When I first caught wind of the word that Lay Zhang would be hitting Malaysian shores on 15 October 2022 for his first solo concert as part of his Grandline 2: Infinite Lands tour –– because I’ve been an EXO-L (fandom name for EXO) and XBACK for eight years –– I just about lost my mind with excitement.

Although he has been inactive in the K-pop group since 2017 mainly due to tensions between China and South Korea and now performs mainly in China, he’s still considered very much a part of the group.

So, when one of the partners for the concert invited Rojak Daily to the concert even though it was all the way over at the Arena of Stars at Resorts World Genting, I very happily accepted. 



Malaysians were fortunate enough that our country was the first stop of his tour –– the first overseas stop for the entertainer since 2019 due to the pandemic. And what a show it was. Call me biased but the performance that the Changsha-born singer put on was magnificent in every way.

Honestly, he could put on a simple show and still work up screams for the crowd, but Yixing truly pulled out all the stops to give his audience one heck of a show. Besides going through rigorous K-pop training before debuting with EXO, he is known for his dedication to his craft, and was even reported to have tied 2-3 kilograms of sandbags to himself to perfect his dance moves when he first started training.  

Yixing quickly ‘Lit’ up the stage with his outstanding performances, adding a unique style to every song that turned up the heat in the arena despite the chilly Genting weather outside. The M-pop singer proved that he is serious about  “taking China to the world” as he sings in his song ‘Lit (蓮)’ as he even brought on Peking Opera performers in full costume and traditional Chinese drum performers, showing how he is really innovating pop music. 



Throughout the 25-song set, the 31-year-old performed some of his top hits even his latest single ‘Veil’ for the very first time. The volume was turned up LOUD during an EDM Medley of several songs including ‘Boss’ and ‘Sheep’ that really got the audience going.

The attention that the singer pays to his craft was evident, as he himself took the lead in creative design and the selection of songs. He also went through different concepts and a whopping nine outfit changes including a white jacket with tassels and a black jacket with elaborate gold sequinned designs.



Besides showing off his vocals and visuals with his bleached blond hair, Lay is also known as a ‘dancing machine’ and he impressed with energetic dance moves that were sharp and precise. The multi-talented singer, actor, and songwriter also wowed with his instrument-playing skills with an electric guitar, piano, and ‘hulusi’, a traditional Chinese musical instrument.  



Not only did he bring along an impressively large group of dancers including Chinese Folk Dancers, but he also gave the chance to local talent Bennet Soo to perform in a dancing acting role during the song ‘Mama’ as young Lay Zhang who shared on his Instagram page that the singer had rehearsed at the concert venue the day before from around 3.00 pm till past 1.30 a.m. Talk about dedication! 

 

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