2018: Debut on King Maker, Mirror In 2018, Chan's entertainment company suggested that he participate in the ViuTV
Good Night Show - King Maker competition. With his university graduation approaching and knowing it would be difficult to have a career as an athlete in Hong Kong, Chan retired from the national volleyball team in order to focus on his career as a performer and to participate in the show. On 3 November 2018, Chan debuted as a member of
Mirror alongside 11 of the other participants from the show under the management of . During a
Mirror 100問 video, when a staff member asked what each of the group members
called their personal fans, Chan responded "Hello", mistaking the question as one asking how he would greet his fans. As a result, his fans became known as
Hellosss, although Chan later remarked that he did not know when that name had become official.
2019–2020: Solo activities, We Are the Littles On 9 June 2019, Chan debuted as a solo artist with his first single "二期大樓" (Phase II Building) and held his first solo mini concert called "Ian Chan Better Me Mini Concert". His fellow group members came out to support him in celebration of his 26th birthday. On 2 September 2019, Chan released his second solo single "另一個諾貝爾" (Another Nobel), coinciding with the release of
Keung To's "亞特蘭提斯" (Atlantis). The two also worked together for their music film '''', released on 6 September. Chan was asked if there was competitive pressure releasing music at the same time as Keung, since the two were often compared, being the top two finalists of
Good Night Show — King Maker. Chan responded that he and Keung instead believed that promoting together was mutually beneficial, hoping that it could get more fans to discover and listen to both their songs. In addition, he felt their styles were different and did not necessarily compete. Chan participated in the songwriting for "另一個諾貝爾" (Another Nobel), working with Cousin Fung and . Chan suggested that when one hears the word "nobel" (), one might first think about the
Nobel Prize rather than
Chernobyl, in Chinese: () and (), respectively.
We Are the Littles began airing on
ViuTV in November 2020. On 14 February 2020, Chan released "正式開始" (Officially Begin) as a
Valentine's Day present for fans. In the music video, Chan brings the fans on a trip in Japan, as if filmed from first-person perspective. Chan noted that the hand in the music video was not his manager Wong but another crew member. Chan drew inspiration from an article he read about
whale fall, a phenomenon where when a whale dies far away from land, many organisms come along and feed off its body for years as it slowly sinks into the depths of the ocean. Chan expressed that although it is unfortunate that a whale dies in such a way, it is extraordinary it can still support other organisms in its habitat after death. Chan creates the imagery of using water as a coffin and converting one's body into dessert as an analogy for one's willingness to self-sacrifice if it means it will help others succeed.
2021–2023: Generation Slash and Sparks On 29 March 2021, Chan shifted away from his usual dark and serious music style with the release of his upbeat love song "DWBF". In April 2021, Chan starred in '''' on ViuTV with co-stars and . The drama centres around three young adults struggling to figure out what they want in life in the face of uncertainty. Chan's character embodies the , having the desire for flexibility and freedom, taking up many different jobs, such as becoming an actor / artist / cook / delivery courier. The trio start up a small detective business to solve miscellaneous problems (as Chan's character says, they will do pretty much anything, as long as it does not break the law). The drama touches upon topics such as abandonment, grief, honesty, integrity, self-determination and choosing one's
chosen family. It was during the drama production when Chan started dating his co-star Amy Lo, but the couple has since broken up as of November 2022. On 18 April 2021, Chan attended the and was awarded the bronze award for Male Artist of the Year. In addition, his duet with
Anson Kong, another member of
Mirror, "蝸牛" (Snail), was chosen as the 6th Top Song of the Year. In June 2021, Chan appeared in '''', where the members of
Mirror attended a teamwork-building camp to learn more about themselves and each other. Chan's manager Wong expressed her desire for Chan to open up more. Chan expressed that he is quite introverted and felt that he did open up more and became more talkative since becoming a performer. At the same time, he felt he has also become more guarded about his inner thoughts. On 14 February 2022, Chan released his solo "留一天與你喘息" (A Day To Breathe With You). This song marked his second release on the
Valentine's Day following the solo "正式開始". The music video of the song in
YouTube reached 1 million views 29 hours after its release and reached 10 million views within 2 months of its release. The song was later awarded the 7th place of the Top 10 Songs of the Year category in the
Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation 2022. Chan released 3 more songs in 2022, named "Got U", "Distance" and "地球上的最後一朵花" (The Last Flower on Earth) respectively. In 2023, Chan released 5 solo songs and a theme song for
Sparks, including his first dance song "夜視鏡" (Night Version). Chan collaborated with Anson Poon and
Anson Kong this year, composing "天黑時想跟你到白頭" and "Blue Monkey". This was the second collaboration between Ian Chan and Anson Kong after their collaboration of "蝸牛".
2024–present: Interlude and "Tears" in My Sight Solo Concert Tour In 2024, Chan released a series of songs that are related together, with him as the main character in the form of a
teddy bear and
Natalie Hsu as the heroine. The first chapter of the series of songs is called "Lost at First Sight", which was released again on Valentine's Day for the 3rd time. The second chapter "Thank You Postman" was released on 24 April. The third chapter "Solitude" was released on 2 July. The fourth and fifth chapters "Sculp" and "Interlude" were released on 4 September and 20 November, respectively. Chan later announced that all 5 chapters would be included in his first EP,
Interlude. The album was released on 20 December. Chan held his first solo concert
Ian Chan "Tears" in My Sight Solo Concert 2024 in July in
AsiaWorld–Arena for a total of 7 shows. On 20 December 2024, the film
Last Song for You was officially released with Chan playing as young So Sing-Wah, the adult version was played by
Ekin Cheng. == Discography ==