EXO (엑소)

EXO (엑소) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band produced by S.M. Entertainment. Formed in 2011 in Seoul, South Korea, EXO comprises twelve members separated into two subgroups, EXO-K and EXO-M, performing music in Korean and Mandarin, respectively. Their name was taken from exoplanet, a term referring to planets outside of the Solar System.

            EXO made their official debut on April 8, 2012 with the release of their debut single, "Mama". The single was a moderate success; EXO-M's version topped mainland Chinese music charts after only one day of release, and EXO-K's "Mama" music video reached to number seven on YouTube's Global Chart. The group's two albums, the 2012 debut EP Mama and the 2013 comeback studio album XOXO, were major commercial successes, selling nearly a million units in total worldwide. The lead singles off XOXO, "Wolf" and "Growl", were K-pop hits, landing first place trophies on music shows from all three of Korea's major free-to-air broadcast stations. The latter also peaked at number three on Billboard's Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart.

            The group received numerous "newcomer" awards in 2012, and has since won over ten awards since their debut in April 2012.

2012: Debut and Mama

            EXO-K and EXO-M's prologue single "What Is Love" was released on January 30, 2012 through iTunes and various online retailers in mainland China and South Korea. The single peaked at number 88 on South Korea's Gaon Single Chart. On March 9, the group released their second prologue single "History", which was written and produced by Thomas Troelsen and Remee. The single peaked at number 68 on the Gaon Single Chart and number six on China's Sina Music Chart.

            A concert for the group was held in Seoul's Olympic Stadium on March 31. Approximately 3,000 fans from 8,000 applicants were selected to attend. A second concert was held in the Great Hall of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on April 1.

            EXO-K and EXO-M released their debut single, "Mama" on April 8 followed by an EP, Mama, on April 9. On April 8, EXO-K made their debut performance on South Korea's music program The Music Trend, while EXO-M made their debut in China's Top Chinese Music Awards on the same day. A day after release, "Mama" reached number one on various Chinese online retailers and music charts. EXO-M's album reached number two on China's Sina Album Chart, number five on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart, and number twelve on the Billboard World Albums Chart. EXO-K's album peaked at number one on the Gaon Album Chart and at number eight on the Billboard World Albums Chart. EXO-M's "Mama" music video reached number one on Chinese streaming websites, while EXO-K's version reached to number seven on YouTube's Global Chart. In late April 2012, EXO-M performed as a guest act for Super Junior's Super Show 4 concert tour in Jakarta, Indonesia.

            In November 2012, EXO won Best New Asian Artist Group at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards. EXO-K received three nominations at the 27th Golden Disk Awards, winning the Newcomer Award. EXO-M received the Most Popular Group award at the 2013 Top Chinese Music Awards.

2013: XOXO

            In May 2013, S.M. Entertainment revealed teaser photos for EXO's comeback album, the first studio album XOXO. Unlike during the Mama era, when EXO-K and EXO-M had separate promotions, XOXO was jointly promoted. The subgroups collaborated for the album's lead single, "Wolf", but the rest of the album was recorded separately.

           XOXO was released in June 2013 to two versions, a Korean "Kiss" edition and a Mandarin "Hug" edition. A few days after its release, the songs in XOXO topped almost every real-time chart from online music websites of South Korea and mainland China. The two versions collectively peaked at number one on the Billboard World Album Chart a week after release. Lead single "Wolf" reached to top thirty spots in music download charts in both South Korea and China, but the song peaked at number one on three of South Korea's music programs, and earned the name "triple win". "Wolf" also won a trophy on MBC Music's Show Champion.

            A repackaged version of XOXO, with three additional tracks, was released on August 5, 2013. The reissue's lead single, "Growl", was unveiled via YouTube on August 1, 2013, in the format of a music video. On August 18, "Growl" achieved 10,554 points on The Music Trend charts, setting a new number one record on the show. "Growl" reached number one on all four of Korea's major music programs, winning a total of ten trophies in three consecutive weeks. The single peaked at number three on Billboard's Korea K-Pop Hot 100 and number two on the Gaon's Singles chart.

            As of late August 2013, both editions collectively sold over 501,000 copies in total in South Korea, making EXO the first best-selling artist on the Hanteo charts since 2009. Also in November 2013, EXO won Album of The Year at the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards.