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Exo (; stylized in all caps) 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 Zhang, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai and Sehun. They are noted for releasing music and performing extensively in Korean, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.
The group debuted with twelve members separated into Exo-K (Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai and Sehun) and Exo-M (Xiumin, Lay, Chen, Kris Wu, Lu Han and Huang Zitao). 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 Extended play 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 (2013), 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 (2018), became their highest-charting album on the US Billboard 200, debuting at number 23. Their eighth studio album, Exist (2023), 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.
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.
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, . The album's single, "December, 2014 (The Winter's Tale)", 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.
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 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.
On July 21, 2016, contractual disputes between Kris and Luhan and SM Entertainment were settled and both members left the group. On July 22, Exo embarked on its third headlining tour, Exoplanet 3 – The Exo'rdium, with a record six consecutive concerts at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena.
In late 2016, the group members spent time advancing their solo careers. On October 28, Lay released his debut EP, Lose Control. Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin debuted in the group's first sub-unit, Exo-CBX, releasing their first EP Hey Mama! on October 31.
On December 7, 2016, Exo released their second Japanese single, "Coming Over". Selling over 158,000 copies, it reached number two on the Oricon weekly chart and became the band's second Japanese single to receive a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Exo's third winter release and fifth EP For Life was released on December 19.
On May 28, 2017, the tour ended with the second of two consecutive concerts at the Seoul Olympic Stadium, the largest stadium in South Korea. The tour brought the band's total number of concerts to over 100. In June 2017, Lay announced he would not take part in the band's next album and would instead focus on his acting career.
Exo's fourth studio album The War was released on July 18, 2017. The album received 807,235 pre-orders, surpassing the band's own record of 660,000 for Ex'Act. On August 29, the 2018 edition of the Guinness World Records named Exo as having won the "Most Daesang" awards at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. On September 5, the group released a repackaged edition of The War, titled . The re-issue added three new songs to the tracklist, including the single "Power". Exo began their third world tour, Exo Planet #4 – The Elyxion, with three consecutive nights at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome, beginning on November 24. As of November 30, Korean sales of The War reportedly reached nearly 1.6 million copies, making it Exo's best selling album at the time and earning the group the title of "quadruple million sellers" from the media. In early December, Exo announced their fourth special winter release and sixth EP, Universe. It was originally due for release on December 21 but was delayed until December 26 after the death of labelmate, Jonghyun.
Exo performed at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang on February 25, serving as representatives of K-pop along with CL. Prior to the performance, Baekhyun sang the national anthem at the opening ceremony of the International Olympic Committee general assembly on February 5, and Exo performed at the official D-100 Concert in late 2017, which marked 100 days until the start of the Winter Olympics. The band's performance drew widespread global media attention and praise.*
The Russian two time Olympic silver medalist and figure skating world champion Evgenia Medvedeva also drew media attention for her support of Exo. In April 2018, the Korean Mint Corporation released official commemorative medals for Exo, honoring the group for their contribution to the global spread of Korean culture. The nine medals, each commemorating one of the group's members, were unveiled at a ceremony in Seoul.
Exo's fifth studio album, Don't Mess Up My Tempo, was released on November 2, 2018. Don't Mess Up My Tempo featured all nine Exo members—the group's first release to do so since Lotto in 2016. The album was a commercial success, selling 1,179,997 copies by November 30 and making Exo "quintuple million sellers" in the media. With the release of Don't Mess Up My Tempo, Exo became the first artist to surpass 10 million total album sales in South Korea. Love Shot was released on December 13, a repacked version of Don't Mess Up My Tempo. The lead single, also titled "Love Shot", became Exo's third number one single on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart and held the position for three consecutive weeks. Chen became the second Exo member to debut as a soloist with the EP April, and a Flower, which was released in April 2019. Baekhyun debuted as the group's third soloist with the release of his EP, City Lights, on July 10. Chanyeol and Sehun debuted as Exo's second official sub-unit, Exo-SC, and released their first EP, What a Life, in July. Baekhyun and Kai represented Exo in SM Entertainment's supergroup SuperM. Exo embarked on their fifth headlining tour, Exo Planet 5 – Exploration, with six dates in Seoul from July 19 to 28, totaling to thirty-one shows. Exo's sixth studio album, Obsession, was released on November 27, 2019. The group debuted several songs from the album live through Exo Planet 5 – Exploration encore concerts in December 2019, which also served as the tour's concluding shows.
Prior to the enlistments of Chanyeol and Baekhyun, the active members recorded Exo's next album in secret. In a video celebrating their ninth anniversary on April 8, 2021, the group showcased the filming of their upcoming music video and announced that they were preparing for the album to be released in the first half of the year, which would mark Xiumin and D.O.'s return to the group. Lay also participated in the album, marking his first activities with Exo since Don't Mess Up My Tempo. The group's seventh extended play, the "special album" Don't Fight the Feeling, was released on June 7. D.O. debuted as the group's sixth soloist with his EP Empathy on July 26, 2021.
On January 5, 2023, Suho announced that the group is set to release new music after spring. Exo celebrated their 11th debut anniversary with a fan meeting, titled "2023 Exo Fanmeeting 'Exo' Clock", at the KSPO Dome from April 8 to 9, 2023. On June 1, 2023, it was announced that Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin were terminating their contracts with SM and filed a joint lawsuit against SM in regards to transparency of earnings. Despite this, SM confirmed that the group would continue filming their comeback MV, while also including Kai despite his military service. In response to SM, it was confirmed that Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin were exploring ways to continue promoting as Exo members following the results of the lawsuit. On June 19, SM Entertainment and Exo members Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin jointly announced that both parties had resolved the contract dispute, and the members had decided to stay with the company.
Exo's seventh studio album, Exist, was released on July 10, 2023. Exist is the group's first album to be promoted as a seven-member group, as member Kai had been undergoing mandatory military service, and member Lay is promoting his solo activities in China. D.O. departed SM Entertainment following the expiration of his contract in November, though he would still be continuing his activities with Exo. He then signed with Company Soosoo for his solo activities. In January 2024, Baekhyun announced to have started his own company, INB100, and recruited Xiumin and Chen to join his label. SM announced later on that while Xiumin, Baekhyun, and Chen are still contracted under the label for group activities, they can proceed with solo activities under their new company.
On June 13, 2017, SM Entertainment announced Lay would not be participating in activities for the group's upcoming album due to conflicting schedules with his solo activities. Lay did not return to active participation in Exo until 2021, although he did contribute vocals to the Chinese version of their song "Tempo" in 2018. On May 26, 2021, Lay was reported to be returning to the group to take part in their special album, Don't Fight the Feeling. Lay participated in each of the songs on Don't Fight the Feeling and was featured in the music video for the lead single of the same name.
On May 7, 2019, Xiumin became the first member of the group to participate in mandatory military service and was discharged on December 6, 2020. On July 1, 2019, D.O. enlisted for his service, which he completed on January 25, 2021. Suho enlisted on May 14, 2020, and completed his service on February 13, 2022, followed by Chen, who enlisted on October 26, 2020, and completed his service on April 25, 2022. Chanyeol enlisted on March 29, 2021, and was discharged on September 28, 2022. Baekhyun enlisted on May 6, 2021, and completed his service on February 5, 2023. Kai enlisted on May 11, 2023. and was discharged on February 10, 2025. Sehun was the final member to enlist on December 21, 2023; he was discharged on September 20, 2025.
Most of Exo's songs blend Pop music, hip-hop, and R&B with electronic dance music genres such as House music and Trap music and are produced with onstage performance in mind.*
The group has frequently worked with veteran Korean and international producers, including Kenzie, Dean, LDN Noise, The Underdogs, and MARZ Music. Producer Harvey Mason Jr. commented: "We listen to their material ... and try and go one step further. We try and do things that are fresh and original but yet still sound like Exo ...They can sing, they can dance, they have the energy ... It's like a painter having every color to paint with."
Early in their career, Exo were described by Billboard as sounding "wholly inspired by the late '90s/early '00s sound ... with bigger beats, loads more hooks and adding rap and dance breakdowns." The group explored a more "mature" and "dark" sound in 2016 with the release of their third studio album, Ex'Act, which was marked by an increased use of synth-pop and electronic dance music styles such as house. Their fourth studio album, The War, deepened the group's sonic experimentation, featuring elements of trap music prominently for the first time. With the album's lead single "Ko Ko Bop", Exo received praise for unconventionally hybridizing laid-back reggae sounds with heavy electronic breaks.
In a 2017 interview with Billboard, Chanyeol spoke about his contributions to the lyrics for "Chill", stating that because he "worked on the lyrics with an empty track without demo lyrics", the process came more "naturally" to him. Chen explained the process of writing their single "Ko Ko Bop": "we wrote the lyrics separately and worked on putting them together for the song afterwards. I don't think I have any regrets about since it's the best result produced through all the effort that our members and other writers have put into the process." Chen was also credited with writing the Korean lyrics for the track "Lights Out" from Exo's fourth special winter EP, Universe. Member Lay Zhang is also a songwriter and producer, having written and composed all tracks on his solo albums, as well for other artists. Chanyeol participated in writing lyrics for "Gravity" and 'With You", both on Exo's sixth studio album Don't Mess Up My Tempo.
On their stage design, Music Mind noted Exo's use of "not only ... the stage-lights and the lightsticks, but also a multitude of special effects like water, flames, and fireworks, not to mention huge screens positioned both on the substage and across the whole perimeter of the venue". Rappler journalist Keb Cuevas described Exo's "multi-LED screen stage fitted with holographic Exo embellishments and choreographed laser lighting", saying "the stage was literally on fire as pyrotechnic effects were ignited with the electronic beat." Covering a 2018 concert in Singapore, Bandwagon remarked that after their "fourth headlining tour in four years ... you might assume their setlist and stages would be repetitive and stale. But that was not the case at all."
Exo have also contributed significantly to the financial success of their management agency, SM Entertainment. In the fourth quarter of 2018, SM Entertainment recorded the largest-ever quarterly profit for any South Korean entertainment company at $13.4 million. Exo generated the highest revenue of all SM artists, at 31% of the total $188 million fourth quarter revenue.
Exo have been described by Dazed as "the biggest boy band in the world", and have been referred to as the "Nation's Pick" by the Korea Tourism Organization.Nation's Pick:
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In April 2018, Forbes described Exo as one of the two artists worldwide (alongside fellow K-pop band BTS) that dramatically over-perform on social media, even exceeding the reach of American artists such as Beyonce, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. Twitter statistics from Next Big Sound showed that Exo recorded 14,000 times more mentions than expected, with 24 million in total. In addition, Exo ranked second on the Billboard Social 50 Year-End Chart from 2018 through 2020. Exo's work has influenced numerous artists, including MVP, Kim Dong-han, NCT 127, Wanna One, Ong Seong-wu and Kang Daniel.
On November 3, 2017, Exo received a Prime Minister Commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards, an honor bestowed in recognition of public service and/or excellence in a given field. When receiving the award, Suho said: "We have received such a big award alongside brilliant people ... It's such a huge honor. We will become performers who promote not only K-pop, but also Korea."
In late 2015, Exo officially endorsed with the release of a collaboration film that featured "the nine Exo members in a Star Wars-inspired world where clubs are 'Jedi Only' and they carry lightsabers", according to Billboard. In 2016, the group became ambassadors for American footwear company Skechers, endorsing the D'Lites 2 Sweet Monster Collection, which became known as the "Exo's sneakers". Also in 2016, the group became the official faces of international clothing brand SPAO's spring collection, which included limited-edition postcards and posters for customers.
In 2018, in the lead-up to Exo's performance at the Closing Ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the group became the faces of the Switzerland-based snow-sports company Kessler. In March 2018, Exo were announced to be the new brand ambassadors for Major League Baseball (MLB) in Asia. Following this announcement, Chanyeol, Kai, and Sehun attended the grand opening of the MLB store in Times Square, Hong Kong, on March 23. In July 2018, Exo were appointed as Korean Tourism Ambassadors for 2018 by the Korean Tourism Organization, and appeared in a series of promotional advertisements designed to "promote Korea to the world". Exo also maintain partnerships with, or have previously endorsed, companies including Coca-Cola, SK Telecom, KFC, MCM, Lotte Confectionery, Lotte World, Goobne Chicken, and Hats On.*
In 2015, Exo began participating in Smile For U, a joint SM Entertainment and UNICEF project that supports music education for children in Asia. Part of the proceeds from the band's second special winter release Sing for You and multiple subsequent albums were donated to the campaign.
Korean-exclusive albums
Japanese albums
Joint tours
Supporting act
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