Korean: 레이
Japanese: レー
Changsha, Hunan
CountryChina
"We are one! Hello, I'm Lay! Zhang Yixing (张艺兴), known professionally as Lay Zhang or simply Lay, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. He is best known as a member of the boy group EXO and its Chinese sub-unit EXO-M under SM Entertainment.
Born in China on October 7, 1991, Lay became a child actor at the age 6. Growing up, he continued appearing on several Chinese shows and even competing in television shows. However, in 2008 Lay auditioned for SM Entertainment's global casting audition in China. Lay had his biggest break when he eventually debuted as a member of EXO in 2012.
In April 2015, Zhang established a personal agency for his solo activities, serving as an exclusive management and record label.
In September 2015, he released his autobiography, "Standing Firm at 24", which broke several online book records.
In July 2016, Zhang was appointed by the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) of Changsha as a publicity ambassador, the first celebrity to hold such a title.
On October 28, 2016, Zhang released his first EP "Lose Control" in South Korea and China. The EP was a commercial success, peaking at number one on the Gaon Album Chart as well as number four on Billboard's US World Albums chart, and made him the first Chinese artist to enter the iTunes Top 60.
In 2016, market research company Kantar and Chinese business magazine CBN Weekly launched the CelebrityZ Top 100 Most Valuable Celebrities list, where Zhang came in at the 23rd spot.
In September 2017, Zhang came in at the 20th spot on the 2017 Forbes China Celebrity 100 with estimated earnings of 120 million yuan. He came in the 11th spot in 2019.