13 Fun Facts About EXO’s Lay That You Probably Didn’t Know

Because the wait is so hard!

We know the wait for EXO‘s comeback and not knowing if every member of the group will be a part of it is slowly killing everyone. We thought we would make the wait a little less painful with some fun facts about our favorite China sheep! So without further ado, here are a few great facts about Lay!

 

1. Lay reads all his fan letters

Yep, he really reads them all! He’s even been known to hold reading and question-answering sessions online.

 

2. He once filled in for Jonghyun at a SHINee concert

Back before Lay even made his debut he took part in a SHINee concert. In 2010, the group held their SHINee World Concert and in the midst of it Jonghyun got hurt and couldn’t take part in the dancing with the other members. That’s where Lay comes in. He can be seen filling in during the choreography parts of the performance!

 

3. He’s a published author

In 2015, Lay officially took on the title of author when his autobiography “Standing Firm At 24” was published. Perhaps even cooler than the fact that Lay wrote a book is that it went on to become a best-seller and broke several online book records in China!

 

4. Lay wants to play a killer or dinosaur in his next film

lay_killer 1

He’s said on multiple occasions that he would like to take on one of these two roles. Unfortunately, he just hasn’t got the script yet!

 

5. He was a famous child star in China

Lay became a local child star of Hunan after winning third place on Star Academy in 2005. He then went on to make several appearances on variety shows. We always wondered how he was so good at them!

 

6. He was taught to drive by Jackie Chan

Can you imagine being taught to drive by Jackie Chan? Well, Lay got to experience it first hand because the famous actor taught him how to do so when they filmed “Kung Fu Yoga” together!

 

7. He has more than one wax figure

That’s right! Lay has not one but two wax figures made in his likeness. The first is in Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Beijing and is honestly an incredible likeness. The second lives in Shanghai and is styled to look match the character he played in his first leading drama!

 

8. He was the first celebrity to be made a publicity ambassador

In 2016, Lay was appointed by the CYLC of Changsha as a publicity ambassador. The role was the first time that a celebrity had been given the title. But that’s not all! Lay was again appointed as a publicity ambassador in 2017!

 

9. Lay established his own foundation

Lay has done a lot of charity work throughout the years and actually established his own foundation. It’s called “Zhang Yixing Arts Scholarship” and provides scholarships to his former middle school. He’s said to donate 100 thousand yuan annually for the scholarship which is roughly $14,600!

 

10. Lay has many unreleased tracks

We all know that Lay won the “Best Producer” award at the Chinese Top Ten Music Awards in April, but you might not know that he revealed he has over 99 unreleased tracks!

 

11. Lay was the first Chinese artist to enter the iTunes Top 60

In 2016, Lay released his first mini-album. The album was an immediate success and would come in at number 1 on the Gaon Album Chart as well as hitting number 4 on Billboard’s US World Albums Chart. This also led to him becoming the first Chinese artist to enter into iTunes Top 60 chart!

 

12. Lay is adorable but can also make us feel so attacked

Like the time he appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar!

 

Or in his “Lose Control” MV!

 

13. He made “I Need U” in honor of his grandparents 50th anniversary

A post shared by Lay Zhang (@zyxzjs) on

Can you say sweet?

EXO