Zhang Yixing (born Zhang Jiashuai; ), known professionally as Lay Zhang or simply Lay, is a Chinese singer and actor. After participating in the Chinese talent show Star Academy in 2005, he became a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo and its Chinese sub-unit Exo-M under SM Entertainment in 2012. In 2015, Zhang founded a studio under SM for his solo activities in China. From 2015 to 2018, he was a cast member of the Chinese reality show Go Fighting! In 2016, Zhang released his first extended play (EP), Lose Control. In 2020, Zhang founded the Chromosome Entertainment Group. Zhang's acting credits include films and television shows, notably The Mystic Nine (2016), Kung Fu Yoga (2017), The Island (2018), and No More Bets (2023).
Zhang was ranked 20th in the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list in 2017, 11th in 2019, 5th in 2020, and 6th in 2021.
Early life Zhang Yixing was born Zhang Jiashuai in Changsha, Hunan, China on October 7, 1991. His legal name was later changed to Zhang Yixing.
Career Zhang is a Chinese singer and actor. After participating in the Chinese talent show Star Academy in 2005, he became a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo and its Chinese sub-unit Exo-M under SM Entertainment in 2012. Zhang was among the first four established Chinese K-pop stars to return China and spearhead the development of idols in Chinese entertainment.
1998–2008: Career beginnings Zhang's early acting roles included playing Huan Huan in the 1998 Chinese drama We The People at age six. In 2000, at age nine, Zhang participated in a Chinese television show as a fan club member of the Taiwanese singer and actor Jimmy Lin. Zhang gained recognition after finishing third in the 2005 competition on the show Star Academy. He also appeared in an episode of Yue Ce Yue Xin Kai and Liu Na's variety show Na Ke Bu Yi Yang between 2005 and 2006. In April 2006, Zhang auditioned for a role in The Duke of Mount Deer but did not secure the part.
In 2008, Zhang auditioned for SM Entertainment at the South Korean company's global casting audition in Wuhan. At the time, he was 16 years old and studying at the High School Attached to Hunan Normal University. After successfully passing the auditions, Zhang moved to South Korea to complete his idol training. In 2011, prior to his debut with Exo, he briefly worked with Shinee on their Shinee World Tour as Jonghyun's dance replacement.
2012–2014: Debut with Exo
Zhang debuted as a member of Exo under the stage name 'Lay', which he explained was inspired by the character Huaze Lei from Meteor Garden. Zhang was revealed as one of the four Chinese members of Exo through a teaser video in January 2012. After the release of Exo's singles What Is Love and History, the group held a pre-debut showcase at Seoul Olympic Stadium on March 31, 2012, as well as a second showcase and press conference at the Great Hall of the Beijing University of International Business and Economics. The group debuted on April 8, 2012, with the single "Mama", and Exo-M's first performance in China was publicly televised at the 12th Yinyue Fengyun Bang Awards.
In December 2012, Zhang was featured in SM Entertainment's project dance group SM the Performance alongside fellow Exo member Kai and labelmates Yunho, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Minho and Taemin. On December 29, the group performed their single "Spectrum", which was released the following day, at the 2011 SBS Gayo Daejeon.
Early in 2014, Zhang composed and performed the song "I'm Lay" for his solo performance during Exo's first headlining concert tour, The Lost Planet. Later that year, he performed another self-composed song, "I'm Coming", on a special year-end television program on Hunan TV. Zhang also composed the song "Promise" on the repackaged edition of Exo's second studio album, Love Me Right, and wrote the lyrics for the Chinese version of the song.
2014–2015: Solo activities and film debut In August 2014, Zhang appeared on the variety show Star Chef. In April 2015, SM Entertainment announced that a personal studio had been established for Zhang's activities in China. In May 2015, he became a regular cast member of the Chinese reality television show Go Fighting!. Zhang subsequently starred in the second, third, and fourth seasons of the show.
On September 18, the limited edition of Zhang's autobiography Standing Firm at 24 was published, while the standard edition became available on October 7. The book documented important events throughout his life and broke several online sales records, selling 68,537 copies in the first 24 minutes of pre-sales. Zhang placed fourth on the 10th Chinese Celebrity Writers List, the youngest celebrity author to enter the chart. He was first place in the 2015 installment of the Annual Celebrity Book Sales and ranked first Asia's Best Books twice on its monthly chart and six times on its weekly charts. Zhang's autobiography made Rakuten's lists, with 400,000 copies sold in six months.
In November 2015, Zhang made his film debut with a supporting role in the Chinese romantic comedy movie Ex-Files 2: The Backup Strikes Back. He later won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2016 China Britain Film Festival for his performance. He wrote and recorded an original soundtrack for the movie "Alone (One Person)", which reached number one on the Baidu Music Chart and later won Best Movie Original Soundtrack awards at the 16th Top Chinese Music Awards and 4th V-Chart Awards. Zhang starred in the Chinese comedy film Oh My God and collaborated with his co-stars Coco Jiang Wen and Li Xiaolu on an original soundtrack for the movie titled "Happy Youth", which debuted at number eight on the Billboard V Chart.
2016: Rising popularity and solo debut In January 2016, Zhang and the other cast members of Go Fighting! appeared in the Chinese movie Royal Treasure. In April 2016, he received the Most Popular Newcomer award at the 16th Top Chinese Music Awards. In May 2016, Zhang made his small screen debut in the Chinese television series To Be A Better Man. Written by Lay and co-composed and arranged with Divine Channel, "Monodrama" charted at number one on YinYueTai's V Chart. In July 2016, Zhang starred in the Chinese action mystery drama The Mystic Nine, a prequel to The Lost Tomb. The series achieved domestic success, placing first in television ratings and setting a record for the most online views garnered in a day. It has since accumulated over 12 billion total views. Zhang went on to star in a spin-off of the television series titled The Mystic Nine Side Story: Flowers Bloom in February, which focused solely on Zhang's character.
In October 2016, Zhang made his debut as a solo artist with the release of "What U Need?" as a surprise gift for his fans on his birthday. The song reached number four spot on the China V Chart and Billboard World Digital Songs chart. He performed it for the first time on October 10 at the 2016 Asia Song Festival in Busan, South Korea.
On October 28, Zhang released his debut extended play (EP) Lose Control, which contained six Mandarin tracks and the music video for the title song. Lay was involved in much of the production of the EP, participating in songwriting and arrangement as well as translating the original lyrics himself into English, Korean and Japanese. Pre-orders for Lose Control surpassed 200,000 copies, and it debut at number one on the Gaon Album Chart. It also reached number four on Billboards US World Albums chart. Zhang performed "Lose Control" for the first time on the music program The Show on November 15.
2017: Mainstream success On January 27, 2017, Zhang performed at the CCTV Spring Gala Festival. The same month, Zhang appeared alongside Jackie Chan in the 2017 film Kung Fu Yoga. Zhang and Jackie Chan appeared in the music video for 'Goosebump' after the film's release.
On February 17, 2017, Zhang performed with Exo during their Hong Kong concerts, before reducing his group activities due to solo commitments in China In April, Zhang appeared in The Founding of an Army, where his portrayal of Lu Deming was well received. Later in April, Zhang starred in the Chinese remake of the hit Japanese romance television series Operation Love. He composed and performed the song "Pray" for the drama. In July, Zhang provided the voice for Jackson Storm in the Chinese version of Cars 3.
On September 25, Zhang released the music video for 'I Need U', a pre-release track from Lay 02 Sheep. The music video performed well on Billboard's China Weibo Live Chart. The album was released on October 7 along with the music video for the song "Sheep". On its first day of digital sales, the album broke five records on QQ Music for the Gold, Double Gold, Triple Gold, Platinum and Diamond (¥5 million in 9 hours 11 minutes) certifications. Zhang held the 2017 Zhang Yixing Showcase at the Beijing National Aquatics Center, performing tracks from the album. In October, Zhang was announced to be starring as the male lead alongside label-mate Krystal Jung in the South Korean-Chinese romance film Unexpected Love.
On December 22, Zhang released his second EP, Winter Special Gift along with the music video for the lead single, "Goodbye Christmas". Within one day of digital sales, the album surpassed Gold, Double Gold, Triple Gold and Platinum sales marks on QQ Music. The album later surpassed the Diamond sales mark on the platform as well. The same month, Zhang was appointed as presenter and production director for iQiyi's talent program Idol Producer.
2018: Debut in the United States On April 1, 2018, Zhang returned as one of the main cast in the fourth season of hit Chinese variety show Go Fighting!. He attended the 2018 CCTV New Year's Gala, where he performed a dance in collaboration with Huang Bo and William Chan. He also participated in the national anthem and its music video for Youth Day in China in May. In July, Zhang made a guest appearance for the web series The Tomb of Sea, where he portrayed a descendant of his character from the hit 2016 TV series The Mystic Nine. In August, Zhang starred in Huang Bo's commercially and critically successful directorial debut film The Island, where he received acclaim for his performance.
Zhang made his first appearance in the US at the music festival Lollapalooza, where he collaborated with DJ Alan Walker. The duo later collaborated on a remixed version of Zhang's previous single "Sheep", titled "Sheep Relift" and released on August 30.
Zhang's second album Namanana was released on October 19, with the pre-release single "Give Me a Chance" released on October 5. The album contained 22 songs, including a collaboration with American singer Bazzi, 11 of which are in the Chinese language with English versions of each. Namanana debuted at number 21 on Billboard 200, making Lay the highest ranked Mandopop artist on the chart. The album also placed first on the World Albums and Independent Albums charts. On December 24, Lay released a Christmas-themed digital single titled "When It's Christmas". The same month, he joined Chinese EDM talent show Rave Now as a mentor alongside Alan Walker.
2019–2021: Solo concert tour and Chromosome Entertainment Group Establishment On January 20, Zhang attended a Samsung event at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai as the ambassador of Samsung Galaxy A8s and performed on-stage alongside ASAP Ferg and Steve Aoki. That month, Zhang returned as the production director and presenter of the Chinese survival show Idol Producer 2. On February 3, Zhang performed a Chinese New Year song with Dilraba Dilmurat, Phoenix Legend, Wallace Chung, and Zhou Dongyu at the 2019 CCTV New Year's Gala.