Z.Tao (EXO) Profile, Bio, & Facts

Z.Tao, also known as Tao (타오), is a Chinese singer and a former member of the boy group EXO under SM Entertainment. He made his solo debut on July 23rd, 2015 with EP ‘TAO’.

Z.Tao (EXO) Profile

Z.Tao (EXO) Facts:

Early Life:

– He was born in Qingdao, China.
– He went to Qingdao Foreign Service Vocational School.
– He learned Wushu as a child.

Personal Life:

– Z.Tao’s nicknames are Peach and Kung Fu Panda.
– He is an only child.
– He thinks love is simply people getting together because they want certain things.
– He is skeptical about true love.
– His first romantic relationship didn’t go well.
– Among the members, he was known for having the most aegyo (cute behavior).
– Sometimes, he likes to buy women’s perfumes, clothes, and earrings. (VogueTV)
– Initially, when he became a trainee, he didn’t know Korean or English, so he shared a room with their manager to improve his Korean language skills.
– He got first place in all north city and south city district Wushu competitions.
– He got second place in the Shandong province Wushu competitions.
– He got third place in international Wushu competitions.
– He had the superpower of ‘Time Manipulation’ in EXO.
– When he first arrived in Korea, he called Xiumin with “oppa, annyeonghaseyo,” leading him to mistake him for a girl. (CNTV interview)
– He comes from a rich family.
– Z.Tao and Kris were close friends, but fans creating fanfictions and manipulated images of them being intimate made Kris uncomfortable, causing a distance between the two.
– His parents wanted him to learn martial arts because he was very mischievous as a kid.
– He thinks that tolerance is very important to have in one’s life.
– He said that the most tiring aspect of martial arts training is the stretching of your legs.
– He was a sports student in school even before he started training Wushu. (People in News)
– He has taken showers with every EXO member except for Lay and Luhan.
– He frequently encouraged Xiumin to learn Chinese with him.
– He has an obsession with Gucci.
– He had a very serious head injury as a child when he was running and he fell and hit his head on the edge of a marble stone statue. There was no bleeding so his family thought he was fine. But he started vomiting after midnight and his parents brought him to the hospital to find out that he had internal bleeding. The doctor said that if they had come 1 or 2 minutes later, he would’ve become comatose or died. He had 43 stitches overall. (Kevin Hours)
– He revealed about his trainee days that Baekhyun helped him the most.
– Following his appearance on the military show, he gained more fans.
– He was the youngest guest on the Chinese show “Kevin Hours”.
– His ideal type is someone who is physically attractive, has a nice personality, and a good body.
– He has a dog ‘Kandy’.
– He keeps a distinct line between singing and acting. When he is doing music, he is 100% focused on it and when he is acting, he doesn’t think about other things. (Kevin Hours)
– Only 3 people, including him, have persisted under the teacher who taught him Wushu.
– He used to listen to Jay Chou’s songs mostly in his childhood and sometimes even during class.
– His dream is for other people to want to be like him.
– He wants to always stay true to himself.
– He wanted to be a policeman when he was a kid.
– He loved music and was always listening to music since he was young. (People in News)

Career:

– In 2010, he was scouted by a representative from S.M. Entertainment while participating in an MBC Star global audition.
– His training period is of two years.
– On May 1, 2015, he began his acting career with a role in the movie “You Are My Sunshine.”
– In June 2015, he established his official Chinese agency, 黄子韬Z.TAO Studio.
– His solo debut album achieved tremendous success in China, breaking the record for digital downloads with 670,000 copies sold within the first week of release.
– On April 22, 2016, he released his album “The Road,” which involved six months of work, including traveling to Los Angeles to collaborate with American director Nick Lentz.
– He started a solo concert tour on May 1, 2016.
– He was cast in various film productions such as “Edge of Innocence,” “Famen Temple Code,” “A Chinese Odyssey: Love You A Million Years,” and “The Negotiator.”
– In 2017, he acted in the martial arts film “The Game Changer.”
– He serves as the MC of Chinese Produce 101.
– In April 2019, Z.TAO’s Man, a comic and 2D animation character inspired by Huang, was introduced. This character embodies various aspects of Huang’s persona. Z.TAO’s Man is a superhero whose superpower is C-pop, the music genre that Huang has been dedicated to promoting and pursuing ever since he embarked on his solo career.

Appearances & Participations

– In 2016, he appeared in the first season of the Chinese version of “Law of the Jungle.”
– In September 2016, he participated in the second season of the military reality show “Takes a Real Man.”

Endorsements:

– In 2017, he was named as the beauty ambassador of Yves Saint Laurent.
– In 2018, he was selected as the brand ambassador for YSL Eyewars.
– He also endorsed KFC, Skechers, EVISU, Baidu mobile application.
– In 2018, Sephora also appointed him as their brand ambassador.
– In 2019, he endorsed Hershey’s and Nescafe Dolce Gusto.

Likes & Dislikes:

– He has a fondness for the color blue, Western cuisine, basketball, and black cats.
– His preferred music genres are hip hop and R&B.
– He enjoys walking alone on beaches. (Happy Camp)
– He really likes to eat chocolate, potato chips, and beef.
– His favorite athlete was Kobe Bryant.
– His favorite fruits are mango and watermelon.
– He really enjoys shooting, high jumping, diving, sailing, and horseback riding.
– His favorite characters from anime are Son Goku and Tohsaka Rin.

Abilities:

– He can talk in sign language because he has a deaf childhood friend ‘ChenChen’.
– He can play the guitar.
– He possesses knowledge of martial arts.
– He is capable of speaking 3 languages including English, Chinese, and Korean. 

Personality & Habits:

– He is a sensitive person. (Marilly)
– According to his teacher, Z.Tao was a shy student during middle school.
– He is an emotional and sensitive person who is in touch with his feelings.
– Despite having a tough image, he is actually quite sensitive and easily frightened. He is afraid of ghosts and even cried after visiting a haunted house. (EXO Showtime Episode 10)
– He is allergic to cats.

Lawsuit:

– On August 24, 2015, Z.Tao filed a lawsuit against S.M. Entertainment.
– The main reason cited for leaving SM was the worsening of an ankle injury sustained during the Idol Star Athletics Championships.
– On December 14, 2016, it was confirmed that he had won the lawsuit against SM.
– On April 28, 2017, it was announced that he lost the lawsuit against SM.
– On October 27, 2017, the Seoul court made a final decision in favor of SM. Unlike Kris and Luhan, whose lawsuits against SM were resolved through compromise, his case was the only one where the court ruled entirely in SM’s favor.
– In February 2018, he won a lawsuit in China against SM Entertainment, but the verdict clarified that it was related to his album release infringing rights rather than his contract with SM Ent.
– He filed an appeal, but on March 15, 2018, the court dismissed it, requiring him to continue his exclusive contract with SM Entertainment.

Major Works:

– His popular songs include “Beggar”, “Uncover” and “The Rest of My Life Is Yours”.
– He also participated in the OST “Once Beautiful” for the drama ‘The Brightest Star in the Sky’.

Awards:

– On January 12, 2016, he won the “Most Influential Male Singer” award at the 2016 Mobile Video Festival.
– He also won the “Most Popular Singer” award at the Weibo Night Awards in 2016.

Social Media Handles
Instagram: hztttao
Youtube: ZTAO
Weibo: weibo.com

Streaming Platform Links
Genie | Spotify | Bugs | Melon | Apple Music | Deezer

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