Standing out for his multiple talents since his time in EXO, Lay Zhang is positioned today as one of the most recognized Asian artists in the global music industry. We have seen them display his versatility in recognized international collaborations such as the one they recently had in the song “Run Back To You” with the American musician Lauv, where once again he left his millions of fans around the world shocked. The originality in Lay‘s audiovisual proposals has generated a trademark of creativity that allows us to immediately associate him with his fresh and enveloping style, the fusion of sounds is already something unexpected that becomes fascinating when waiting for a new work from this originary Chinese artist.
His status as a premium star in the entertainment industry has not gone unnoticed, from being invited to the Ellen DeGeneres show to his appearance in the film “No More Bets” in which he had a leading role and his work alongside one of his greatest acting inspirations Mr. Jackie Chan, once again Lay proved that there are no limits when it comes to being professional and genuinely talented.
Close to consolidating what we can expect soon as his world tour, Lay met exclusively with his Latin American audience through KoreaIN Magazine and shared details of his most recent single “Psychic”, his approach to Latin American culture, and a message of thanks to his Brazilian fans.
KoreaIN: LAY, all of this has been a very successful project worldwide, and now you are going viral with the Psychic challenge, and we know it will be included in the album you are preparing completely in English, tell us about it, please.
LAY: Well, right now we’ve just released two songs. One of them is “Run Back to you” with Lauv and the second is the song, whose name is “Psychic,” precisely the latter I just had performances on stages in Korea, also for whom I have the Hangul version.
Korea is the place where it all began, and it really has great value for me to be able to get on its stages again to perform in front of a loyal audience.
KoreaIN: There are already around 20 years of career, preparation, and hard work, which have clearly paid off in an unstoppable magnitude that continues to advance, it is really clear that you are a worthy representative of the innate art of your culture, tell us, what you have been treasuring from your country, China in you to share with the world?
LAY: My country is recognized for its cultural wealth, we have a long history in the development of humanity, and I just want to share all this wealth with people through my musical work. We have many good stories, very good food, beautiful landscapes that are worth visiting, good music, good artists and all the good that we can offer from China to the world is what I want my audience to be able to have the opportunity to experience and enjoy.
KoreaIN: We can see this work as a soloist has been really very well received by both the audience and by artists of global stature, this is the case of Will I Am and Steve Aoki, also this work that your audience enjoys is the result of a great work of the behind-the-scenes team that supports you to produce such a perfect product, what we can comment on this team?
LAY: Wow! At this moment I work hand in hand with “Range Media”, one of the largest companies in the US, with this team we have worked hard to launch an album in English worldwide, we are globalizing music.
Psychic is the second single we released this year and the video was recorded in Dubai. It was really a good experience, we had a great director who gave it magic and they also took my ideas into account to include them in the concept of the MV. We wanted to create a concept that was fun at the same time and we achieved it with the synergy of teamwork.
KoreaIN: We know you in EXO and you have not stopped dazzling your audience with your talent and charm, how have you received the support of your fans in this stage of work as a soloist?
LAY: My fans are really valuable to me, their support has been unconditional and constant, I really feel very grateful, they don’t need anything more than their love to always support my work and that is something that is priceless, that motivates me to be perfect in whatever I can so that they always receive the best from me.
KoreaIN: Have you heard or know anything about our Latin American rhythms? Would you be open to doing some collaboration?
LAY: Yeah, sure. I think they’re all really good artists. I just want to try to put some traditional Chinese instruments or some culture or some Chinese words on top and let’s just take a look at what kind of chemistry will happen. It would be a very interesting and enjoyable experiment.
KoreaIN: Fans from Brazil really love you and have been supporting your work since the debut. What do you know about our country? What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Brazil? (Any food, celebrity, singer, songs, places, etc)
LAY: Yes, I actually talked to my team. I know I have big fan bases there. So I know Brazil has a lot of support for me. I actually really want to go visit you guys and bring my music so you can enjoy it live.
I really want to meet my fans. So this year I will bring my tour and I will bring my new album to meet the fans from Brazil. Just give me time guys, I’ll make this happen.
KoreaIN: While we are at it, can Brazil/Latin fans expect a visit soon? What would you like to try if you happen to visit Brazil?
LAY: I would really love to try their food and immerse myself in the joy that they represent. I know that the food is also very good so you will soon be able to find out. I want to share with the people of Brazil as much as I can, a true cultural exchange.
By Camila Avella Cordoba
Images: Lay Zhang
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