"Lay Zhang, also known as Zhang Yixing, is a Chinese singer-songwriter, music producer, dancer and actor. He was born on October 7, 1991 in Changsha, Hunan. Lay is also a member of the South Korean boy band EXO. He first gained fame through the Chinese TV show Star Academy in 2005. In January 2015, Lay was appointed by the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) of Changsha as a publicity ambassador which marked the first time that a young idol from entertainment industry has been appointed to be CYLC's publicity ambassador."