Exo
Exo is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai and Sehun. They are noted for releasing music and performing extensively in Korean, Mandarin and Japanese.
The group debuted with twelve members separated into Exo-K and Exo-M. Members Kris, Luhan, and Tao departed the group individually amid legal battles with SM Entertainment in 2014 and 2015. Exo-K and Exo-M performed music in Korean and Mandarin, respectively, until the release of their third EP Overdose in 2014. Since then, Exo have exclusively performed as one group, although their music continues to feature multiple languages. Members Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin debuted in the sub-unit Exo-CBX in 2016. Members Sehun and Chanyeol began promoting as the sub-unit Exo-SC in 2019. All members also maintain individual careers in music, film and television.
Exo's first studio album XOXO, released alongside breakthrough single "Growl", was received positively by critics and sold over one million copies with its repackage, making Exo the first Korean act to do so in twelve years. The group's later works expanded on their early commercial success, with their subsequent Korean studio albums combined with their repackages each selling over one million copies. Exo's sixth studio album, Don't Mess Up My Tempo, became their highest-charting album on the US Billboard 200, debuting at number 23. Their eighth studio album, Exist, is their best selling album in South Korea, where it sold over 2 million copies.
Exo have won numerous awards, including five consecutive Album of the Year awards at the MAMA Awards and two consecutive Artist of the Year awards at the Melon Music Awards, and have performed over 100 concerts across four headlining tours and multiple joint tours. The group ranked as one of the top five most influential celebrities on the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list from 2014 to 2018. They have been labelled "Nation's Pick" by the Korea Tourism Organization and by some as the "Kings of K-pop". Outside of music, the group members have endorsed brands such as Nature Republic and Samsung and participate in philanthropic efforts such as Smile For U, an ongoing project by SM Entertainment and UNICEF that began in 2015.
Background
In 2011, SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man revealed plans to debut a new boy band that would be divided into two sub-groups, promoting the same music simultaneously in South Korea and China by performing songs in both Korean and Mandarin. After several lineup changes in December 2011, the group finalized its name as Exo, taken from the word "exoplanet". The news of an upcoming debut from SM Entertainment attracted substantial media attention from within South Korea and internationally, with many comparing Exo to fellow SM boy band TVXQ. It was also reported that Exo would compete with a new girl group from rival YG Entertainment.History
2006–2012: Formation and early years
Exo-K's eventual leader, Suho, was the first member to join SM Entertainment in 2006. The following year, Kai, with encouragement from his father, auditioned at the SM Youth Best Contest; he won and received a contract. In 2008, Chanyeol, who had been studying at an acting academy, and Sehun, who was first scouted by SM Entertainment at the age of thirteen and then went through four auditions in two years, were the next members to become trainees. In 2010, D.O. sang for his audition and was offered a contract. The last member of Exo-K to become a trainee was Baekhyun, who joined in 2011 through SM Entertainment's casting system and trained for approximately one year before debut. Exo-M leader Kris auditioned in 2008 at a global SM Entertainment audition in Canada, later moving to South Korea for training. That same year, Lay was discovered through a global audition and subsequently moved to South Korea, while Xiumin attended an audition with his friend and placed second. In 2010, Luhan was scouted by an SM Entertainment representative in Seoul and passed his audition, while Tao was cast through the SM auditions in China at Qingdao. The last member to join Exo-M was Chen in 2011. The band's first televised performance was at the annual SBS Gayo Daejeon event on December 29, 2011.Exo-K and Exo-M debuted with the single "Mama" on April 8, 2012, followed by the EP Mama on April 9. The two sub-groups promoted the album separately; Exo-K performed on South Korean music program Inkigayo, while Exo-M performed on the Top Chinese Music Awards in Shenzhen on the same day. The Korean version of the EP peaked at number one on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart and at number eight on the Billboard World Albums Chart, while the Mandarin version reached number two on China's Sina Album Chart and number one on various Chinese streaming platforms. Prior their debut, Exo released two singles, "What Is Love" and "History", which peaked at numbers 88 and 68, respectively, on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number six on the Sina Music Chart. Exo was awarded Best New Asian Group at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards and the Newcomer Award at the Golden Disc Awards.
2013–2014: Domestic breakthrough
The group's first studio album, XOXO, was released on June 3, 2013, in two versions: one in Korean and one in Mandarin. XOXO was jointly promoted by both sub-units. Exo recorded the album's lead single "Wolf" together, although the rest of the album tracks were recorded separately. A repackaged version of the album, Growl, was released on August 5, 2013, with three additional tracks. All versions of XOXO collectively sold over one million copies, making Exo the first South Korean artists to reach that milestone in 12 years. That December, Exo released a second EP, Miracles in December, as a special winter album containing the single of the same name. Prior to the release, the group promoted the album through their first reality show, Exo's Showtime, which premiered on November 28, 2013. Following their 2013 releases, Exo won several awards, including Song of the Year at the Melon Music Awards for "Growl" and Album of the Year at the Mnet Asian Music Awards for XOXO.Exo's third EP, Overdose, was released on May 7, 2014. Originally scheduled to be released on April 21, the album was delayed due to the Sewol Ferry accident on April 16. The Korean edition peaked at number 129 on the Billboard 200, making Exo the highest-ever charting male Korean group at the time. Overdose became the best selling release of 2014 in South Korea and was the first EP to top the yearly charts. On December 22, Exo released their first live album, Exology Chapter 1: The Lost Planet. The album's single, "December, 2014 ", peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, making it Exo's first number one. By the end of 2014, Exo was Japan's best-selling K-pop artist of the year. On May 15, 2014, Kris filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate his contract. He alleged that the company disregarded his health and maintained unfair profit distributions. On May 24, the group embarked on their first headlining tour, Exo from Exoplanet 1 – The Lost Planet, at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena. Tickets for the concert sold out in 1.47 seconds, breaking the record for the quickest concert sell-out by a Korean artist. On October 10, Luhan also filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate his contract, citing health problems and different treatment than the group's Korean members.
2015: Continued popularity and Japanese debut
On March 7, 2015, Exo began their second headlining world tour, Exoplanet 2 – The Exo'luxion, at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. The group released their second studio album Exodus on March 30, 2015, with both Korean and Mandarin versions. Lead single "Call Me Baby" was released ahead of schedule, on March 27, after versions of the song leaked online, while the music videos were released four days later. Exo entered Billboard's Canadian Hot 100 chart at number 98, making them the first K-pop group and second Korean artist to chart there. Tao was absent during promotions for Exodus due to injuries and, on August 24, became the third member to file a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate his contract. Exo released a repackaged version of Exodus, titled Love Me Right, on June 3, 2015. The album with its repackage sold over one million copies, making it Exo's second album to do so after XOXO. The re-issue added four new songs, including the single "Love Me Right". Due to Tao's absence, the group promoted the song as nine members. That October, Exo became the first artist to hold a dome concert in South Korea, called Exo – Love Concert in Dome, at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.On November 4, 2015, Exo released their Japanese debut single album Love Me Right ~romantic universe~, which contained the Japanese version of "Love Me Right" and an original Japanese song titled "Drop That". On the day of release, the album sold 147,000 copies and reached the top of the Oricon chart, becoming the all-time best-selling debut single in Japan by a Korean artist. Five days later, Exo released a special single titled "Lightsaber" to promote the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens ahead of its release in South Korea as part of a collaboration between SM Entertainment and Walt Disney. On December 10, Exo released their second winter special release and fourth EP, Sing for You, containing the singles "Sing for You" and "Unfair". Part of the profits from the album were donated to UNICEF's Smile For U campaign, to support the music education for children in Asia.
In December 2015, South Korean entertainment industry leaders ranked Exo at number seven in the top ten pop culture leaders of 2015, the highest rank held by a K-pop artist.