As a whole, the group is known as EXO, a South Korean-Chinese boy band under the care of SM Entertainment. Half a year before the group debuted, SM Entertainment’s producer Lee Soo-Man explained that EXO (which has 12 members) was going to be separated into two subgroups to have them promote the same music in South Korea and China. The South Korean subgroup, EXO-K, will perform songs in Korean whereas the Chinese subgroup, EXO-M, will perform songs in Mandarin.
Because of the group’s unique concept, their debut was highly anticipated following Lee’s announcement. In December 2011, all 12 members of EXO were introduced individually through 23 different trailers released from December 2011 to February 2013. It created wave after wave of excitement and positive response from K-Pop fans.
The 12 members of EXO are Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun, Kris, Xiumin, Lu Han, Lay, Chen, and Tao. In January 2012, EXO-K’s and EXO-M’s prologue single, “What Is Love” was released through iTunes and various online retailers from both South Korea and China. In South Korea, “What Is Love” peaked at #88 on the Gaon Single Chart. Two months later, they released their second prologue single, “History”. It peaked at #68 on the Gaon Single Chart.
Finally, EXO-M and EXO-M released their debut single, “Mama” in April. The release was followed by an EP of the same name. They then went on to make their debut performance on The Music Trend. “Mama” peaked at number #1 on the Gaon Album Chart and #8 on the Billboard World Albums Chart:
They are also currently in the running to bag the “Disk Album of The Year” award for “Mama” and the ”New Rising K-Pop Star Award” at “Samsung GALAXY The 27th Golden Disk Awards in Kuala Lumpur”!
Other facts about EXO as follows:
- Suho, the leader of EXO-K, was the first EXO member to become a trainee at SM Entertainment. At that time, he was 16 years old.
- While Baekhyun was still studying, he won an award at a local rock festival. He was then scouted by an SM Entertainment casting agent.
- Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kai, and Sehun previously appeared in SNSD Girls’ Generation’s subgroup, TaeTiSeo’s “Twinkle” music video.
- Chanyeol was the last EXO-K member to be introduced but he was also the one to have appeared in the most music videos prior to EXO-K’s debut e.g. TVXQ’s “HaHaHa Song”, SNSD Girls’ Generation’s “Genie” (Japanese), and TaeTiSeo’s “Twinkle”.
- D.O. was cast into SM Entertainment through the SM Casting System in 2010 after winning in a singing competition.
- Prior to joining SM Entertainment, Kai trained in ballet and jazz. He was cast into SM Entertainment after winning in the company’s Youth Best Contest.
- When Sehun was only 12 years old, he was scouted by a casting agent on the street. However, he only got into SM Entertainment after going through four audition in the span of two years.
Here’s another fact: EXO is slated to make an appearance at “Samsung GALAXY The 27th Golden Disk Awards in Kuala Lumpur” (GDA).
To purchase tickets, hit up TicketPro or any of their participating outlets right now! Tickets to the event are available in three tiers, priced at RM999 (Samsung GALAXY Zone), RM688 (Rockpit), and RM199 (Hallyu Zone). We hear that tickets are going to go fast so hurry!
For more information, visit their official website.