Sounds of rejoicing felt almost audible online when EXO announced that member Lay Zhang would be joining K-pop group for their upcoming June comeback — his first EXO comeback in years.
On May 26, EXO released individual teaser images of the members who would be participating in their upcoming album Don’t Fight the Feeling. Fans were already excited to see the return of Xiumin and D.O., who have completed their mandatory military enlistment. However, feelings of surprise and happiness abounded when it was announced that Chinese member Lay would be joining Kai, Sehun, Baekhyun, D.O., Chanyeol, and Xiumin for a seven-member comeback.
Lay has been on hiatus from most EXO activities since 2016, but that doesn't mean he hasn’t been busy. He embarked on making solo music, acting, and being a captain on the Chinese show Youku: Street Dance of China 3 — and he even attended the 2019 Grammys. The singer was last seen making a cameo in EXO’s Korean music video for “Tempo” in 2018 and featured on the Chinese version of the song. Now, he has returned to celebrate EXO’s ninth anniversary with his group on Don’t Fight The Feeling, and EXO-Ls could not be more excited.
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The highly-anticipated album drops on June 7, and it will be EXO’s first comeback since Obsession came out in 2019. Members Baekhyun and Chanyeol were able to conclude their preparations for the album ahead of being called for military service in March and May 2020, while remaining members Suho and Chen were not able to participate — they have been serving in the military since 2020.
EXO spoke to Teen Vogue back in 2019 about their vision for the future, and Kai had some profound words about the group’s success. “At the time of our debut, we had achieved nothing and everything was up in the air. We talked about working together for a long time, hitting number one on the chart, winning awards, and more,” Kai said at the time. “Personally speaking, when we eventually achieved all those goals, I realized, yes, winning awards and being successful is important, but more importantly being able to perform happily as an artist is what mattered the most. There were times when I obsessed over our sales record, stages, and something tangible, but now my goal and dream is to be a happy artist, being satisfied with what I do … Being able to perform for a long time as one, being able to meet the fans for a long time… That’s the most important.”
Until the thrilling day arrives when we get a full member comeback from EXO, we’re thrilled to see Lay as part of EXO once more.
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