Chen Chusheng Commissions 14 Paintings From Artist Li Erpeng for 'Wasteland of Wonders' Vinyl

Chinese singer-songwriter Chen Chusheng, who took the top prize on Hunan TV's 'Singer 2025,' has enlisted contemporary artist Li Erpeng to paint 14 original works for the vinyl release of his album 'Wasteland of Wonders.'

The vinyl edition has already made a commercial mark. On June 9, the day pre-orders opened, QQ Music granted the release its 'Double Diamond' sales certification.

For Chen, the collaboration is about giving the music a form that goes beyond sound. 'I've always felt that music is more than something we hear,' Chen said. 'With this LP, I hope that, alongside listening, people can also see the emotions, fractures and growth within 'Wasteland of Wonders.''

Chen described Li as an artist he admires greatly, and thanked him for turning the record into 'a work of art I want to keep forever.'

The paintings approach the album from different angles. Some respond directly to specific tracks, while others grew out of stories and imagined scenes that surfaced as the work progressed. Taken together, the pieces form a visual landscape around the record, offering listeners a second entry point into its moods.

Li developed the 14 canvases gradually while working alongside the music, blending imagery drawn from the songs with ideas that emerged as he painted. In his view, strong music builds its own world, and his job is to put that world on canvas. 'When people receive this physical LP, I hope they won't just hear the songs, but also see the life, growth and hope within the images,' he said.

Because the paintings are built into the vinyl package, the artwork becomes part of how fans take in the album, connecting the recordings to the visual stories that accompany them. Winners Gallery represents Li for the collaboration.

Based in Hong Kong, Li is known for collector pieces modeled on legendary figures, among them athletes. His recent works pair painting with elaborate sculptural frames, so that the portrait and the structure surrounding it function as a single artwork. Beyond the 'Wasteland of Wonders' commission, his practice has expanded into film: he is doing preparatory work on a CG-animated world for a film now in pre-production. His work is held in the collections of the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum in Beijing and Sydney's White Rabbit Gallery.

Chen first became a household name in China in 2007 after winning Hunan TV's 'Super Boy,' and he later returned to the broadcaster to claim the top prize on 'Singer 2025,' the channel's biggest singing contest. His April 2026 stadium concert in Nanchang drew some 50,000 fans, a personal attendance record at the time. According to Beijing Radio & Television, all 50,000 tickets sold out within 24 minutes, and a report from Nanchang's state-assets authority attributed close to RMB1 billion ($149 million) in local consumer spending to the show.