Lay (entertainer)

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Lay
Lay Zhang at the EXO The Lost Planet in Jakarta 03.jpg
Lay at EXO: The Lost Planet in Jakarta
Born Zhang Yixing
(1991-10-07) October 7, 1991 (age 32)
Changsha, Hunan, China
Occupation
  • Singer
  • composer
  • dancer
  • actor
  • model
Musical career
Genres
Years active 2005–present
Labels
Associated acts
Signature
150px
Zhang Yixing
Traditional Chinese 張藝興
Simplified Chinese 张艺兴

Zhang Yixing (born (1991-10-07)October 7, 1991),[1] also known as Lay (Korean: 레이), is a Chinese singer, composer, dancer and actor. He is a member and one of the main dancers of the South Korean-Chinese boy group EXO and its sub-unit EXO-M.[2] He first became known after participating in the Chinese TV talent show Star Academy in 2005.[3] In January 2015, Lay was ranked 5th on Baidu's "2014 Top 10 Most Popular Celebrities" list.[4] In September 2015, he released his autobiography titled Standing Firm at 24, which broke several online book records.[5]

Early life

Zhang Yixing was born in Changsha, Hunan, China[1] on October 7, 1991.[6] In 2000, at 9 years old, he participated in a Chinese TV show as the fan club member of the actor and singer Jimmy Lin, giving him his first contact with the entertainment industry.[1] Lay began his career as a local child star in the province of Hunan, after winning third place in a competition organized by the popular TV show Star Academy in 2005.[3] He also appeared in an episode of Ce Yue Yue Xin Kai and Liu Na's variety show, Na Ke Bu Yi Yang between 2005 and 2006.[7] In April 2006, he auditioned to star in the series The Duke of Mount Deer directed by Zhang Jizhong. Despite being among the finalists he did not win the role.[8] In 2008, Lay joined S.M. Entertainment after a successful audition with the company's global casting system in Changsha. At the time of the auditions, he was 16 years old and was studying for his college entrance exams.[3] In 2011, prior to debuting with EXO, he briefly worked with SHINee during their concert tour as Jonghyun's dance replacement.[6]

Career

EXO

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Main article: Exo (band)

Lay was formally introduced as a member of EXO on January 17, 2012.[9] The group's first single, "What Is Love" was released on January 30.[10] Their second single, titled "History", was released on March 9 of that year.[11] On March 31, 2012, EXO held a premiere showcase in the Seoul Olympic Stadium, one hundred days after the release of the first trailer for his debut on December 21, 2011. The group held a press conference and showed their performances in the Great Hall of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China on April 1, 2012.[12]

SM The Performance

In December 2012, Lay, along with Kai, Yunho, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Minho and Taemin, formed the dance group, SM The Performance.[13] The group first appeared at the event SBS Gayo Daejeon on December 29, with the release of the single "Spectrum" the next day.[14]

Solo Activities

In December 2013, S.M. Entertainment released a dance video of the SM Rookies project which featured background music composed by Lay.[15]

He also wrote and performed the song "Alone" (One Person) for the soundtrack of Ex Files 2: The Backup Strikes Back, which reached No. 1 on the Baidu Music Chart.[16] Lay released the song "Happy Youth" in November 2015[17] for the soundtrack of Oh My God,[18] which debuted at No. 8 in the Billboard Chart V.[19]

On May, 27, 2016 Lay released his first solo single called Monodrama for SM Station project.[20] The track was written by Lay and co composed and arranged with Divine Channel. [21]

Compositions and Lyric writing

Lay composed the song "I'm Lay" for his solo performance during EXO's first solo concert tour, The Lost Planet Tour, which began in May 2014.[22]

On December 31, 2014, Lay performed his self-composed song "I'm Coming" on the special year-end program of Hunan TV.[23] He later composed the song "Promise", for the repackaged version of EXO's second studio album Love Me Right released on June 3, 2015. He also wrote the lyrics for the Chinese version of the song, while the Korean version was co-written by Chen and Chanyeol.[24]

Television Show

In September 2013, Lay participated in a dance performance for the "Dancing 9" of Mnet, along with Hyoyeon and Kai performing the songs "Centipede" of Knife Party and "Coco" of Gent & Jawns.[25] On June 19, 2014, the Chinese program "Music Billboard Charts" published photos of Lay as a special temporary MC through their Weibo, and described it as a great success.[26] On May 13, 2015 Lay was presented as a regular member of the variety show "Go Fighting!".[27][28]

Acting

On March 18, 2015, Lay announced his participation in the film "Oh My God", produced by Zhang Ziyi, which released on December 4 of that year.[29][30] In April 2015, a press release made by SM Entertainment announced that the agency had created a personal studio for Lay. The studio was established and registered under the name "Zhang Yixing Studio" on March 31, 2015, to assist Lay in his Chinese activities.[31] Also in April, Lay played alongside the other EXO members in the web-series EXO Next Door, starring actress Moon Ga-young.[32] On August 18, it was confirmed that Lay would appear in the television series To Be A Better Man.[33][34] On September 17, he released the limited edition of his autobiography, titled Standing Firm at 24, for pre-order. The standard edition of the book was released on October 7, 2015.[35] The book broke several online records by selling 68,537 copies in the first 24 minutes of pre-sales. On average, there were 50 copies sold per second.[36] In September 2015, Lay was confirmed to participate in the film Kung Fu Yoga, starring Jackie Chan and directed by Stanley Tong.[37] In October 2015, he was chosen to star in the movie Unexpected Love, alongside F(x) member and fellow SM artist Krystal Jung.[38] He later played the role of Lee Xiang He in the film Ex Files 2: The Backup Strikes Back, which released on November 6, 2015.[39]

Endorsements

Lay currently endorses several brands including Pancoat- for which he became the first spokesperson in Asia, Lay's, Olay, Clarisonic, Kangshifu Ice Tea, and Cornetto.[40][41][42][43][44][45]

Discography

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Main article: Exo discography
Lay at the 24th Seoul Music Awards
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CHN
Baidu Chart
[46]		 CHN
Billboard V Chart
[47]
"Happy Youth"
(with Coco Jiang Wen and Li Xiaolu)		 2015 8 8 Oh My God OST
"Alone (One Person)" 1 4 Ex Files 2: The Backup Strikes Back OST
"Monodrama '' 2016 — — Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

List of songs written by Lay

Year Album Song Label Lyrics Music
Credited With Credited With
2014 Exology Chapter 1: The Lost Planet Tour "I'm Lay" Yes — Yes —
— "I'm Coming" Yes — Yes —
2015 Love Me Right "Promise" (Korean version) S.M. Entertainment Yes Chen & Chanyeol Yes Deez
"Promise" (Chinese version) Yes — Yes Deez
Ex Files 2: The Backup Strikes Back "Alone (One Person)" Yes — Yes —
Oh My God "Youth Happiness" Yes Hou Hao Zhong Yes Hou Hao Zhong
2016 — "Monodrama" S.M. Entertainment Yes — Yes Divine Channel

Filmography

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Main article: Exo videography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
2015 SMTOWN The Stage Himself Documentary of SM Town.[48]
Ex-Files 2: The Backup Strikes Back. Lee Xiang He Special Appearance
Oh My God Le Yi Main Role
2016 Go Fighting The Movie: Royal Treasure Himself Main Role
Kung Fu Yoga Xiaoguang Supporting Role
Unexpected Love Han Bing Lead Role

Dramas

Year Title Role Network Notes
2015 EXO Next Door Lay Naver TV Cast Special Appearance
2016 Old Nine Gates Er Yue Hong IQiyi Lead Role
To Be A Better Man Xiao Cai ZTRG: Zhejiang Television
JSBC: Jiangsu Television
LeEco: LeTV		 Special Appearance

Variety shows

Year Title Network Role Notes
2005 Star Academy HBS: Hunan Television Participant
2013 Beatles Code 2 Mnet Guest with D.O., Xiumin, Suho, Baekhyun and Sehun
Immortal Songs 2 KBS Ep. 116 with:

Baekhyun, D.O., Chen, Kai, Sehun and Xiumin

Ep. 118 - Heartthrob Special Part 1 with: Baekhyun, Chen, Xiumin, Luhan, Kai, Sehun and D.O.

Ep. 119 - Heartthrob Special Part 2 with: Baekhyun, Chen, Xiumin, Luhan, Kai, Sehun and D.O.
Star Face-Off SBS with Chanyeol, Chen and D.O.
Dancing 9 Mnet with Kai and Girls' Generation's Hyoyeon
Hello Counselor KBS Ep. 145 with Kai
Our Home's Maknae MBC with Kris
Super Hit Mnet with D.O., Baekhyun, Chen and Luhan
2014 Celebrity Chef Has Arrived JSBC: Jiangsu Television Contestant Ep. 1 and 2
Star Room Escape ZRTG: Zhejiang Television Guest Ep. 3 and 4
The Generation Show SZMG: Shenzhen Television with Xiumin
Crazy Magic- Happy Baby Go HBS: Hunan Television Ep. 4
2015 Happy Camp HBS: Hunan Television Special MC 14, March, 2015
Guerilla Date KBS Guest with Xiumin, Chanyeol, Sehun, Chen and Kai
Hurry Up, Brother ZRTG: Zhejiang Television Ep. 20
Go Fighting! SMG: Dragon Television Main Cast
Happy Camp HBS: Hunan Television Guest 21, November, 2015

Radio shows

Year Title Network Role Notes
2013 Cultwo Show SBS Power FM Guest with Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Suho, Kai, D.O.., Kris, and Xiumin
ShimShimTapa MBC Standard FM Special DJ with Xiumin
MBC C-RADIO - Idol True Colours MBC Music Guest Ep. 1 and 2 - with Kris
2015 Qingting FM[49] Shanghai Qingting FM Solo Guest

Hosting

Year Title Role Network Notes
2014 Music Billboard Charts Special MC YinYueTai (19/6/2014)

Music video appearance

Year Song Artist Notes Video
2014 "Missing You" Fly to the Sky EXO 90:2014 MV Remake Missing You

Bibliography

Year Title Notes
2015 Standing Firm at 24 Autobiography

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2015 The Wind of the East Ceremony[50] Music Pioneer of the Year N/A Won
Asian Influence Awards Asia's Most Influential Artist N/A Won
Cosmopolitan Beauty Awards China Beautiful Idol of The Year N/A Won
2016 Qingting FM Awards[51] Most Popular Male Artist N/A Won
16th Top Chinese Music Awards[52] Best Movie OST "One Person" Won
Best Rookie Actor N/A Won
4th V-Chart Awards Movie OST of the Year "One Person" Won
Most Popular Newcomer N/A Won
LeTV LeEco Night Most Popular All-Rounded Idol N/A Won

References

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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  49. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp4EkGXbtOo
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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