Huang Zi Tao ( 黃子韜 )
Huang Zitao also known as Tao, is a Chinese singer-songwriter, rapper, actor and model. After leaving the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, he made his solo debut in China 2015 with the mini-album TAO, under the new stage name Z.Tao. Huang made his acting debut in the romantic movie You Are My Sunshine and later received recognition for his leading role in Negotiator.
Huang Zitao was born in Qingdao, Shandong, China on May 2, 1993. As a child, he undertook Wushu training and became a student athlete. In late 2010 he was scouted by a representative from SM Entertainment at a talent show.
On December 27, 2011, Huang was formally introduced as the third member of Exo (with the stage name Tao) In late 2013, Huang took part in filming for MBC's celebrity diving program Splash!, but withdrew due to reported injuries. He featured in two songs from Zhou Mi's album Rewind, which he penned the rap lyrics to;and appeared as a cast member of the Solomon Islands edition of the SBS reality television program Laws of the Jungle in 2014.He left the show early due to a foot injury on a coral reef during filming. In June 2015, Huang set up a Chinese agency, 黄子韬Z.TAO Studio. On August 24, he filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate his contract. Huang claimed the 10-year contract had unjust terms and said he lacks freedom due to the long contract period. However, the Supreme Court dismissed Huang's appeal on March 15, 2018. The exclusive contract between SM Entertainment and Huang is still valid. In China, SM Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Huang regarding his solo activities. Chinese courts ruled that Huang was entitled to use his name and image for solo activities in China, and dismissed the lawsuit.
On July 23, 2015, Huang made his solo debut with a digital EP titled TAO, which sold 670,000 digital copies in its first week. The album was followed up with a second EP, Z.TAO, which was released for free on August 19 with the title track "Crown". The music video for "Crown" was presented in the style of a 7-minute short film, directed by Nick Lentz and featuring Jessica Gomes.] Huang performed the stunts and martial arts sequences for the action scenes in the music video. Huang held his first solo concert Z.TAO Mini Concert at the Beijing Exhibition Center Theater on August 23, as part of a benefit concert for those affected by the Tianjin explosions. In 2018, Huang joined the dance-oriented variety show, Street Dance of China. It was also announced that Huang would be the head producer and MC on the Chinese version of Produce 101.
Huang made his film debut in romance film You Are My Sunshine alongside Huang Xiaoming and Yang Mi. The film was released on May 1, 2015. In 2016, Huang starred in the action comedy Railroad Tigers directed by Ding Sheng, alongside Jackie Chan. In 2017, Huang starred in the martial arts film The Game Changer, directed by Gao Xixi, In 2018, Huang starred in Negotiator, a spin-off of the 2016 hit drama The Interpreter.The same year, he was cast in the youth period drama The Files of Teenagers in the Concession.
On July 17, 2018, Huang established his own agency called L.TAO Entertainment.
