The story in the "Lit" MV, Lay said, is based on his favorite Chinese historical figure. In the MV he is portraying a Chinese general who has been trapped by the Han soldiers while trying to rescue his wife. The general is a real historical figure named Xiang Yu, who fought in the battle of Gaixia. In the beginning of the MV you hear a Peking opera singer performing “The Song of Gaixia” (A traditional Chinese Opera song) which is a song that Xiang Yu composed for his wife, Lady Yu, who eventually took her own life. (Fun fact: In Lay's song "Jade" which is a song also on this album, the story is supposed to be about Lady Yu and Xiang Yu's love story.) As mentioned before, Lay is an ambassador for China, so one of his goals is to share Chinese culture with the world. One way he is doing this is by creating his own style of music which he has labeled M-pop. M-Pop stands for Mixed-pop, which means he mixes traditional Chinese elements and sounds with mainstream pop and hip-hop beats and styles -- combining old school Chinese culture with new modern hip-hop and contemporary beats and styles. As he says in "Lit," "I am the King ... bringing China to the world." And that's pretty much a fact: He has king-maker status in the music and entertainment industry and he has a lot of international influence which allows him to bring Chinese culture to the world. Everything about this song and MV is a poetic, cinematic masterpiece. For example, the word Lotus in Chinese sounds a little like Lit in English. (Another play on words, just like the Chinese pronunciation of Jade sounds like Yu, or you in English, which Lay cleverly used in his song "Jade." Get it? Jade = Yu and Jade = you.) Lay used lotus (Lit) as a metaphor for no matter how hard people try to bring him down, he will stand strong and survive through anything the world throws at him, like a lotus flower. The Lotus often represents purity. The Lotus is special because it grows in the mud, but out of the most dirty and unforgiving conditions, blooms one of the most beautiful flowers. The Lotus is a famous symbol in Chinese culture and it often represents how something good and pure can grow and triumph despite what you would think are harsh conditions. Lay has said that the idea for "Lit" comes from the fact that his haters have been calling him "White Lotus," which refers to someone who acts innocent, and uses it for his gain and plays the victim all the time. So when he wrote the song he took that negativity and embraced it and turned it into something positive. So, in other words, he is saying: "You thought you could bring me down, but you are wrong. I am not a fake white lotus, but I am a true lotus who is LIT. I am more powerful than you know and I will rise above all your negativity and show you how I grow even stronger and more beautiful no matter how much mud and dirt I have to go through," etc. As you may know, the dragon is a very powerful symbol in Chinese culture and it is even said that if you are Chinese you are a descendant of the dragon. Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize vitality, strength and good luck. In one interview I read, Lay also talked about how he has two dragons inside him -- a good dragon and a bad dragon. He said he always chooses to listen to the good dragon. The good dragon is the one who is protecting him and helping him through all his hardships and difficult times. So the main theme of "Lit" is about fighting his inner self and learning to ignore and overcome the people who are trying to knock him down. If you study the credits at the end of this video, you see that this MV was produced by Zhangyixing Studios, which is named after Lay (Zhang Yixing is Lay's real name, Lay is a stage name given to him by SM Entertainment) -- he owns the studio. So, the credits show, Lay has his hand in almost every aspect of this production. It's his name you will see dozens of times in the credits. He is the one that wrote and composed the song, he even produced the beat himself. He is also executive producer (So this production was all financed by him), he came up with the storyline, he helped choreograph and he helped direct the MV, etc. But that's normal for Lay's solo work. With Lay, when you ask who did it? -- for any part of the song, MV or choreography -- you are pretty much guaranteed that the answer is: Lay. He does it all. He is such a perfectionist that there is almost nothing that he is involved in that he doesn't have 100% control of himself. He prides himself in the fact that all aspects of his music are created by him. This MV took more than 6 months to make and more than $1.4 million to produce. And it was all done by Lay. They actually filmed at one of the largest and most well known film studios in China and had more than 50 extras. What you saw was the real temple. The dragon was CGI, but the rest of the set is all real. You should check out the making of film th-cam.com/video/x_K39ntCEXw/w-d-xo.html to really see how things were made. Within the Chinese music industry and dance community, Lay is regarded as an industry expert that pretty much all other dancers and musicians look up to -- he has even been credited with making Krump a mainstream dance style in China, and he is one of China's leading experts when it comes to Krump. (Lay's Krump teacher is Trix who is from Korea and is considered one of the best Krumpers in the industry.) Lay's dancers are always very international, they are usually from all over the world, all races and genders and they speak all different languages. Lay's goal is always to seek out the best of the best and to surround himself with experts in everything he does. He wants to learn as much as possible and to be as diverse as possible about all styles of dance and cultures. And he doesn't just casually learn a new style of dance, when Lay puts his mind to something he goes all in and immerses himself in it with a goal of becoming the best at it. That is why he is regarded as an expert at so many different things, because he becomes so involved and studies and practices so much -- he is literally in the dance studio for 6 hours every day -- that he eventually surpasses his teachers.
Literally Lay is slaying in China since he debuted as a solo like, seriously he's big there. About the lyrics, well actually Lay unfortunately recieved a lot of hate when people knew about his solo 'cuz they thought that he couldn't achieve anything so this is the answer for them. He's worked very hard, he's done everything by himself basically, so yeah he deserves more than an award. He's the pride of EXO. 👏🏻
I watched visible only for 3 days episode of lay and those hater affected him too much...😢 it made him conscious about himself even though his already good...
I know Lay intended to give credit to the people who helped made Lit happen…. it’s super cool of you to let the credit roll! I’ve seen A LOT of reactions to Lit and you’re one of the few who did. Mad respect. ❤️ Oh! Lay also reacts to reactions! You can check them out here on TH-cam and maybe he’ll get to react to you in the future!
Let me tell you his solo journey. I think you can notice Flying Apsaras and Lit are different from Honey and Namanana. Flying Apsaras and Lit are his most recent 2 songs since last year. Lay has been on solo for 4 to 5 years and has made it so big in China that won many awards and is the best selling artist of all time. He likes to use his influence to incorporate Chinese and cultural significance into his music and let the world learn his root and country. They aren't mainstream pop song obviously but it's what Lay wanna do and his artistry is. Namanana is his 2nd album back in 2017,18 and Honey is also 4 years ago. He made pop music, caters for Western market to build his name outside China and kpop. Namanana is an album with 20 songs with both Chi and Eng versions for each single song. You can easily tell they are more mainstream pop and upbeat style. In his 5 years of solo career, of course he made all his own music since the beginning but you can tell how much passion and aggressivemess to achieve much more on a higher level not just for awards. The dance in Lit is krump, a style originated in the U.S. He is so passionate about this dance and learned about it for a year. This dance isn't commonly seen in kpop or any pop music. Now he is called Krump King in China because he promotes Krump everywhere in his dancing shows and music work. It's how he learn and pass on the cultural learning. In Flying Apsaras, it's more on Chinese dance style that is quite a stranger to outsider especially Westerners. Lay did it for the first time too. Lay has tried 2 different new styles in his 2 recent music. This is Lay!
YES ITS LAY'S IDEAS, He spends his own money for his MVs hence he can do whatever he wants. He usually splurges on it because he actually has a continuous concept that he is telling us. His brain is really incredible for making up all the concepts for his albums. And these are a continuous concept that he thought of since before he went solo. Of course his team would help him here and there, but he's the main idea giver. He's the type of person who has a lot of thoughts and opinions
Btw Lay spent like 1.5 million US dollars on the MV for Lit, making it one of the more high budget music videos out there. It was all his own money and he had the biggest film studio in the world make it 💀 Dude absolutely knew what he was doing when he created that legend
I was speechless when I first saw it too lmao I'm just in love with all 9 Exo members. They're fucking incredible. Lay is just... there are no words how talented he is
Lay directs his own MV. He is meticulous and perfectionist. There are lots of theories behind Namanana and he is open to all interpretations. But accdg to Lay himself in one interview, his inspiration for Namanana is "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. He was in search of the pyramid just like the boy in Alchemist. The power orb is a representation of the power we hold within us. It can explode and shoot for the sky if we don't put any limit on ourselves. Recommend watching his 1st MV Lose Control and Melodrama for another side of Lay.
Lay studied krumping for 6 months for Lit. Lit is a not a song per se, it's a statement since he was the first one to have a solo in EXO, a Chinese member, he received so much hate. He spent USD1.4M for the mv. Also Namanana lyrics is a statement. Anyways, next for Lay - Lose Control mv, Give Me a Chance mv and Peach live performance (no mv).
All members of EXO Crossing all the limits in Vocals, Visuals, Dancing and creativity in general...that's why there are no any group to surpass their quality of work..Legends
"Namanana" is the title track on Lay's first English album which was released in 2018, and it is his American debut as he makes his crossover into the U.S. music industry. Every Mandarin song on this album has an all English version, and like everything that Zhang Yixing (Lay) does, it was all wrote, composed, and produced by him, including the English lyrics. Yes, I am sure he had consultants who helped him find the right words in English, but if you know him, you know that he is a perfectionist and there is almost nothing that he is involved in that he doesn't have 100% control of himself. As mentioned before, when it comes to Lay's solo work he does it all, and it's also all financed by him -- this MV was one of the most expensive Chinese produced MVs at the time, costing around $1 million to make -- up until he broke his own record last year with his MV for "Lit". Because Lay was not allowed to promote in Korea at this time due to the issues between the Chinese and Korean government, SM found a way to promote him as part of EXO's storyline by partnering with him to release English songs and to tie his MVs in with EXO's story. Everything EXO does, including several of Lay's solo releases -- such as "Sheep," "Namanana" and "Honey" -- all tie into the fact that he is a member of EXO. It's SM's way of making sure that even though he might not be able to work with the members, that they show fans that his storyline and presence as part of EXO is still really important to Lay and SM. The lyrics of the song actually make a lot of sense if you know the story behind the song and if you follow EXO's storyline. So, with that in mind, "Olay" is a war cry that is supposed to show how powerful he is and that he is in control. He is saying that the negative comments and haters can't change the narrative of his story or make him doubt the path he is on in life. It is also a metaphor for the narrative within EXO's storyline and what he has had to go through as Lay the EXO alien. As a character within EXO's story, Lay is currently trying to figure out how to put a stop to the evil and destruction that the Red Force is causing. So he is also speaking to the Red Force saying, you won't be able to defeat us. I won't let you stop us from accomplishing our goals, etc. Fun fact: The pink lake you see in the MV is a real pink salt lake -- the minerals in this lake actually make the water look pink -- and they are dancing on a sandbar in the middle of the lake. The MV was filmed in Australia. According to Lay, Namanana is a nonsensical word that is meant to be used like Hakuna Matata from the Lion King. However, to understand the story in the MV you have to remember that Lay is a member of EXO. So fan theories believe that the "Namanana" MV is another piece of EXO's storyline and it establishes Lay's connection to EXO's story. As mentioned before, in EXO's storyline, when you see red objects or red light this is thought to represent something to do with the Red Force and when you see blue light this represents EXO. So in the parts of the MV where you see red, this is considered moments within the story where the Red Force has control. And when you see blue, this is where Lay or EXO have the upper hand. Whenever you see purple light or purple objects, this is thought to be showing where the line between the Red Force and EXO has been blurred and they are battling each other for control -- red and blue mixed together make purple. In EXO's "Power" MV it is thought that EXO are on Exo Planet and, before their "Obsession" MV came out, we all thought EXO was trying to get their powers back from the Red Force.The original theory was that the robot we see in "Power", which is being controlled by the Red Force, stole EXO's powers and the members had to fight to get their powers back. However, Lay is the only member who is missing in "Power" -- that MV was during the start of when he was no longer able to work with EXO. So, because Lay was unable to participate in "Power," as part of EXO's storyline, Lay was unable to collect his power orb. Originally, fan theories thought that the other EXO members must have retrieved his power orb for him and they sent him his power orb in the mail. As you saw in "Namanana" it looks as though Lay receives a package, which is thought to contain his powers. Also in "Namanana" you see things like a pyramid which is thought to be a message sent to Lay from Kai. Kai's power is the ability to teleport and his symbol is a pyramid. We think Kai is sending Lay a message to let him know that he is searching for him and he is coming to take him back and reunite him with the other EXO members. EXO needs Lay to use his power of healing to help defeat the Red Force and to heal everything that is going wrong. EXO needs to find the two halves of the Tree of Life and reunite them to restore peace in the world, and Lay is the member who could heal and fix things as EXO struggles to take down the Red Force. Kai means opening as in a door or gateway, so as the center of the group, Kim JongIn (Kai) is supposed to be the one that connects all the members together. You also see Lay get woken up by a thunderstorm. The thunderstorm is thought to possibly be a message sent by Chen. Kim JongDae (Chen) and Lay are members of EXO-M (EXO's Mandarin Chinese sub-unit), and Chen's superpower is the ability to control thunder and lightning. So it is thought that Chen is also sending Lay some sort of message. And at one point, you see how it looks like it all of a sudden turns from day to night. It doesn't just go dark, but it looks like something might be blocking the sun, which is thought to be caused by an eclipse. EXO's powers are controlled by the eclipse. The eclipse is where EXO summons their abilities from and that's why the majority of the stories in their MVs revolve around an eclipse of some kind or something to do with the sun and moon. And that's why a few of their comebacks and MV releases have been on days when we have had a real eclipse, or some sort of real planetary phenomenon, etc. Some people point to the fact that in EXO's "EL Dorado," one of the lines in the song is "Got to sail, sail sail ... got to find find find ... El Dorado." And like Peter Pan with a little magic and superpowers the ship is sailing in the air in "Namanana." So this could have something to do with EXO sailing the world in search of the Tree of Life, etc. Sehun has the power to control wind, so it could be him using his power to make the ship levitate and move with the power of wind, etc. And D.O. has the power of earth or dirt, which gives him super strength/force, so when you see those rocks levitating or being blown up this could be D.O. using his power as he tries to send Lay a message as well. We are still not sure what the "flying atom" is but we know for sure that it has something to do with EXO's storyline and it will probably eventually become clearer as SM releases more of EXO's story in the future. We just have to wait and see. Everything that any of the members of EXO are involved in is connected to their storyline, even down to the most minute of details. So nothing is ever random or done without a specific reason. Unfortunately, to make it even more difficult to understand, each part of the story is not necessarily in chronological order, so we as EXO-Ls have to become detectives and analyze every aspect of all of their teasers, MVs, song lyrics, albums, concert VCRs, choreography and even live performances and piece it all together to understand the story behind it all.
That’s my Lay gege. He’s an incredible artist. He’s the king of krump. His talents top notch. His visual to die for, his songs masterpieces. His vocals amazing. Just one of the most successful artist. His work ethic incomparable. Such an amazing man overall❤️❤️❤️
Whenever ppl talk crap about kpop I show them this MV..I love the look of amazement and shock that everyone has at the end..and when they find out it was his own 1.4 million dollars used. EPIC !!! So damn underrated, 🤦♀️ he's an amazing artist, so talented.
but Whether the elements(lotus, peking opera) or historical stories(Bawangbieji) or historical figures(Guanyu) or ethnic instruments(Xiao,Pipa) in this mv have nothing to do with kpop. Purely 100% Chinese thing. just to make it clear
the prerelease for namanana was Give Me a Chance it's a simple R&B song very simple black & white mv... Lay first 4 albums have a related storyline that you might see in his mvs but also each has an individual story and concept you know
Yixing is so freaking talented. I am not a fan of mv's, to be honest. But Lit make me stop for a while, take a seat and watch. I feel so proud of Yixing. He is such a hard working person. Like... Crazy hardworking. Thanks a lot for reacting to his music. 👏
thanks for reacting to Yixing baby, plz go for his ‘HONEY’ and ‘give me a chance’ another two totaly distinct concept and music genre, this guy is crazy!
you're right.. Lay's team is A1.. we need them to make the MV for EXO 😂😂 "there's nothing wrong with SM box"... yeahhh, nothing wrong but minimalism like Suho said 🤣 LIT literally makes him a Krump King in China.. he learned Krump for months before releasing the MV.. he tried to use other type of dance, but it doesn't fit the song because the song is too hard, too fire.. only Krump suitable for that song.. and I can't agree more.. Namanana is my comfort-encourage-pick up song 😅😅 the lyrics are really good.. I love it so much.. ❤️❤️ but the choreo is really tiring 😅😅 I remember the trainees that doing cover for his song said that it's really difficult to sing while dance to that choreo.. even Lay himself saying that the legs move is killing him 🤣🤣 what's next?? Sheep and the remix one too with Alan Walker.. Lose Control 😏 Shut Up and Dance, Give Me a Chance.. anyway, thanks for your reaction 😀
Next Lay song you should check out is SHEEP and Alan walker even did A RELIFT remix on SHEEP as well :) and Lay also did a collab with Steve Aoki and Will.i.am called LOVE YOU MORE and he also collabed with JASON DERULO on MJ homage sing for his anniversary called SHUT UP AND DANCE :)
@@rjkpop it was an unexpected combination of collabs ! It's a tribute to MJ. I was over the moon to have Lay and 127 in one project, though I'm pretty sure they recorded n filmed the mv separetly.
Lay was my Bias until I discovered Ten hhhhh they are so similar though. he is so telented!! I'm so glad he went solo in china, now we can see more of him!!
We made a joke about Don't Fight The Feeling MV after Lay launches Flying Apsaras visualizer. Even it's only like teaser but "Lay team hits DFTF editor" :))
It's cool how he took the insult antis called him from the past a lotus as someone who pretends to be innocent and fake, and he took it and turned it into something amazing as someone who grows and bloom from the mud like a lotus flower 😌 and yes he did spent 1. 4 Million dollars if converted into us money on this Lit project his 4th album and he did give presents to all tee extras in his mv :)
Thanks for appreciating his solos , I’m really enjoying your Exo journey I’m sure you’ll like more of the members albums and songs + Exo albums Waiting for the next reaction patiently 😊
Lit lay is very beautiful, this mv cost more than 20 billion, this is so amazing it's even cooler this mv was issued by lay himself using his own money because the agency couldn't afford it to produce
Wacth Give Me a chance for sensual Lay. The MV and the show in idol hits ( for full dance because there is no dance practise for this song). Shut up and dance with Jason Derulo and NCT. Sheep ( original or Alan Walker relift both was good)
"don't play with lay" this is all i can say this man is very dangerous😍 mv lit only lay and team produce! next I recommend you to watch mv sheep and please listen to all the songs on the sheep album because all the songs are very beautiful, thankyou so much❤️
Yeah Lay never held back for his Mvs. I think starting from Nanamana, it's his own money, it was film in Australia, Lay said it cost him a fortune. If you seen the end credit to Lit, you'll see Lay's name (Zhang Yixing) a lot, he's very involved with the idea and the creative process of his art.
Actually lay his works on his studio and work with movie companies (in lit specifically)and no SM at all. but the whole ideas are from his self, he always compares his dreams and ways to a ship that he lead, you can see a lot of metaphors of ship in his works, he really care about mythology for his concepts. And good to know namanana is inspired by "lion king" animation "Sorry about my grammaticall mistakes English is not my first language "
imagine in kungfu there scalled light footwork.and its not easy to learn that ,every step must be silent that u cant even hear any sound.and Here we have LAY we saw how deff.he dance.like u said why his body smooth or he dance like effortless.in truth we can dance to Kai also good,but there s deff.i feel like Kai moves is heavy all his body is moving in strong way.,no gravity ,,in Lay he control from up to down he works it with his muscle its like there s heavry gravity every single moves like there s heavy pressure that it makes his body work like slow and smooth ,he use light footwork he control his foot with his body muscle not just throw it.light foot work needs balance emagine the boxers b4 they start the fight they do jump u can see how smooth and slow quiet the movement .but in krumping Lay dont need to use light movement ..Lay know a lot of dance .he even want to try waacking....lol
Hi i HOPE U CAN CHECK OUT 10 LAYS DANCE YOU SHOULD KNOW,U CAN ALSO SEE THERE KAI AND LAY TOGETHER DANCE,,AND IF U CAN REACT ALSO LAY PER,IN NBA GLOBAL GAMES,
Lay actually used his own money for the Lit MV! That MV is truly a masterpiece!
“You guys have been hyping up Lit” LMFAO guess you can see why now. He was so insane for that, still blows me away every time I watch the MV
Yess everytimes i see LIT it got me chills .....what a MASTERPIECE
Lay doesn't release MVs he straight up releases movies
The story in the "Lit" MV, Lay said, is based on his favorite Chinese historical figure. In the MV he is portraying a Chinese general who has been trapped by the Han soldiers while trying to rescue his wife. The general is a real historical figure named Xiang Yu, who fought in the battle of Gaixia. In the beginning of the MV you hear a Peking opera singer performing “The Song of Gaixia” (A traditional Chinese Opera song) which is a song that Xiang Yu composed for his wife, Lady Yu, who eventually took her own life. (Fun fact: In Lay's song "Jade" which is a song also on this album, the story is supposed to be about Lady Yu and Xiang Yu's love story.)
As mentioned before, Lay is an ambassador for China, so one of his goals is to share Chinese culture with the world. One way he is doing this is by creating his own style of music which he has labeled M-pop. M-Pop stands for Mixed-pop, which means he mixes traditional Chinese elements and sounds with mainstream pop and hip-hop beats and styles -- combining old school Chinese culture with new modern hip-hop and contemporary beats and styles. As he says in "Lit," "I am the King ... bringing China to the world." And that's pretty much a fact: He has king-maker status in the music and entertainment industry and he has a lot of international influence which allows him to bring Chinese culture to the world.
Everything about this song and MV is a poetic, cinematic masterpiece. For example, the word Lotus in Chinese sounds a little like Lit in English. (Another play on words, just like the Chinese pronunciation of Jade sounds like Yu, or you in English, which Lay cleverly used in his song "Jade." Get it? Jade = Yu and Jade = you.) Lay used lotus (Lit) as a metaphor for no matter how hard people try to bring him down, he will stand strong and survive through anything the world throws at him, like a lotus flower. The Lotus often represents purity. The Lotus is special because it grows in the mud, but out of the most dirty and unforgiving conditions, blooms one of the most beautiful flowers. The Lotus is a famous symbol in Chinese culture and it often represents how something good and pure can grow and triumph despite what you would think are harsh conditions.
Lay has said that the idea for "Lit" comes from the fact that his haters have been calling him "White Lotus," which refers to someone who acts innocent, and uses it for his gain and plays the victim all the time. So when he wrote the song he took that negativity and embraced it and turned it into something positive. So, in other words, he is saying: "You thought you could bring me down, but you are wrong. I am not a fake white lotus, but I am a true lotus who is LIT. I am more powerful than you know and I will rise above all your negativity and show you how I grow even stronger and more beautiful no matter how much mud and dirt I have to go through," etc.
As you may know, the dragon is a very powerful symbol in Chinese culture and it is even said that if you are Chinese you are a descendant of the dragon. Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize vitality, strength and good luck. In one interview I read, Lay also talked about how he has two dragons inside him -- a good dragon and a bad dragon. He said he always chooses to listen to the good dragon. The good dragon is the one who is protecting him and helping him through all his hardships and difficult times. So the main theme of "Lit" is about fighting his inner self and learning to ignore and overcome the people who are trying to knock him down.
If you study the credits at the end of this video, you see that this MV was produced by Zhangyixing Studios, which is named after Lay (Zhang Yixing is Lay's real name, Lay is a stage name given to him by SM Entertainment) -- he owns the studio. So, the credits show, Lay has his hand in almost every aspect of this production. It's his name you will see dozens of times in the credits. He is the one that wrote and composed the song, he even produced the beat himself. He is also executive producer (So this production was all financed by him), he came up with the storyline, he helped choreograph and he helped direct the MV, etc. But that's normal for Lay's solo work. With Lay, when you ask who did it? -- for any part of the song, MV or choreography -- you are pretty much guaranteed that the answer is: Lay. He does it all. He is such a perfectionist that there is almost nothing that he is involved in that he doesn't have 100% control of himself. He prides himself in the fact that all aspects of his music are created by him.
This MV took more than 6 months to make and more than $1.4 million to produce. And it was all done by Lay. They actually filmed at one of the largest and most well known film studios in China and had more than 50 extras. What you saw was the real temple. The dragon was CGI, but the rest of the set is all real.
You should check out the making of film th-cam.com/video/x_K39ntCEXw/w-d-xo.html to really see how things were made.
Within the Chinese music industry and dance community, Lay is regarded as an industry expert that pretty much all other dancers and musicians look up to -- he has even been credited with making Krump a mainstream dance style in China, and he is one of China's leading experts when it comes to Krump.
(Lay's Krump teacher is Trix who is from Korea and is considered one of the best Krumpers in the industry.)
Lay's dancers are always very international, they are usually from all over the world, all races and genders and they speak all different languages. Lay's goal is always to seek out the best of the best and to surround himself with experts in everything he does. He wants to learn as much as possible and to be as diverse as possible about all styles of dance and cultures. And he doesn't just casually learn a new style of dance, when Lay puts his mind to something he goes all in and immerses himself in it with a goal of becoming the best at it. That is why he is regarded as an expert at so many different things, because he becomes so involved and studies and practices so much -- he is literally in the dance studio for 6 hours every day -- that he eventually surpasses his teachers.
Lay is really impressive at everything he does.
Literally Lay is slaying in China since he debuted as a solo like, seriously he's big there.
About the lyrics, well actually Lay unfortunately recieved a lot of hate when people knew about his solo 'cuz they thought that he couldn't achieve anything so this is the answer for them. He's worked very hard, he's done everything by himself basically, so yeah he deserves more than an award. He's the pride of EXO. 👏🏻
I watched visible only for 3 days episode of lay and those hater affected him too much...😢 it made him conscious about himself even though his already good...
I know Lay intended to give credit to the people who helped made Lit happen…. it’s super cool of you to let the credit roll! I’ve seen A LOT of reactions to Lit and you’re one of the few who did. Mad respect. ❤️
Oh! Lay also reacts to reactions! You can check them out here on TH-cam and maybe he’ll get to react to you in the future!
Let me tell you his solo journey. I think you can notice Flying Apsaras and Lit are different from Honey and Namanana. Flying Apsaras and Lit are his most recent 2 songs since last year. Lay has been on solo for 4 to 5 years and has made it so big in China that won many awards and is the best selling artist of all time. He likes to use his influence to incorporate Chinese and cultural significance into his music and let the world learn his root and country. They aren't mainstream pop song obviously but it's what Lay wanna do and his artistry is. Namanana is his 2nd album back in 2017,18 and Honey is also 4 years ago. He made pop music, caters for Western market to build his name outside China and kpop. Namanana is an album with 20 songs with both Chi and Eng versions for each single song. You can easily tell they are more mainstream pop and upbeat style. In his 5 years of solo career, of course he made all his own music since the beginning but you can tell how much passion and aggressivemess to achieve much more on a higher level not just for awards. The dance in Lit is krump, a style originated in the U.S. He is so passionate about this dance and learned about it for a year. This dance isn't commonly seen in kpop or any pop music. Now he is called Krump King in China because he promotes Krump everywhere in his dancing shows and music work. It's how he learn and pass on the cultural learning. In Flying Apsaras, it's more on Chinese dance style that is quite a stranger to outsider especially Westerners. Lay did it for the first time too. Lay has tried 2 different new styles in his 2 recent music. This is Lay!
Most talented artist from China. He is King of Stage!
YES ITS LAY'S IDEAS, He spends his own money for his MVs hence he can do whatever he wants. He usually splurges on it because he actually has a continuous concept that he is telling us. His brain is really incredible for making up all the concepts for his albums. And these are a continuous concept that he thought of since before he went solo. Of course his team would help him here and there, but he's the main idea giver. He's the type of person who has a lot of thoughts and opinions
Namanana MV is still strongly connected with EXO story line just like EXO-CBX. There’re so many hints in the MV.
Exo never half ass anything, whether together as Exo or solo, they have only the best to offer
Btw Lay spent like 1.5 million US dollars on the MV for Lit, making it one of the more high budget music videos out there. It was all his own money and he had the biggest film studio in the world make it 💀 Dude absolutely knew what he was doing when he created that legend
All of Lay's MVs are amazing. Lose Control is still one of my favorites
I was speechless when I first saw it too lmao I'm just in love with all 9 Exo members. They're fucking incredible. Lay is just... there are no words how talented he is
Yeah that smooth body, so effortless indeed. THE ONY One kind of talented, LAYYYYYY😍😍😍
Lay directs his own MV. He is meticulous and perfectionist. There are lots of theories behind Namanana and he is open to all interpretations. But accdg to Lay himself in one interview, his inspiration for Namanana is "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. He was in search of the pyramid just like the boy in Alchemist. The power orb is a representation of the power we hold within us. It can explode and shoot for the sky if we don't put any limit on ourselves.
Recommend watching his 1st MV Lose Control and Melodrama for another side of Lay.
Lay studied krumping for 6 months for Lit.
Lit is a not a song per se, it's a statement since he was the first one to have a solo in EXO, a Chinese member, he received so much hate. He spent USD1.4M for the mv. Also Namanana lyrics is a statement.
Anyways, next for Lay - Lose Control mv, Give Me a Chance mv and Peach live performance (no mv).
UP
Yes, he is Lay from exo, the most loving man in the world, he is definitely the king of China❤
All members of EXO Crossing all the limits in Vocals, Visuals, Dancing and creativity in general...that's why there are no any group to surpass their quality of work..Legends
Lay does nothing half-heartedly and that's a fact
"Namanana" is the title track on Lay's first English album which was released in 2018, and it is his American debut as he makes his crossover into the U.S. music industry. Every Mandarin song on this album has an all English version, and like everything that Zhang Yixing (Lay) does, it was all wrote, composed, and produced by him, including the English lyrics. Yes, I am sure he had consultants who helped him find the right words in English, but if you know him, you know that he is a perfectionist and there is almost nothing that he is involved in that he doesn't have 100% control of himself.
As mentioned before, when it comes to Lay's solo work he does it all, and it's also all financed by him -- this MV was one of the most expensive Chinese produced MVs at the time, costing around $1 million to make -- up until he broke his own record last year with his MV for "Lit".
Because Lay was not allowed to promote in Korea at this time due to the issues between the Chinese and Korean government, SM found a way to promote him as part of EXO's storyline by partnering with him to release English songs and to tie his MVs in with EXO's story. Everything EXO does, including several of Lay's solo releases -- such as "Sheep," "Namanana" and "Honey" -- all tie into the fact that he is a member of EXO. It's SM's way of making sure that even though he might not be able to work with the members, that they show fans that his storyline and presence as part of EXO is still really important to Lay and SM.
The lyrics of the song actually make a lot of sense if you know the story behind the song and if you follow EXO's storyline.
So, with that in mind, "Olay" is a war cry that is supposed to show how powerful he is and that he is in control. He is saying that the negative comments and haters can't change the narrative of his story or make him doubt the path he is on in life. It is also a metaphor for the narrative within EXO's storyline and what he has had to go through as Lay the EXO alien. As a character within EXO's story, Lay is currently trying to figure out how to put a stop to the evil and destruction that the Red Force is causing. So he is also speaking to the Red Force saying, you won't be able to defeat us. I won't let you stop us from accomplishing our goals, etc.
Fun fact: The pink lake you see in the MV is a real pink salt lake -- the minerals in this lake actually make the water look pink -- and they are dancing on a sandbar in the middle of the lake. The MV was filmed in Australia.
According to Lay, Namanana is a nonsensical word that is meant to be used like Hakuna Matata from the Lion King.
However, to understand the story in the MV you have to remember that Lay is a member of EXO. So fan theories believe that the "Namanana" MV is another piece of EXO's storyline and it establishes Lay's connection to EXO's story.
As mentioned before, in EXO's storyline, when you see red objects or red light this is thought to represent something to do with the Red Force and when you see blue light this represents EXO. So in the parts of the MV where you see red, this is considered moments within the story where the Red Force has control. And when you see blue, this is where Lay or EXO have the upper hand. Whenever you see purple light or purple objects, this is thought to be showing where the line between the Red Force and EXO has been blurred and they are battling each other for control -- red and blue mixed together make purple.
In EXO's "Power" MV it is thought that EXO are on Exo Planet and, before their "Obsession" MV came out, we all thought EXO was trying to get their powers back from the Red Force.The original theory was that the robot we see in "Power", which is being controlled by the Red Force, stole EXO's powers and the members had to fight to get their powers back. However, Lay is the only member who is missing in "Power" -- that MV was during the start of when he was no longer able to work with EXO. So, because Lay was unable to participate in "Power," as part of EXO's storyline, Lay was unable to collect his power orb. Originally, fan theories thought that the other EXO members must have retrieved his power orb for him and they sent him his power orb in the mail. As you saw in "Namanana" it looks as though Lay receives a package, which is thought to contain his powers.
Also in "Namanana" you see things like a pyramid which is thought to be a message sent to Lay from Kai. Kai's power is the ability to teleport and his symbol is a pyramid. We think Kai is sending Lay a message to let him know that he is searching for him and he is coming to take him back and reunite him with the other EXO members. EXO needs Lay to use his power of healing to help defeat the Red Force and to heal everything that is going wrong. EXO needs to find the two halves of the Tree of Life and reunite them to restore peace in the world, and Lay is the member who could heal and fix things as EXO struggles to take down the Red Force. Kai means opening as in a door or gateway, so as the center of the group, Kim JongIn (Kai) is supposed to be the one that connects all the members together.
You also see Lay get woken up by a thunderstorm. The thunderstorm is thought to possibly be a message sent by Chen. Kim JongDae (Chen) and Lay are members of EXO-M (EXO's Mandarin Chinese sub-unit), and Chen's superpower is the ability to control thunder and lightning. So it is thought that Chen is also sending Lay some sort of message.
And at one point, you see how it looks like it all of a sudden turns from day to night. It doesn't just go dark, but it looks like something might be blocking the sun, which is thought to be caused by an eclipse. EXO's powers are controlled by the eclipse. The eclipse is where EXO summons their abilities from and that's why the majority of the stories in their MVs revolve around an eclipse of some kind or something to do with the sun and moon. And that's why a few of their comebacks and MV releases have been on days when we have had a real eclipse, or some sort of real planetary phenomenon, etc.
Some people point to the fact that in EXO's "EL Dorado," one of the lines in the song is "Got to sail, sail sail ... got to find find find ... El Dorado." And like Peter Pan with a little magic and superpowers the ship is sailing in the air in "Namanana." So this could have something to do with EXO sailing the world in search of the Tree of Life, etc. Sehun has the power to control wind, so it could be him using his power to make the ship levitate and move with the power of wind, etc.
And D.O. has the power of earth or dirt, which gives him super strength/force, so when you see those rocks levitating or being blown up this could be D.O. using his power as he tries to send Lay a message as well.
We are still not sure what the "flying atom" is but we know for sure that it has something to do with EXO's storyline and it will probably eventually become clearer as SM releases more of EXO's story in the future. We just have to wait and see.
Everything that any of the members of EXO are involved in is connected to their storyline, even down to the most minute of details. So nothing is ever random or done without a specific reason. Unfortunately, to make it even more difficult to understand, each part of the story is not necessarily in chronological order, so we as EXO-Ls have to become detectives and analyze every aspect of all of their teasers, MVs, song lyrics, albums, concert VCRs, choreography and even live performances and piece it all together to understand the story behind it all.
Pretty well written. 😭
As always, thankyou Milinda !
That’s my Lay gege. He’s an incredible artist. He’s the king of krump. His talents top notch. His visual to die for, his songs masterpieces. His vocals amazing. Just one of the most successful artist. His work ethic incomparable. Such an amazing man overall❤️❤️❤️
I like the fact that we can prove and see Lay's versatility as an artist in just 2 MVs.
and I still can't believe Lit has so little views , it's a masterpiece!!
Lay a whole rounded artist
Whenever ppl talk crap about kpop I show them this MV..I love the look of amazement and shock that everyone has at the end..and when they find out it was his own 1.4 million dollars used. EPIC !!! So damn underrated, 🤦♀️ he's an amazing artist, so talented.
but Whether the elements(lotus, peking opera) or historical stories(Bawangbieji) or historical figures(Guanyu) or ethnic instruments(Xiao,Pipa) in this mv have nothing to do with kpop. Purely 100% Chinese thing. just to make it clear
and also the setting where this mv was shot is in China Hengdian filming studio, the replicate of Forbidden city Palace
I am looking forward to more lay reactions!
the prerelease for namanana was Give Me a Chance it's a simple R&B song very simple black & white mv... Lay first 4 albums have a related storyline that you might see in his mvs but also each has an individual story and concept you know
sLAY so talented so beautiful 😍💜
Lay totally sLAY all of his MV's and dance practice! 😊😊😊
The king of china 👑✨
That's so awesome how you're reacting to the dance practices too love LAY 😘
LAY IS MY KRUMP MASTER I LOVE HIM!!!!
Lay = musical genius!
Another talented artist is Jackson Wang!
Lay is on another level.
OMG I really like this song
That's how LAY do it... did it.....it's LAY's OWN THING.....simply LAY is LIT ❤
Yixing is so freaking talented. I am not a fan of mv's, to be honest. But Lit make me stop for a while, take a seat and watch. I feel so proud of Yixing. He is such a hard working person. Like... Crazy hardworking.
Thanks a lot for reacting to his music. 👏
thanks for reacting to Yixing baby, plz go for his ‘HONEY’ and ‘give me a chance’ another two totaly distinct concept and music genre, this guy is crazy!
I see your speechless 😂. That's Lay for you 😍😍😍
Lay is really genius
you're right.. Lay's team is A1.. we need them to make the MV for EXO 😂😂 "there's nothing wrong with SM box"... yeahhh, nothing wrong but minimalism like Suho said 🤣
LIT literally makes him a Krump King in China.. he learned Krump for months before releasing the MV.. he tried to use other type of dance, but it doesn't fit the song because the song is too hard, too fire.. only Krump suitable for that song.. and I can't agree more..
Namanana is my comfort-encourage-pick up song 😅😅 the lyrics are really good.. I love it so much.. ❤️❤️ but the choreo is really tiring 😅😅 I remember the trainees that doing cover for his song said that it's really difficult to sing while dance to that choreo.. even Lay himself saying that the legs move is killing him 🤣🤣
what's next?? Sheep and the remix one too with Alan Walker.. Lose Control 😏 Shut Up and Dance, Give Me a Chance.. anyway, thanks for your reaction 😀
Next Lay song you should check out is SHEEP and Alan walker even did A RELIFT remix on SHEEP as well :) and Lay also did a collab with Steve Aoki and Will.i.am called LOVE YOU MORE and he also collabed with JASON DERULO on MJ homage sing for his anniversary called SHUT UP AND DANCE :)
This is Lit our China Sheep 😭❤️
#LayZhang 💪
Have you heard about "Let's Shut up and Dance" ? It's Jason Derulo, Lay and NCT 127 !!!!
Not yet
@@rjkpop it was an unexpected combination of collabs ! It's a tribute to MJ. I was over the moon to have Lay and 127 in one project, though I'm pretty sure they recorded n filmed the mv separetly.
Oh you should watch this, tribute for MJ.
Lay is such a smooooth dancer😍
Our Lay ge, we so proud of him 🥰
Try Give Me A Chance & Lose Control by LAY for more speechless effect lmao
Multi talent
You're at a loss for words? Some say people STILL haven't found their words! Lay did that!!
Thank you for your reaction🥺 i hope you make a more content about lay🤍
Lay was my Bias until I discovered Ten hhhhh they are so similar though. he is so telented!! I'm so glad he went solo in china, now we can see more of him!!
Как поставить миллион лайков? Человек, ты прекрасен!
Henis incredibly talented
Love your reactions.
you must react to SHEEP, LOSE CONTROL, WHAT U NEED,I NEED YOU, GIVE ME A CHANCE, GRANDMA,BOSS(live),
Please also react to Lay's Give Me a Chance. It has sexy vibes. 😍 thanks for this reaction video RJ.
Lay
We made a joke about Don't Fight The Feeling MV after Lay launches Flying Apsaras visualizer. Even it's only like teaser but "Lay team hits DFTF editor" :))
I can't wait for you to get to some of the R&B MVs!!!
It's cool how he took the insult antis called him from the past a lotus as someone who pretends to be innocent and fake, and he took it and turned it into something amazing as someone who grows and bloom from the mud like a lotus flower 😌 and yes he did spent 1. 4 Million dollars if converted into us money on this Lit project his 4th album and he did give presents to all tee extras in his mv :)
Thanks for appreciating his solos , I’m really enjoying your Exo journey
I’m sure you’ll like more of the members albums and songs + Exo albums
Waiting for the next reaction patiently 😊
Lit lay is very beautiful, this mv cost more than 20 billion, this is so amazing it's even cooler this mv was issued by lay himself using his own money because the agency couldn't afford it to produce
Wacth Give Me a chance for sensual Lay. The MV and the show in idol hits ( for full dance because there is no dance practise for this song). Shut up and dance with Jason Derulo and NCT. Sheep ( original or Alan Walker relift both was good)
Well the lit dance practice video took place in front the river had the meaning (about lit story, the main character also had some story at the river)
Lit🔥🔥🔥🔥
Still impress me Lit MV. Lay is really amazing. I recommend you Producers it's a show in China with him of course
More LAY pleaseeee ♥
Finally. I've been waiting for you to react lit or Yixing MV since you react to flying asparas... I enjoy it
"don't play with lay" this is all i can say this man is very dangerous😍 mv lit only lay and team produce! next I recommend you to watch mv sheep and please listen to all the songs on the sheep album because all the songs are very beautiful, thankyou so much❤️
Namanana
song : english
singer : china
genre: korea
That's why lay is so great
Lay spent 1.5 million US dollars out of his own pocket on this MV. The word minimalist does not exist in his dictionary when it comes to production.
Still waiting for your more exo reaction, Thank you
Omg I love your reaction sm
I love Yixing
Lit means Lotus becoz he say he literally raise to the top like a Lotus from the mud
Omg, thanks
Yeah Lay never held back for his Mvs. I think starting from Nanamana, it's his own money, it was film in Australia, Lay said it cost him a fortune.
If you seen the end credit to Lit, you'll see Lay's name (Zhang Yixing) a lot, he's very involved with the idea and the creative process of his art.
Lay's new full English album STEP is released recently and the title song STEP MV is out now. Check it out. Looking forward to your reaction video ❤
please check out the debut mvs what u need and lose control they're lay classica if you're into more lay content
Actually lay his works on his studio and work with movie companies (in lit specifically)and no SM at all. but the whole ideas are from his self, he always compares his dreams and ways to a ship that he lead, you can see a lot of metaphors of ship in his works, he really care about mythology for his concepts.
And good to know namanana is inspired by "lion king" animation
"Sorry about my grammaticall mistakes English is not my first language "
Thank you for the reaction. Do you plan on doing a first listen to any of his album?
It’s possible
Lay is insane 😭 please please react to Pixy - Bewitched! They’re a girl group with a dark concept but I think you’ll love them
imagine in kungfu there scalled light footwork.and its not easy to learn that ,every step must be silent that u cant even hear any sound.and Here we have LAY we saw how deff.he dance.like u said why his body smooth or he dance like effortless.in truth we can dance to Kai also good,but there s deff.i feel like Kai moves is heavy all his body is moving in strong way.,no gravity ,,in Lay he control from up to down he works it with his muscle its like there s heavry gravity every single moves like there s heavy pressure that it makes his body work like slow and smooth ,he use light footwork he control his foot with his body muscle not just throw it.light foot work needs balance emagine the boxers b4 they start the fight they do jump u can see how smooth and slow quiet the movement .but in krumping Lay dont need to use light movement ..Lay know a lot of dance .he even want to try waacking....lol
RJ bro, I'm pretty sure you'll choose him as your first bias(haha)...you can call yourself X-back ExoL now...( his fandom name + EXO fandom)
Krump King
👏🏻🔥🔥🔥♥️♥️♥️
If I'm not mistaken, this MV cost a billion.
Please react to Lay - Peach live.
And everytime I feel sad because we won't get Flying Apsaras MV, I returned to the Lit MV.
Still very sad.
Hi i HOPE U CAN CHECK OUT 10 LAYS DANCE YOU SHOULD KNOW,U CAN ALSO SEE THERE KAI AND LAY TOGETHER DANCE,,AND IF U CAN REACT ALSO LAY PER,IN NBA GLOBAL GAMES,
King of china
Please react to give me a chance by lay 💜💜
How much of it is Lay you ask? Just count how many times his name is in the Lit credits.
PLEASE REACT TO SOMI
DUMB DUMB AND XOXO
Please react to "NCT wreaking havoc during Halloween 2021" by neochaotic
Sorry, u just watched his 3 from tons of his MV ...
So your journey still that long wkwkwkwk