Lay Zhang On Viral Concerts, EXO, New Music

When our Zoom flickers to life, EXO member and multihyphenate Lay Zhang (pronounced Lay Jahng) is in a remote location in China, about to shoot an advertisement. He’s just come back from a much-talked about trip to Korea (more on that further on!), and will return there after this shoot as well.

More importantly, he’s just finished two record-setting concerts at Beijing’s Olympic Bird’s Nest Stadium, ones that led to viral clips and astounded reactions on social media.

He must be so tired, I venture as our conversation begins. He waves me off. “I have a lot of energy. I’m an energetic boy.”

Energy levels addressed, we turn to discussion about his concerts, but Lay appears to have no idea that videos of his performances were doing the rounds outside China. “Maybe you just know it because you’re curious about me,” he laughs.

While his concerts were livestreamed (reportedly to millions) on Douyin — China’s version of TikTok — Lay and his team had not put much effort into marketing his concerts for those abroad.

“I already know the outside fans are also waiting for me to watch my performance. I wanted to tag everybody and say, ‘Hey, Lay is doing a concert in one of the biggest stadiums of China,’” he says. “But right now our fans are getting older. They are doing their own business right now.”

Way to underscore the passing of my youth, Lay, I think. He smiles.

“I think a lot of fans bought a ticket and took a flight to come to Beijing and see the shows. It made me feel so touched.”

Sold Out in Seconds

Per KPop news platform The Ktea, tickets for Lay’s “Grandline 2025 : Monkey King Rocking the Heavenly Palace” shows sold out in less than a minute.

He tells me there were about 71,000 fans in the audience, including fellow EXO band member Sehun and Red Velvet leader Irene. Social media hazards the average was 80,000 each night, bringing the total to 160,000 attendees for both shows.

For context, the famed O2 Arena has a capacity of 20,000, and the standard seating capacity for the 2025 Superbowl was approximately 76,000.

While the 34-year old is no stranger to selling out stadiums with EXO, this was special to him as a solo performer representing his culture.

“When I came to the stadium, I was crying. I cried so hard,” he tells me earnestly. “I cried for the opportunity and I cried for the love. I cried for my fans who came to this stadium to see me. I cried for my journey, for my career. I was so thankful to SM Entertainment, my brothers from EXO, my fans who supported me.”

“All these emotions accumulated. So I just cried.”

Top Tier Production

“This is the first time the Bird’s Nest has hosted a concert featuring traditional Chinese culture from the beginning to the end,” he tells me, reading it out to make sure the record is stated correctly.

At various points in the show, he performed aerial stunts, sang in the middle of a giant LED scroll as it unfurled during the performance, and played a butterfly piano that moved across the stage. He was joined on stage by trainees from his entertainment company Chromosome, including recent Boys II Planet alum Chen Kaiwen.

For the massive production, Lay worked with celebrated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who also directed the ceremonies for the 2008 and 2022 Beijing Olympics.

“We didn’t want to make the sound too old, like we’re teaching people, “Hey, this is our traditional Chinese culture. You have to follow like this,” he explains, when asked about the challenges he faced putting it all together. “But also I didn’t want to make our seniors feel like I just messed up the traditional culture.”

The Perfectionist Mentality

When I ask Lay about the difference between performing for home audiences versus international ones, his answer surprises me with its intensity.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s 200 people or 70,000 people. I just want to make every show be my last show,” he says firmly. “Never let the audience be disappointed about the person, about the singer.”

“If someday I cannot dance, I cannot sing, I will quit my job. Don’t let the people see my weakness. I will always be strong.“

It’s a revealing statement from someone who has previously spoken about struggling with anxiety in his autobiography. When I gently probe whether this perfectionist approach makes things harder for him, he simply responds: “I think this is my life.”

But when I ask what advice he would give his past self, his answer softens considerably. “I only want one sentence,” he says. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Just be yourself.”

Over his decade-plus career as a KPop group singer, dancer, solo artist, philanthropist, actor, producer, model, and brand ambassador, Lay has watched the industry transform. What has changed since he started out?

“My age is getting older, obviously,” he jokes dryly. before pointing to social media as the biggest shift.

“Right now we have the [dance] challenge culture to use music to connect teams to people,” he says. “Even if we are strangers, we can use the challenge, we can use music. If you like the music, we can do the same motion together. A lot of people can connect with each other. I really like it. I really respect it.”

His dance with Irene after the concert was widely shared, but people were unfamiliar with the audio. “It’s a Chinese abstract video,” he tries to explain. “Really, it just makes sense but does not make sense.”

“When I gave the explanation to Irene, Irene was like, “What?”

EXO Comeback Rumors

And of course, I had to ask him what every EXO fan has been speculating about this month: what is going on? Will there be a comeback?

Lay left SM Entertainment, home of iconic second generation KPop group EXO, in 2022. He has not appeared in a project with the other members since, although several of them have publicly kept in touch.

The timing of his recent Korea trips seemed particularly significant, with fans noting that all nine members were simultaenously spotted in Korea after years, and member Sehun posting cryptic messages about filming on Bubble.

Lay had dropped hints about maybe getting together with the members in October, and fans on social media say he was picked up by EXO leader Suho’s manager at the airport. What did it all mean?

“Maybe that’s just rumor. That’s rumors,” he insists. “Fake news.”

But he has a twinkle in his eye.

New Music: A Darker Turn

With producer Jimmy by his side during our call, Lay reveals he’s working on his next solo album, though it’s still in the early stages.

But there’s a twist: “We will totally rebuild our image of the outside market,” he says. “The market has a stereotype of Lay, like an angel, but maybe next time will totally be the opposite.”

He’s also open to collaborations, describing past collaborations with international artists like Jackie Chan, Lauv, Steve Aoki, and JVKE as “serendipity.” When I enthusiastically suggest he consider working with Indian artists — citing the massive fanbase of artists like Diljit Dosanjh and Arijit Singh — he lights up.

“Can you give me some recommendations?” he asks eagerly. “I’m really open.”

Alright then, so what is in the immediate future for Lay Zhang? New music? More brand ambassadorships? Dare I say it: an EXO reunion?

He just smiles. “Stay tuned for December,” he says.

And there’s that twinkle again.