported Xue has acquired rights to his music videos after all of his music videos were reuploaded on Xue's own YouTube official channel. On January 28, Xue made his debut at the CMG New Year's Gala as the one of four artists and the only male artist to have a solo stage. As one of the exceptionally few singers granted song selection autonomy for the event, Xue chose "Fang's Words" (方的言) by Zhao Yingjun; the title is a wordplay on "dialect" (方言). During the post-performance interview, Xue said he chose "Fang's Words" because of the significance of dialect in Chinese culture and his own wish of fulfilling Zhao's dream of appearing on the CMG New Year's Gala.

On February 14 and 15, Xue performed the final two shows of the extended Extraterrestrial World Tour at the Singapore National Stadium and received a positive review from Straits Times. On April 17, the physical version of The Guardian was released, selling more than 128,000 copies and exceeding ¥15 million (approximately $2 million) on QQ Music within 7 hours. On April 21, NetEase Cloud Music named Xue as the most-streamed Chinese artist with more than 34.1 billion streams and the artist with the third-highest number of songs surpassing 100 million streams at 64 songs in the platform's 12-year history. During the Labor Day Golden Week, Xue headlined five music festivals consecutively from May 1–5. On July 17, Xue continued the tradition of releasing a song on his birthday with the single "Leap" (跃), raising awareness for marine pollution. On August 5, Xue released "Axe Trick" (金斧子銀斧子), an industrial rock song based on Aesop's Fable The Honest Woodcutter. On September 20, Xue released the single "Farewell My Concubine" with Jane Zhang; it was named among the Best Songs of 2025 by Apple Music.

During the National Day Golden Week, Xue headlined seven music festivals from October 1-4 and 6-8. Beginning in October, Xue appeared on season 2 of Melody Journey and season 1 of Sing to Shine (中国唱将). On December 31, Xue appeared on Jiangsu TV New Year's Eve Concert for the 10th year in a row, performing a medley of six songs that ranked first in viewership at 1.943% with the lowest turnover rate at 0.95%.

On January 1, 2026, Xue headlined the Storm Electronic Music Festival, his first appearance at an electronic music music festival and a continuation of his recent experimentation with different music genres. In February, Madame Tussauds Singapore unveiled a wax figure of Xue ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations. On February 13, Xue announced his fourth tour, The King of Beasts (万兽之王), which features a 360-degree stage and the first deployment of L-Acoustics's L1 loudspeaker and CS1 cardioid subwoofer in a large-scale production.

Business ventures

Restaurant

Xue stated "I want to use the money I earn from business to make music" because relying on music to make a living is "very tiring" and having other means of income means "making music is no longer a burden". In April 2012, Xue opened a hotpot restaurant named Shang Shang Qian (上上谦, a play on 上上签 meaning the luckiest draw and the character 谦 in his name). At its peak, Shang Shang Qian operated eight directly managed stores and twenty franchised stores. In February 2019, Xue transferred his shares in Shanghai Shangqian Catering Management, the company associated with the restaurant, to his father. In 2021, the company was deregistered. As of 2023, only 2 locations remain in Shanghai and Guangzhou. In 2026, after 14 years, all locations of Shang Shang Qian closed.

Streetwear

In 2015, Xue established the streetwear brand Dangerous People (abbreviated as DSP). The brand's logo is a figure wearing a paper bag, representing a person with yearning for peace but due to the darkness and misunderstanding of the world, he felt the need to hide himself. Xue serves as the brand manager and frequently promotes the brand on social media. Primarily sold online, Dangerous People opened its first brick and mortar store in Shanghai in August 2019. In 2025, Dangerous People announced Lars Huang as its first spokesperson.

Music label

In July 2020, Chaoshi Music was registered and established, its business scope includes cultural and artistic exchange activities, radio and television program production, performance management, and Internet cultural engagement. Xue's father owns 33% of the stocks and serves as a director. Chaoshi Music is part of Grand Vista Music Group, which is part of Tencent Music.

On December 24, 2021, Xue released a new single "Phoenix Feathers and Unicorn Horns" (凤毛麟角) through Chaoshi Music. On May 31, 2022, Xue posted a photo on his Weibo announcing the opening of Chaoshi Music. All of Xue's albums are acquired and currently owned by Chaoshi Music. Chaoshi Music produced and organized Xue's Extraterrestrial World Tour. In December 2024, Chaoshi Music served as the management company for Essay Wang's tour "The Sleepless". In March 2025, Chaoshi Music is announced as the organizer for Han Hong's "I Want To Become You" (我想成为你) tour, Roy Wang's "Under Universe" (宇宙超级无敌大狂欢) tour, and the newly established "New Bee" touring music festival (新蜂音乐节).