Variety Nov/Dec issue cover figure/ Lay Zhang: The sober look

The stage means differently to everyone. “The stage holds a special place in my heart, it is a space for display, to show all your efforts and hard work, as well as the achievements that follows. The stage is supposed to exist for those who are ready. If you are not ready, you do not deserve to be on stage”.

“Life is like a countdown”, he has been feeling the sense of urgency since he was a child. He has been searching for the meaning of his existence all the time and racing against time. “A true portrayal of the importance of the stage in life”.

This sentence is not so much soaring rhetoric, but rather a shocking truth. He regards the stage as hisfaith, determines to be on it, and exceptionally values it.

In Street Dance of China 3 finale, as the team captain of “Lit Dragon”, Lay led his group of dancers and presented the last team show “Descendants of the dragon”. He integrated Chinese culture withthe DNA of street dancing, bombarded the stage with vivid Chinese style and passion. With a theme of “Yin and Yang”, the team performed “Dan Qing” and “Xia Ying” respectively. Using street dance techniques as the core, they danced out the soul of Chinese culture. Lay’s original work “Gluttony”, begins with the story of an ancient beast, explores the battle between the purity and greed of human nature. A brand-new artistic effect was achieved by the stirring lyrics and melody, exquisite arrangement, thousand-year-old guqin tossed in the air, and red sleeves dancing with fierce glory. In the 7-hour finale, Lay’s piece of work was one that is out of the ordinary.

Rewinding the time back to August, when SDC3 has just premiered, the show assembled a dream team of captains from popular idol male artists. A celebrity’s cypher that was later named “street dance century battle” had shaken the entire street dance community.

Unexpectedly to the professional street dancers, Krump has taken the public by storm like a dark horse. Fans have been privileged to see a different Lay, who was once docile and gentle, turned to have powerful and intense moves. As well as showing a high level of understanding to music and adaptability, Lay overturned his stereotypical image, and presented his compelling kingship.

People who are brave enough to innovate, always challenge the rules and norms, and so will inevitably have to face questions. But as long as they endure the loneliness, time will come as they reach the summit as clouds will part.

Innovation is important

In SDC3, Lay surprised everyone with his unique Krump, and many strangers have become his fans. However, he was humbly brushed if off, saying that he was “just okay”. “There is still a gap between me with real legendary Krumper around the world, I still need to learn and improve slowly”. He is lucid about the disparity, “The show allowed more people to pay attention to Krump”. Lay felt that it was “very meaningful”.

As the Breakdance promoting ambassador in China, Lay co-hosted the M-ALL STARS street dance competition with Converse after SDC3 ended. He also established a “Chinese style creative dance” award. “After learning a dance style, you can actually integrate it with the Chinese culture. I hope more kids who are taking part in learning street dancing can know how important innovation is.”

By his influences, Lay encourages kids to innovate more, and make the most of their creativities. “There should not be just one type of ‘good student’, for different teenagers, we should teach them in accordance with their aptitude. We need to find their strengths, then teach them to apply what they have learned into practice and evoke creativity in all fields”. In this regard, Lay explores more possibilities for integrating street dance and Chinese culture.

“It turned out that street dance can be done this way!”

This is how the newcomer in the show, Lay Zhang, sets off people’s new understanding of street dance.

“During the preparation of my new album “LIT”, I suddenly realised that Wusheng’s (martial arts roles) steps in Peking opera are very similar to the steps in Krump. That’s why there was a combination of Wusheng’s steps and Krump’s stomping, incorporating traditional martial art moves into Krump arm swing. Such attempts haven’t stopped, in the dance choreography of “LIT” music video, it also borrowed cloud hands and palm flips from classical dance”. The exploration of Chinese style street dance is seen throughout Lay’s creation. “Right now, it cannot be called a systematic dance style, but I believe as long as it is continually being innovated and refined by generations of young people, hopefully one day it can become a distinctive dance style”.

On the road to innovation, Lay has always made great strides, and the same goes for dance and music. As early as 2018, he took the lead in promoting M-pop (Mix-mandarin-pop in full), that is, Chinese pop music (songs that are sung in Chinese as the fundamental language, with the addition of one or more languages from other countries). This may be why he became the first Chinese singer to be featured on “Rolling Stone” foreign issue.

This M has long been planted in his heart like a seed, “perhaps one day Mandarin can really be on the stage of world music. If we reify this M a bit more, it is actually a fusion, an innovation, where generations of singers will contribute to it”. When everyone’s wisdom and effort are put in it, they may be able to catalyse a new change, and that will be the new wave of Chinese music. “The new wave of our generation is still in the process of formation”.

“The internet has changed people’s lives, pop music suddenly became ubiquitous overnight”, Laylamented the music creation during the era of information explosion. “People no longer have to try hard searching for music they like, the convenience that globalisation brings has jeopardized the enjoyment of discovering their favorite music”.

Meanwhile, the rise of the idol economy, the integration of big data and even AI technology, has taken this trend to an extreme. However, Lay hopes that “while the younger generations are chasing after idols, they should think more critically about the meaning behind idols. A true idol should represent a kind of power, holding what the younger generation aspires, as well as having the quality, representative work, and the integrity, so that they live up to the love and respect they receive from fans”. “I hope more people can support originality and look at the idol economy through the perspective of development. You don’t have to like it, but don’t slander, and be more tolerant of new things.” Lay, who has never been superstitious about overnight fame, said frankly, “a lot of things, in order for them to erupt, they must already be accumulated to a certain extent. A new wave is by no means determined by one or two persons, and I don’t feel like I’m at the cusp of the wave, I’m only trying to assist”.

As a Chinese artist debuted in Korea, Lay grew from an unknown trainee to the representative of a nation’s performing stage idol. At present Lay has demonstrated extraordinary capability and vitality in all fields of pop music, street dance, as well as film and TV industry. Together, fans and the market have witnessed the growth of Lay.

On October 7th, making the most of his 29th birthday, Lay announced his newly established “Chromosome Entertainment Group”, launching a trainee recruitment program.

“After I discovered my limitations, I decided to start training trainees. I hope that in my lifetime, I can hand in a pretty good answer for the entire market. After all, the power of one person is limited, so I hope to accumulate more power, and pass it on to more kids. Let them become the new energy, then use these new energies to influence the whole market, and the entire world even. Helping people reaching their dreams, this will definitely be a meaningful thing”.

Music is the backbone

As a Libra, Lay always looks gentle, yet he is a hidden perfectionist. He will take every thought into account. He is humble and polite, but no one can change the beliefs that he holds inside.

The real Lay is so different. “Sometimes, being straightforward might not be beneficial. I do my best choose not to hurt other people in front of the camera, but I will still hold my standards.” As the captain of LIT DRAGON in SDC3, Lay makes sure to point out the improvements his teammates can make in a gentle way.

It is this insistence on his tenets that has earned him more respects. In the first season of “Idol Producer”, his strictness also made the audiences exclaimed. “The kids were cheering behind me, but I thought the performance was not worth it. I did not speak out the first time, nor the second time. But I had to tell them to just calm down the third time, there is nothing worth cheering for.” In Lay’s mind, someone needs to tell the kids what real good performances are like. The foundation of this standard also shapes the aesthetic qualities.

“I have dreams, and I have goals. I am always letting my goals guide me. But I have my limits as well, and I will not do things that challenge my limits. This is me. I never restrict myself in the idol stereotypes.” Just like the lyrics in the title song of his fourth album “LIT”, “Too many people try to trip me up/They can’t/Too many people finger-pointing/ No, no, no, no/So many people queuing and waiting/ Look at me, I grow from of mud but remains unstained.” This man is so much stronger and persevering than how we think he was. He has confidence, ambition, will, and enterprise all in him. Although debuting as the lead dancer, Lay never limits himself to just dancing. “I hope I can be an all-around artist, and I have been working hard toward that.” “I am like the pad if we are instruments, let that be my role in the group.”

If we say the stage is his faith, then music is his dream. “There are not a lot of people who are willing to support my dream of producing music. Actually, music has the least advantage in the industry. We have to spend huge amount of effort into producing music, including time and money.” But he understands clearly, music will always be his backbone. As an outstanding all-rounded artist, he is preeminent in dancing. Yet apart from that, he is also an excellent singer-songwriter. He participates in composing, arranging, accompanying, singing, and even sound mixing. He is always using his pure heart to hold fast to his passion. Viewing music as his backbone, Lay is always talking about music, “I just want to be a good singer. I hope my music and productions will always live up to my fans’ hope. I don’t want them to be disappointed.”

“Good music should move people through lyrics and the song itself, then comes arranging and mixing. Of course, mastering and every other steps in the production are also very important.” Lay said, “Good music will always shock people, and touches their heart. It should give them goosebump when they first listen, and the feeling will still linger after that. It is the same as judging a movie to be good or not.”

In movie The Island, Lay played the character cousin XiaoXing, and left a deep impression. From the simple and straightforward boy in the first part of the movie, to the later half when he turned into the antagonist, Lay’s acting is on point for the whole movie. “I am really proud of this movie. Bo ge taught me a lot, and he also gave me the opportunity to feel the charm of movie, the big screen, and acting.” Even Huang Bo himself generously praised Lay: “This kid is really acting well!”

Now, Lay is participating in a variety show produced by Mango TV, Dance Smash, without taking a rest. With the success of M-ALL STARS national street dance competition, Lay is hoping to see more people join in with dancing. Apart from that, he also collaborates with Daylight Entertainment and participates in Director Jian Chuanhe’s new drama Challenges of Midlife which has now finished filming. Now, Lay is filming another drama called Crime Crackdown.

Obviously, Lay has never stopped his steps forward. It is hard to define him with just one simple word. People once called him “the most innocent careerist,” but when you dig into his heart, you will find out that the most precious characteristic Lay holds is that he always sees himself as a newcomer in fields of unknown: rising up to the challenges and fighting to be the best.

Original text: 视相Variety November/December issue

Translation: XingTweetTRANS