TeddyGrey Reacts to 🇨🇳 LAY '莲 (Lit)' MV | REACTION 

Lay is called the King of China, his solo career is huge. He is also a member of the K-pop group EXO.

Lay is a huge soloist in China (he's nicknamed the King of China). He owns his company, produces and writes his own stuff, and for the mv he actually funded it out of his own pocket, so it was a huge passion project! His goal is to "take China to the world" with his music heavily focusing on Chinese culture while also making songs in English as well! For example, in his 3rd album "Namanana" he has both English and Chinese versions of his songs! He's also a member of EXO where's he's a vocalist and a main dancer! Thanks for your reaction Teddy, I hope you react to more of Lay and EXO in the future!!!

The story in Lay's "Lit" MV, he 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.) The dancer with the long nails is a traditional Chinese dance style, and I believe it is also part of the Chinese opera performance. 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. 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. As you have discovered, Lay is is a singer, rapper, songwriter, composer, producer actor, director, editor, dancer, designer, etc. -- genius -- and with every new release of his, he just one ups himself. And "Lit" is a prime example of that. If you take the time to read the credits at the end of this video, you will see 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, as well as the beat. 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. 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, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-x_K39ntCEXw.html, and Lay's "dance practice"/choreography video for "Lit," ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9Yefy6iw0As.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 is one of EXO's main dancers. 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 first 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 that he eventually surpasses his teachers.

LAY is our only Chinese member left in EXO. At the beginning of the video you said that whoever produced the MV shows his passion...that's the point sir! Cuz LAY is the Genius behind the scenes too. He does everything with unstoppable passion. I loved your reactions, you might be interested in checking out the collaborations he did with international artists like Jason Derulo, Steve Aoki, Alan Walker! Thank u so much for your video! EXO-L would we love if you can continue learning about both EXO's career and the Art of each member in their Solo work! See you soon!🤗❤

Lay is a member of Exo And he is producer and he have his own company in China Thank you for your reaction

Every EXO member has proven themselves in the group and as soloists ♡

Lit means lotus and he explains that lotus flowers rise up out of the mud 🙌 he is amazing and definitely deserves more reactions, as well as the rest of EXO as soloists and as a group!

“This was a passion project” No lies detected he’s the most passionate man ever. He’s so proud of his homeland his music revolves around chinese instruments and it’s amazing

Felipe's Bulan was called out for the over similiraity of this song. It was then he apologizes and acknowledges that he took reference from Lays 2 MV's (Lit and Flying Apsaras). Even you can see the similiraties, he should have credited it rightfully. Even Lay made a 2 minute credits at the end of the MV to thank and give acknowledgement to everyone who made this MV possible.

I would also recommend 'Honey' and also 'Veil' by Lay too! lovely reaction as always

Lay loves to play with words “lian” which means “lotus” is very close to the English word lit. He has a nickname that his haters call him which is white lotus which means he acts like a pure flower but he rides his friends coattails to fame. He took this name and accepted it but turned it positive by saying that he is a white lotus because these flowers grow in mud so for him to be still pure with dirt “hate” around him. He doesn’t take crap from his haters! I love Exo members!❤️

Lay is amazing. He always pulls in Chinese culture. He loves dragons. He has a deep love of his culture.

Lay wrote the song, composed it, produced it, directed the video, and produced it with his own money and his company, and he appointed the actors and everything. He literally did everything. He is called the King of China. You need to see more of his songs 🔥 like honey

Lay is a legend, he's incredibly talented, most probably one of the top 3 dancers in kpop. You should watch his dance practice to Flying Apsaras, it's mindblowing. Or for something lighthearted but also great my favourite of his solo songs, Sheep!

"He is looking like Jon Snow, but he knows everything." This has to be my new favorite quote! 😁

To repeat what everyone else has said because we have known and kept asking to peep this,, This is the coolest ish many of us had ever seen😲😂..Way ahead of it's time. Well worth the 1.5 million he paid out of pocket as a big middle finger to those who mistake his calm demeanor as weakness..This man aside from being an idol is a business man!! *Insert some aggressive krumping here* My Exo-L heart is filled with pride for him. Look into more Exo and it's members, they are well rounded and extremely talented in many aspects. Thank you so much for this..

I've never heard about him, thank you Teddy, because this music put me in a trance, literally.

Lay is an excellent performer. He is indeed Chinese but is also part of the Korean group EXO. He is technically still a part of EXO, but mainly focuses on his solo work and running his own label in China so he rarely gets to perform with them anymore. His stage name "Lay" was based on the character "Lei" in a drama called Meteor Garden (the character is a gifted musician who can lay down and sleep anywhere ). Lay's real name is Zhang Yixing. For your next Lay reaction, I recommend "Veil." I also recommend "Monster" or "Mama" or "Growl" from EXO. I'd also love too see more reactions on Monsta X (such as "Gambler") and NCT/WayV ("Simon Says" from NCT 127 and "Turn Back Time" from WayV would be good choices for your tastes)

Lay is a member of EXO. Lay and Kai is called the dancing machines. Lay is a singer, a talented dancer, an actor since childhood, brand ambassador for many famous brands, a song writer and producer. He has his own entertainment company in China. He is actually called the king of China. This song is dedicated to the haters. Please check out Veil by Lay.

Hi Teddy, love you reactions. Lay put his heart and soul into this MV and song. He is so incredible talented and as an exol (fan of EXO) I’m so very proud of him. Just wanted to point out that the guy, Felip who you spoke about had controversy as LIT was released in 2020 and Felip’s song Bulan was released in 2022 and as you pointed out the similarities were very striking. He did not credit Lay until he had to make a comment about the plagiarism to which he said "However, we are also giving credit to the ground-breaking concept of Lay's 'Lit' MV and acknowledging it as one of the many references that we used for the work we do. As fans of Lay, we are saddened by the situation and wish to clarify that we did not intend to copy his work” i didn’t really care for this attempt to give Lay credit but that’s just me. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Highly recommend 'Veil' too!

Another EXO member for you yes!!!!! I'm heeerrreee for it!! Edit: funny you should mention passion project cause that's literally how Lay works. His passion and creativity blows me away.

I really like LAY, I actually found him through his acting roles in Chinese dramas before I found out he had been an idol.

El talento de Lay es de otro planeta es un artista tan completo,jamas habia conocido alguien como él, me alegra que lo conozcas y puedas buscar más de su trabajo como solista porque es asombroso! ✨💜

idk if everyone feels it, but I feel so proud being an exol and a fan of Lay. His artistry, his whole being, it's somethingto be proud of. He never fails.

LAY's arrangement is particularly good. You can listen to his other works.💥💥💥🔥🔥🔥

Love this! Definitely one of Lay's best MVs- its so cinematic and pulls you in with the heavy beats and traditional chinese performance aspects 🔥

OH MY GOD IM ABOUT TO HAVE A PANIC ATTACK! Why did I never think about lay and how much you’d appreciate him. This man is top tier, next level. Like I can’t explain it enough here. I’m so so excited to see this ❤❤❤❤❤

LIT is seriously the most gorgeous mv out there, so unique. he is unlike anyone else

YES!!!!! this is an amazing reaction! Lay is just phenomenal :D he is a part of Exo but has a very successful solo carrier in china, he is Chinese so yes the writing and the song is chinese :) i love that you are just being pulled into the Exo rabbithole xD

Lay (Zhang Yixing) is a King at mixing Chinese traditional sounds with modern sounds. That's what he does most of the times. He calls it M-pop as in mixed pop This was released in mid 2020, but he actually filmed i around December 2019 , but the post production took this long (I mean look at the dragon) If you look at the credits he's actually mentioned there quite a lot (as Lay Zhang) Before I keep praising him. The part where he's krumping with the lights that you were wondering about: It's lights and sand. While dancing he was throwing sand so when the lights hit it it looked like it was around him. Other songs that show how well he mixes traditional with new: Flying Apsaras - sadly there's only 40sec visualiser because the MV didn't turn out the way he wanted because of all the sand, but there's the dance practice to it Veil - newest comeback Or his newest release just from this morning that's a collaboration for Sprite Limelight - Alive. They only translated the parts where he talks though, but it's quite easy to understand the gists of it. And as people keep saying he's a part of EXO that's probably why someone recommended it after you started reacting to my babies 😻 It's a shame though you first reacted to that other song you mentioned where the guy confirmed that he was inspired by Lit. Oh and Lay likes word play Like lit sounds similar to lotus flower in Chinese Another song Jade where in Chinese jade sounds similar to You 🤷🏻‍♀️ A lot of his songs have been based on Chinese culture like in this one Chinese opera that you hear in the beginning

Lay is a chinese member of EXO, but he work alone for a long time there bcuz he had problems with SM, but time a time he back to exo, Tempo its last song that they sing together, u need listen more of him, he made his own music and dance

FINALLY 😍😍😍

just letting you know that this man is a kpop idol, dancer, producer, rapper, songwriter, trainee mentor, actor, businessman and ceo, at the age of 31!! he’s probably one of the richest celebrities in China and just for this video he spent 1.5 million usd, hiring the production team that worked for the korean movie Parasite. that being said he’s the most humble, hardworking celebrity i’ve ever known. if you’re more curious about him i suggest watching some interviews, it’s impossible to dislike him and his story is super interesting

I love this song, there is so much to it in every sense. It really does tickle one’s brain. There is a mash up of this song and Agust D’s Daechwita and that blew my brain to smithereens. Someone in the comments said that Yoongi is the type to bring a gun to a sword fight and Lay is the type to pull out a whole freaking dragon and I couldn’t agree more. 🤌

I love Lay

EXOLs on Patron r killing it! Thank you❤

Don't know who's recommending these last songs but HELL, YOU'RE ON POINT... THANKS PATREONS 🖤🖤🖤

Lay is always lit. He is so hard worker.. He love music... King of China...

Thanks for reacting to EXO Lay, the King of China and our Healing Unicorn!! He has his own entertainment company in China and was formerly under SM Entertainment. Lay is an amazing dancer and had is dancing reviewed by the creator of crump dancing. Who was surprised to learn that he had only been practicing for 8 months.

Finally, you've reacted to Lay!!! That guy is an all-rounder, rapper, singer, dancer, actor and a perfectionist at everything he does. ❤

This whole project is so slept on! I get chills to this day everytime i hear this song or watch the video. So sick. The sound of pulling out the sword gets me everytime

LAY is a chinese member of the boygroup EXO. Remember Obssesion? He is very famous in his country and globaly Next reaction his song "Honey" you will love it

Haha i lowkey wished you did watch the credits to see how the first slide is all Lay Zhang 😂😂. Loved your reaction! Want more such EXO (group/soloist/subunit) reactions from you. P.s: You caught it right. The Filipino artist and video you were talking about is actually inspired from this MV. The artist himself talked about this.

Yasss You are Lit Teddy !! This one hyped me up ! Still patiently (yes, patiently, I'm a very patient woman), waiting for Villain. But LAY was a freaking good suprise tonight ! I think you'll like Sheep for an energic fun rap and Honey for a softer (Honey-like) rap.

Lay is a creative genius // he really delivers the drama and the song // a cinematic marvel of an mv.

I love how Lay has references to traditional Chinese instruments and Chinese opera in this video. The intro to the video was sung in style used for Beijing opera and you seem some dancers in well known Chinese opera costumes at 6:07.

FINALLY. The best MV I watched, istg. Lay is the King of China for real!

Hi thank you so much for the reaction! I asked 3 times for it you didn’t do it because of me but I’m still so grateful! Glad that you liked it I wasn’t wrong 😁

I've been asking for thisss thank you!!!!!

Lay🔥🔥🔥I like this song ❤

His music got me so mesmerized. You don’t even know 😊❤

The production is insane! One million dollars were spent on the making of this video, especially on that dragon.

Lay is sooo good! Super hard worker!

Every member of EXO is incredibly amazing. I love your reactions thank you . Please do more of exo

Beloved EXO member Lay! You won't see him much in EXO stuff bc relations between China and Korea are... _not_ good, and as a national cultural ambassador, Lay doesn't have the same freedom to work in Korea as other Chinese k-pop idols. He has _thrived_ in China as a soloist, though! EXO-Ls are super proud of him ^^

LIT is really giving you something. you should know the bugdet for the Music Video tho it’s crazy

Lay is an incredible artist and this song is a master piece! Lay is doing his own style as Mix-Mandarin-POP which blends traditional Chinese vibe into modern music style. Please check his "Flying Apsaras" and "Honey", also his latest collaboration with Ryan Tedder "Alive". They are amazing! And just for your information, the song Bulan which was released in 2022 is a plagiarism to Lay's LIT which was released in 2020, and the similarity between them is simply because of the plagiarism and not because of sharing a culture, in fact the two countries have very different cultures.

Podrías reaccionar a VEIL de Lay es genial y única, Lay merece todo el reconocimiento del mundo pero mi chico es tan humilde que lo único que le interesa es crecer personalmente como artista y ser humano un verdadero ÍDOLO. 💜✨

lay is the 9th member of exo , he is a great producer and soloist and yes he is Chinese , part of the sub-group exo-m for chinese members and lay is the last one remained in the group. for the next exo reaction i recommend track "monster", in my opinion it was the best song of the kpop in that time.

Lay is a member of EXO and he likes to include chinese culture in his music and videos as he is very fond of chinoiserie He also dances krump which is a very powerful kind of dance, you can see it in his moves in the MV I hope I didn't make any mistakes, please correct me if I'm wrong

You’re right, difference don’t matter. Thoroughly enjoy this journey you take us on when reviewing MVs and songs from all over. Your take is so refreshing. Thank you.

FINALLY HE FOUND LAY!! OMG I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO REACT TO OTHER MVS FROM THE KING

I think you will like Lay 'eagle' and 'sheep' 😊 Thank you ❤

The laser light, red scene…it’s old Hong Kong movie magic. If you want a fight scene to really pop off, dust everyone up, so when they move or get hit, a puff of dust comes off them. He was just covered in and literally throwing handfuls of dust, as he moved, it comes off his body and catches the light and lasers.

It‘s such a coincidence that you have reacted to Lay’s song. I have just watched Lay’s Zach Sang Show interview (of about 6 months ago) last night, and I was quite impressed about his humbleness and yet very smart hungry and passionate about the same time. It was such a great interview, and I was more interested in him.

Lay is so talented! He wrote, composed and produced almost all of his solos. Please react to Lay’s honey, veil.

LoveLay 👆🏻❤

I love song "XIANGJIAN RIVER" by LAY , he talks about his city I love the lyrics

I think there's a behind the scenes video where what you see as an aura is fine sand on his body and he shakes it off. Minimal CGI was used for the effects, only the dragon has a great job and that's where all the money went, according to Lay. The price of making this video was a figure of many numbers.

🎉Lit🎉💜MyHoneyBabyLay💜LixingZhang💜

Doing my due diligence of suggesting Advice by Taemin because kings recognize kings. Additionally on the topic of songs with traditional elements called LIT - the group Oneus with the song...well, Lit. 😅

Actually Lay is most successful Chinese artist. He is a singer, dancer, actor, producer, musician, CEO of his own companies, mentor, global ambassador of varies brands. And also he is a member of most successful and talented Kpop group named EXO

The Felipe guy got into a controversy of plagiarism because his video was too similar to LAY own

Lay did a reaction to video with different reactions on his “Lit” It’s very informative from his side (how he made all of this staff)

All of us sooooooo missing him

That part after Dragon, when you said That must be After effects actually it was only a play game of lighting And Lay Throwing flour since his hands.

I love this video. Lay is an amazing performer. Even my mom loves Lay. She's 67.

Lay is one of EXO members, the only one Chinese member left in EXO. He's being an ambassador of Chinese Youth. Welcome to the EXO planet, the most multitalented kpop group.

Lay produced this to

There goes another exo member for you you know baekhyun and kai now u know lay too ❤😌as you see exo are not only strong as a group but also as soloist and they're considered the best soloist in kpop and cpop for lay they never disappoint ❤🎉btw this video was hella expensive lay said so himself and he wrote produce compose all his song you can see his name a lot in the credit at the end

YES!!! Everyone needed a name check especially LAY!!!!

Lay best idol

Can't wait for you to see other solos from Lay 😊

Lay is phenomenal and an original member of EXO. One of the most talented dancers too. I also recommend his. Mv Honey. He is extremely talented.

Teddy got hypnotized 😂😂😂😂

when he started kicking the air i lost it

I’m a pretty new listener to EXO and came across this song today by Lay, and it hit me hard. Saved it to my playlist immediately lol.

This is my fave Lay song thanks for reacting to lay

our king of china his is a super star we love chinese because of him

That's our KING of China .....EXO's PRIDE ....the only chinese member in EXO ....such a talented ARTIST ..... ZHANG YIXING aka LAY ZHANG ..... The Man himself is TALENT GALORE .... Our china sheep...❤️

You should check out "Flying Apsaras'. He was originally making a music video, but wasn't happy with it so he turned parts of it into a short visualizer. Later he put out a dance practice of the song.

Lay is the only chinese member in Exo. He's one of the main dancer in Exo, same as Kai & Sehun. And currently he's doing his solo stuffs in China and the CEO of Chromosome Entertainment. Lay also famous with his krump dance moves and talked to the founder of the krump. He also compose his own songs and choreograph his own choreography. Next EXO's Lay - Honey MV and the dance practice ❤

I just saw your big 👀👁️😁❤️ it’s awesome Teddy G around the world love it .

Now you should react to his “Honey” song!!! It’s so good and legendary

Lay is our pride. But the fact you didn’t know lay is in exo had me tearing up. I miss him so much 😭

Omg Lay ❤ EXO FOREVER ❤ WE ARE ONE

Lit was released way before Bulan. It was inspired by Lit. At least that is what felip said. Felip is a fan of Lay. There was actually an issue before that Felip plagiarized Lit.

Thanks for the reaction teddy !!!!!!

I adore Lay so much. Will always be an EXO member for me. ❤ he is the absolute king of China though and it's deserved. This man works like 25 hours a day, he is insane!