One of the biggest stars to emerge from the Asian pop scene in recent years, Chinese rapper, singer, and actor Zhang Yixing (October 7, 1991), better known as Lay, rose to fame as a member of the K-pop boy band EXO in 2012. Born in the city of Changsha in Hunan, he began performing from a very early age, featuring in TV series and participating in several talent competitions. In 2008, following a successful audition for SM Entertainment, he moved to South Korea to begin a lengthy training that culminated in his debut with the group EXO in 2012. With the band, Lay went on to achieve mainstream success by releasing a slew of back-to-back number 1 albums that dominated the charts in both South Korea and China. In the following years, Lay made his acting debut on the rom-com box office hit Ex-Files 2 (2015) and released his first extended play Lose Control (2016), which soared to the top of the Gaon Albums Chart and reached number 8 in Japan. The EP’s title track was also a hit, topping Billboard’s China V chart for six consecutive weeks. Preceded by the single “I Need U,” his first studio full-length Lay 02 Sheep (2017) quickly snatched the top spot in the Chinese charts and won Album of the Year at the 25th ERC Chinese Top Ten Awards. Following the release of the record-breaking EP Winter Special Gift in late 2017, Lay successfully crossed over into the US market with his sophomore effort Namanana (2018), which hit number 1 on Billboard’s Independent Albums and World Albums charts. This led to a series of high-profile collaborations with artists like Jason Derulo, Steve Aoki, and Far East Movement as he continued to break records with his third EP Honey, the best-selling release on the QQ Music Digital chart in 2019. Shortly after winning the competition I'm a Singer-Songwriter 2, Lay unveiled his third studio album Lit in two parts in 2020. That year, he also announced the creation of his company Chromosome Entertainment Group. 2021 found the multifaceted artist busier than ever with the release of his fourth long-player Producer and a fourth EP titled East, as well as the non-album single “Bee with You.” West, his fifth extended play, arrived in 2022. Despite taking a break throughout 2023, Lay resumed his musical career in 2024 with the single "Psychic," peaking at number 3 on the Chinese Billboard Hot 100. In September 2025, Zhang released the album Rock the Heavenly Palace before rejoining Exo in late 2025 for their eighth studio album, Reverxe. Released on January 19, 2026, the lead single "Crown" marked his first major project with the group since 2018's Don't Mess Up My Tempo. In July 2026, Zhang released the album Flawed Crown.
