2011–2015: Exo and lawsuit against SM Entertainment

On December 27, 2011, Huang was formally introduced as the third member of Exo (with the stage name Tao).^[7]

In late 2013, Huang took part in filming for MBC's celebrity diving program Splash!, but withdrew due to injuries,^[8] and the show was cancelled due to injuries to multiple other contestants.^[9]

He featured in two songs from Zhou Mi's album Rewind, which he penned the rap lyrics to;^[10] and appeared as a cast member of the Solomon Islands edition of the SBS reality television program Laws of the Jungle in 2014.^[11] He left the show early due to a foot injury on a coral reef during filming and other scheduled commitments.

In June 2015, Huang set up a Chinese agency, 黄子韬Z.TAO Studio.^[12] On August 24, he filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate his contract.^[13] Huang claimed the 10-year contract had unjust terms and said he lacks freedom due to the long contract period.^[14] However, the Supreme Court dismissed Huang's appeal on March 15, 2018. The exclusive contract between SM Entertainment and Huang was considered valid until his contract's conclusion in 2022.^[15]

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.^[16]

2015–present: Solo career and mainstream popularity

On July 23, 2015, Huang made his solo debut with a digital EP titled TAO,^[17] which sold 670,000 digital copies in its first week.^[18] The album was followed up with a second EP, Z.TAO, which was released for free on August 19 with the title track "Crown".^[19] The music video for "Crown" was presented in the style of a 7-minute short film, directed by Nick Lentz and featuring Jessica Gomes.^[20] Huang performed the stunts and martial arts sequences for the action scenes in the music video.^[21] 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.^[22][23]

On October 15, Huang released the single "Reluctantly", a ballad composed by himself and Andros Rodriguez.^[24] At the 2015 Migu Music Awards, Huang won the "Best Stage Performance" award and performed the single.^[25] As part of an endorsement deal with the game I'm the Sovereign, Huang composed and released the single "I'm the Sovereign".^[26] The song topped China's Billboard chart for the week of December 5, 2015.^[27]

On January 12, 2016, Huang won the "Most Influential Male Singer" award at the 2016 Mobile Video Festival (Miopai Awards).^[28] He was later invited to perform as a headliner for the SoYoung 2016 Live Concert Tour on January 29, which featured young rising musicians in China.^[29]

Huang's first album The Road was announced in March 2016. It was recorded partly in Los Angeles in collaboration with Nick Lentz.^[30] The lead single "The Road" was released on April 22.^[31] On May 1, Huang commenced a concert tour Z.Tao The Road Concert for the album in Nanjing^[32] and released a music video for the single "Hello, Hello", featuring Wiz Khalifa.^[33] Another single, "Adore" was released the same month and sold over 30,000 copies, receiving the platinum certification.^[34] The Road was released on August 22 was sold with 8888 pieces limited edition. After one minute of pre-sale opening, the sale profit reached 500k rmb; and the album reached number one on the sale charts.^[35] At the end of 2016, Huang won the Most Influential Male Singer award at the Tencent Star Awards.^[36]

In April 2017, Huang was named Promotional Ambassador for the 17th Top Chinese Music Awards, where he also won the "All-Round Artist" award.^[37] He embarked on his first Asia Tour, Z.Tao Promise Concert Tour which kick-start in Beijing on April 30; and also released a single of the same name.^[38][39]

In 2018, Huang joined the dance-oriented variety show, Street Dance of China.^[40] It was also announced that Huang would be the head producer and MC on the Chinese version of Produce 101.^[41] The same year, Huang embarked on his fourth concert tour, Z.Tao 2018 IS GOØD Concert Tour.^[42]

Endorsements and brand ambassadorship

In June 2017, Huang collaborated with Jonathan Anderson, Loewe's creative director, on the "FIRE OF YOUTH" campaign,^[60] becoming the first Asian artist invited to collaborate with LOEWE.^[61]

In July 2017, Hanhoo appointed Huang as their Brand Ambassador.^[62] The brand later partially sponsored The Brightest Star in the Sky, a hit drama of Huang with product placement in the drama.^[63]

In September 2017, Huang was named Yves Saint Laurent's beauty ambassador and participated in the second season of YSL's web series Before the Light.^[64][65]

Shenwu3, a turn-based MMORPG game by Duoyi Network which is the 4th biggest game company in China, has announced Huang as their brand ambassador.^[66] They collaborated further and Huang released a song called "Silently(默默)" under the branding of Shenwu3 in July 2018.^[67]

In January 2018, Huang began promoting a China phone brand, Sugar Phone, and attended the press conference for Sugar Phone S11.^[68] In April 2018, Sugar Phone supported Huang's IS GOØD Concert Tour as the main sponsor.^[69]

Huang has also been appointed as brand ambassador for YSL Eyewars in January 2018.^[70]

Jif Jaf Kraft,^[71] Tencent Weishi Application^[72] and Xiao Zhu home rental application^[73] have also appointed Huang as their first brand ambassadors respectively in first half of 2018. In second half of the year, Huang has endorsed KFC,^[74] EVISU,^[75] Tuborg,^[76] Skechers^[77] and Baidu mobile application^[78] as their brand ambassador.

In September 2018, Huang worked on the Chinese version of Stay Open, a promotional song for Tuborg originally released by Diplo and MØ.^[79]

Sephora launched their first ad campaign in China with Huang as their brand ambassador in September 2018.^[80]

In August 2019, Huang also endorsed Hershey's^[81] and Nescafe Dolce Gusto^[82] as their brand ambassador. Kappa headlined Huang as their brand ambassador for the campaign "I make my own trend" in the same month.^[83]

Lacoste appointed Huang as the company's first brand ambassador for Asia Pacific region and launched "Crocodile Inside" campaign in September 2019.^[84] In 2021, Huang cut ties with Lacoste because the company had not issued a global statement affirming that they were not boycotting Xinjiang cotton.^[85][86]

Businesses

On July 17, 2018, Huang established his own agency called L.TAO Entertainment.^[87] Apart from managing Huang's own work, L.TAO has also signed other artists including Xu Yiyang, a former trainee of SM Entertainment.^[88]

Huang has expanded his business further by opening a restaurant called "Hao Shi"^[89] and an architecture and design company called L.TAO Architecture and Design^[90] in June 2019.

Z.TAO's Man

Z.TAO's Man, a comic and 2D animation character that represents many elements of Huang, was launched in April 2019. Z.TAO's Man is a superhero character whose power is C-pop, the music genre Huang has been promoting and pursuing since the beginning of his solo debut.^[91] Huang has collaborated with SunMei Group which is a hospitality business group that owns Thank U hotel chain to create Z.TAO's Man.^[92]

Its weekly episodes are released on Sina Weibo's comic platform and a 2D animation is set to release.

Film

Television series

Variety show

Music videos

Headliner

• Z.Tao Mini Concert Tour (2015)
• Z.Tao The Road Concert (2016)
• Z.Tao Promise Concert Tour (2017)
• Z.Tao 2018 Is GoØd Concert Tour (2018)
• Z.Tao 2019 Is Blue Concert (2019)^{[citation needed]}