Lay Zhang

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.

Lay Zhang
Zhang in October 2018
Born
Zhang Jiashuai

(1991-10-07) October 7, 1991 (age 32)
Changsha, Hunan, China
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer-songwriter
  • dancer
  • actor
  • record producer
  • businessman
Years active1998–2006
2012–present
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Labels
  • SM
  • Zhang Yixing Studio
  • Chromosome Entertainment Group
  • Range Media Partners
Member of
Websitewww.smtown.com/artists/97
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese张艺兴
Traditional Chinese張藝興
Birth name
Simplified Chinese张加帅
Traditional Chinese張加帥
Korean stage name
Hangul
레이
Revised RomanizationRe-i
McCune–ReischauerRei

Zhang Yixing (Chinese: 张艺兴; pinyin: Zhāng Yìxīng; born (1991-10-07)October 7, 1991),[1] known professionally as Lay Zhang or simply Lay, is a Chinese rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, actor, record producer and businessman. Zhang first gained recognition in 2005 for participating in the Chinese television talent show Star Academy.[2] He later debuted as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo and its Chinese sub-unit Exo-M under SM Entertainment in 2012.[3]

In 2015, Zhang founded a personal agency with SM for managing his solo activities in China and wrote an autobiography titled Standing Firm at 24. In 2016, Zhang released his first extended play (EP), Lose Control. The EP peaked at number one on the Gaon Album Chart and number four on Billboard's US World Albums chart. Zhang is the first Chinese solo artist to hit the Top 25 on the Billboard 200 and the first Chinese solo artist to hit Top 5 on the Worldwide iTunes Album Chart. Since his debut as a solo artist, Zhang has produced and released over 100 songs including 4 studio albums and 5 EPs, and has won numerous music awards.

In 2020, Zhang founded the Chromosome Entertainment Group and serves as CEO and producer.[4] Zhang has been included on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 (placing in the top 20 in multiple years)[5][6] and on the CelebrityZ Top 100 Most Valuable Celebrities list (placing 23rd in 2016) published by market research company Kantar and Chinese business magazine CBN Weekly.[7] Outside of music, Zhang became the first celebrity to serve as publicity ambassador for the Communist Youth League of China of Changsha in 2016.

He has also ventured into acting and starred in films and television shows such as Ex-Files 2 (2015), The Mystic Nine (2016), Kung Fu Yoga (2017), The Island (2018), The Golden Eyes (2019), Empress of the Ming (2019), Crime Crackdown (2021), and No More Bets (2023).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Russell2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference shanghaitv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Exo-M Official Website". SM Town. Archived from the original on February 24, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  4. ^ "Lay Zhang talks about going behind the boards for Producer, mentoring idol trainees at Choromosome Entertainment Group, and growing as an artist". Bandwagon. March 9, 2021. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "2017 Forbes China Celebrity List (Full List)". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  6. ^ "福布斯中国发布2020名人榜，00后少年易烊千玺荣登榜首". Forbes China (in Chinese). August 27, 2020. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "2016 CelebrityZ Top 100 Most Valuable Celebrities". Kantar China. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2016.