EXO

October 03, 2020

Exo is a South Korean–Chinese boy band based in Seoul and consists of nine members.

Members

The band was formed by SM Entertainment. in 2011 and debuted in 2012. Former members Kris, Luhan, and Tao departed the group amid legal battles in 2014 and 2015. Their music—released and performed in Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese—primarily incorporates pop, hip-hop, and R&B and includes elements of electronic dance music genres such as house and trap. The band ranked as one of the top five most influential celebrities on the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list from 2014 to 2018 and have been labeled "Kings of K-pop" by various media outlets.

The band debuted with twelve members separated into two sub-groups: Exo-K (Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun) and Exo-M (Xiumin, Lay, Chen, and former members Kris, Luhan, and Tao). Exo-K and Exo-M performed music in Korean and Mandarin, respectively, until the release of their third EP Overdose in 2014. Since 2014, Exo have exclusively performed as one group while continuing to release and perform music in multiple languages. Members Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin debuted as the sub-unit Exo-CBX in 2016, and members Sehun and Chanyeol began promoting as the sub-unit Exo-SC in 2019. Each member also maintains solo careers in music, film, and television.

In 2011, SM Entertainment CEO, 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 member 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.

They're popular because their company forces them to run around giving concerts and sign up with millions of promotional events and they do it. They're popular because they tire themselves out practicing and don't complain (They complain about complaining but they don't resent it.