- For other people known as 'Lay', see Rei.
Lay (레이; known internationally as Lay Zhang) is a Chinese singer-songwriter, music producer, dancer and actor under Zhang Yixing Studio. He is a member of the boy group EXO and its subunit EXO-M.
He made his Chinese solo debut on October 28, 2016 with the mini album Lose Control and his US debut on October 19, 2018 with the album Namanana.[3]
On April 8, 2022, he announced his departure from SM Entertainment in a handwritten letter after deciding not to renew his contract, though he will remain as an EXO member.[4]
Discography
Chinese
Studio albums
Mini albums
Special albums
Digital singles
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Remix singles
Promotional singles
Collaborations
Participation releases
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English
Studio albumsDigital singles
Collaboration EPs
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Collaboration
Participation releasesFeatures
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Producing and writing credits
- All credits adapted from KOMCA, unless stated.[5]
2010s
| Artist | Song | Album | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | |||
| EXO (Lay solo) | "I'm Lay" | Exology Chapter 1: The Lost Planet | Composing Arranging |
| 2015 | |||
| EXO | "Promise (EXO 2014)" (Korean ver.) | Love Me Right | Composing Arranging |
| "Promise (EXO 2014)" (Chinese ver.) | Writing Composing Arranging | ||
| 2016 | |||
| Lay | "Monodrama" | Writing Composing Arranging | |
| "Lose Control" | Lose Control | ||
| "What U Need?" | |||
| "Tonight" | |||
| "MYM" | |||
| "MYM (Acoustic ver.)" | |||
| "Relax" | |||
| 2017 | |||
| Lay | "Sheep" | Lay 02 Sheep | Writing Composing Arranging |
| "I Need U" | |||
| "Peach" | Composing Arranging | ||
| "Hand" | Writing Composing Arranging | ||
| "Boss" | Composing Arranging | ||
| "Shake" | Writing Composing Arranging | ||
| "Too Much" | |||
| "Mask" | |||
| "Director" | |||
| "X Back" | |||
| "Goodbye Christmas" | Winter Special Gift | Composing Arranging | |
| "Can You Feel Me" | |||
| "Christmas Love" | |||
| "Gift to XBACK" | Writing Composing | ||
| "Goodbye Christmas (English ver.)" | Composing Arranging | ||
| 2017 | |||
| Lay | "The Assembly Call" (Chinese and English ver.) |
Namanana | Composing Arranging |
| "Namanana" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Give Me a Chance" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Lay U Down" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Save You" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Hold On" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Thing for You" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Mapo Tofu" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Flavor" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Don't Let Me Go" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| "Tatto" (Chinese and English ver.) | |||
| 2019 | |||
| Lay | "Honey" (English ver.) | Honey | Writing Composing Arranging |
| "Bad" | Composing Arranging | ||
| "Amusment Park" | |||
| "Honey (Chinese ver)" | |||
| "外婆" | Writing Composing Arranging | ||
2020s
| Artist | Song | Album | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | |||
| Lay | "Namanana (Remix)" | Composing Arranging | |
| "Lit" | Lit | Writing Composing Arranging | |
| "Jade" | |||
| "Changsha" | |||
| "Mama" | |||
| "Boom" | |||
| "Call My Name" | |||
| "Late Night" | |||
| "Wish" | |||
| "Gluttony" | |||
| "Boom (R3HAB Remix)" | Writing Composing | ||
| "Descendants of the Dragon (Remix)" | Writing Composing Arranging | ||
| 2021 | |||
| Lay | "Joker" | Producer | Writing Composing Arranging |
| "Love Lay" | |||
| "Flipped" | |||
| "Ambush" | |||
| "Stay With Me" | |||
| "Horse" | |||
| "Descendants of the Dragon" | |||
| "Obsessed" | |||
| Lay | "XiangJiang River" | ||
| Lay | "Flying Apsaras" | East | Composing Arranging |
| Lay | "Samadhi Real Fire" | ||
| Lay | "Ascetic Monk" | Writing Composing Arranging | |
| "The Shepherd Boy" | Composing Arranging | ||
| "Bee With You" | Writing Composing Arranging | ||
| 2022 | |||
| Lay | "Jiu" | Writing Composing Arranging | |
| "Nothing With Me" | Composing Arranging | ||
Concerts
- Grandline Ⅱ [Infinite Lands] (2022)
- Lay Zhang World Tour Grandline 4 'Step' (2024)[6]
- Grandline 5 'Rock the Heavenly Palace' (2025)[7]
Concerts participation
- Lollapalooza (2018)[8][9]
- Virgin Fest (2020)[10]
- MetaMoon Music Festival (2022)[11]
- Krazy Super Concert (2024) [12]
- 2025 Chromosome Universe New Year Countdown Show (2025)[13]
Musical theatre
- The Summoning of Dunhuang (2024)
Filmography
Films
- Ex-Files 2: The Backup Strikes Back (2015)
- Oh My God (2015)
- Royal Treasure (2016)
- The Mystic Nine Side Story: Flowers Bloom in February (2016)
- Kung Fu Yoga (2017)
- The Founding of an Army (2017) - cameo
- Cars 3 (2017) - Chinese dubbing
- The Island (2018)
- Tale of the Night (2023) - cameo
- Chinese Youth: Me and My Youth (2023) - cameo
- No More Bets (2023)
- A Legend (2024)
- Mumu (2025)
Dramas
- To the Beautiful You (SBS, 2012) - cameo
- Exo Next Door (Naver TV Cast, 2015)
- To Be A Better Man (Jiangsu TV-Zhejiang TV, 2016)
- The Mystic Nine (Dragon TV, 2016)
- Operation Love (Dragon TV, 2017)
- The Tomb of Sea (2018) - cameo
- The Golden Eyes (iQiyi, 2019)
- Ming Dynasty (Hunan Television, 2019-2020)
- Faith Makes Great (2021) - cameo
- Challenges at Midlife (2021)
- Crime Crackdown (Dragon Television-Beijing TV, 2021)
Endorsements
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Trivia
- Lay won 3rd place on the popular Chinese talent show Star Academy in 2005.
- Lay's birth name is Zhang Jiashuai, but his name was later changed to Zhang Yixing.
- Lay is fluent in Xiang Chinese, Mandarin, Korean and English.
- He was intended to be the leader of EXO-M, but the position was later changed to Kris prior to debut.
- His debut solo album, Lose Control, is the best-selling album by a solo artist in South Korea despite being a pure Chinese-language record.
- He has starred in numerous hit Chinese movies and dramas.
- Lay is a pagan.
Gallery
- Main article: Lay/Gallery
References
- ↑ Variety: K-Pop Superstar Lay Zhang Signs With Range Media (EXCLUSIVE)
- ↑ (KR) iMBC: 엑소 출신 레이, 4월 솔로 컴백…한국 음악 방송 무대 예고
- ↑ Billboard: Lay Announces Stateside Album 'Namanana'
- ↑ Soompi: EXO’s Lay Announces Departure From SM Entertainment With Handwritten Letter
- ↑ KOMCA: Searching Works (search 10023501 under Writers & Publishers)
- ↑ @lay_studio on Twitter (May 20, 2024)
- ↑ @lay_studio on X (July 4, 2025)
- ↑ Soompi: EXO’s Lay To Join Alan Walker For Performance At Music Festival Lollapalooza
- ↑ Soompi: Watch: EXO’s Lay Shows The World What He’s Made Of And Performs With Alan Walker At Lollapalooza
- ↑ Soompi: Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany And EXO’s Lay To Perform At 2020 Virgin Fest In LA
- ↑ RollingStone: Lay Zhang, Amber Liu, MC Jin Set for Inaugural MetaMoon Music Festival
- ↑ Soompi: 2024 Krazy Super Concert Returns With New Dates And Star-Studded Lineup
- ↑ @ChromosomeEG on X (November 22, 2025)
Official links
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