Lay Zhang

Lay Zhang was born on 7th October 1991 in China as Zhang Yixing. He is one of the members of Exo, the South Korean boy band under SM Entertainment. He is a singer, songwriter, rapper, director, actor, producer cum dancer. In 2017, Zhang was listed in 20^th rank in Forbes China Celebrity 100 and in 2020, he is in 5^th place. Zhang was popular after appearing in 2005’s Chinese talent show, Star Academy. He made his debut as an actor in 1998 in a Chinese TV drama, We The People. He was just 6 years when he played in the drama. He played a fan of Jimmy Lin, a Taiwanese singer, in 2000 in a TV show. He is also popular for his performances in Na Ke Bu Yi and an episode in Yue Ce Yue Xin Kai. He attended the audition to play the lead in The Duke Of Mount Deer. Although he succeeded till the final round in 2006, he couldn’t make it. However, he didn’t lose hope. After a couple of years, he took part in SM Entertainment’s auditions. He was 16 years old while attending the audition. He was an outstanding student at the High School Attached to Hunan Normal University. As he got selected at the SM Entertainment’s auditions, he shifted his base to South Korea. He had also replaced Jonghyun in a dance world tour with Shinee.

In 2015, he played in the film Ex-Files 2. In 2016, he played in The Mystic Nine and Kung Fu Yoga in 2017. In 2018, he performed in The Island and the next year, Lay played in The Golden Eyes. Lay has a management company to handle all his solo activities. He founded it in 2015. His autobiography, Standing Firm at 24, was released through his label and it created a record in sales.  

Communist Youth League of China of Changsha appointed him as a publicity ambassador in 2016 and it is exciting to know that he is the first celebrity to become an ambassador. His first Extended Play, Lose Control released in China and South Korea in 2016 and created a huge record and garnered appreciations. It ranked at No. 1 on the Gaon Album chart and on the Billboard’s, it ranked at 4. Lay made his debut in the US Music Festival, Lollapalooza, in 2020. He joined his hands with Alan Walker. He also released a remix version of his single, Sheep as Sheep Relift, in 2020 with Walker.