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Lay leaves SM Entertainment as EXO turns a decade old

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Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN New

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="EXO" s="" Lay="" announced="" his="" departure="" from="" SM="" Entertainment.="" Photo:="" Instagram="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/entertainment/04/08/lay-sm-ent-exo-ig-4082022.jpg"/><figcaption>EXO&#x27;s Lay announced his departure from SM Entertainment.<em> Photo: Instagram/@layzhang</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Chinese singer Lay announced Friday his departure from K-pop company SM Entertainment as his boy band, EXO, marked its 10th debut anniversary.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s time to say goodbye as an employee of SM,&quot; the 30-year-old artist, who real name is Zhang Yixing, said in a handwritten letter posted on his social media accounts.</p><p>It remained unclear if Lay would also be leaving EXO but he said in his letter that, &quot;I will always be the Lay when my members need me.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m your family member in China, Zhang Yixing. Love you forever, EXO,&quot; he said.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CcEtnqGMxIx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"> </div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"> </div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CcEtnqGMxIx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 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style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CcEtnqGMxIx/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Lay Zhang (@layzhang)</a></div></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>He thanked his &quot;EXO brothers&quot; for their &quot;company and encouragement&quot; and colleagues at SM Entertainment &quot;for witnessing every step of my growth and achievement.&quot;</p><p>Lay also expressed gratitude to his fans &quot;for your unconditional love and support.&quot;</p><p>Shortly after the announcement, Lay released a song titled &quot;Jiu,&quot; which featured voice notes from other EXO members in its first 20 seconds.</p><p>Since 2017, Lay has been inactive from EXO, focusing on promotions in his home country. In 2021, he made a cameo in the music video for &quot;Don&#x27;t Fight the Feeling.&quot;</p><p>Lay&#x27;s announcement comes as EXO marked its 10th anniversary. The band is set to hold an in-person fan meet in Seoul on Saturday.</p>

Chinese singer Lay announced his departure from SM Entertainment as his boy band, EXO, marked its 10th debut anniversary.

Lay leaves SM Entertainment as EXO turns a decade old

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Lay leaves SM Entertainment as EXO turns a decade old

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN New

Published April 08, 2022 02:13 PM PHT

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EXO

Lay

SM Entertainment

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