Latest Release
- JUL 10, 2023
- 9 Songs
- LOVE SHOT – The 5th Album Repackage - EP · 2018
- DON’T MESS UP MY TEMPO – The 5th Album · 2018
- EX’ACT - The 3rd Album · 2016
- OBSESSION - The 6th Album · 2019
- The 2nd Album ‘EXODUS’ · 2015
- EXIST - The 7th Album · 2023
- Miracles in December - EP · 2013
- LOTTO - The 3rd Album Repackage · 2016
- THE WAR - The 4th Album · 2017
- The 1st Album 'XOXO' (Repackage) · 2013
Essential Albums
- K-pop is many things to many people: It’s a purring economic engine for South Korea, a baffling cultural phenomenon for some music fans, and a lifesaver for teens in search of dance music and earnest, just-sexy-enough young men to fuel their fantasies. EXO are one of the genre’s innumerable prefab groups. Their economic acumen is clear: They doubled their impact early on by releasing songs in both Korean and Mandarin. But EXO are also supported by a small army of talented songwriters and producers who have crafted some of the most beguiling, niche-filling pop on the planet. EXO saw instant success with their 2013 debut, XOXO, and their third album, 2016’s EX’ACT, was so hotly anticipated it exceeded half a million preorders—no small feat. The dark hit “Monster” gave fans deliciously cryptic, stalker-esque lyrics to obsess over, but it’s just one of many kinetic songs, including the dreamy R&B-esque “Cloud 9” and “Artificial Love,” a knotty, funky dance track that wouldn’t be out of place on a Justin Timberlake album. The songcraft here is frequently spectacular—and that’s because of one of K-pop’s better-kept secrets: EX’ACT’s stable of producers and songwriters includes some of the best in the business. Among them: the production duo LDN Noise; Dwayne Abernathy Jr., who’s worked with Anderson .Paak, Dr. Dre and Janet Jackson; and Timothy Bos Bullock, who worked on a little album called Lemonade that was released around the same time as EX’ACT. These are heavy hitters, and their influence has helped EXO transcend—some might even say shatter—their prefab roots.
- 2023
- 2023
- 2023
- 2019
- 2018
Artist Playlists
- This Korean-Chinese crew has always been out to conquer the K-pop world.
- Cool hip-hop choreography and dizzying formation changes.
Live Albums
About EXO
If the record-shattering success of EXO has proved anything, it’s that teens all over the world still love squeaky-clean dance pop—and they don’t mind crossing language barriers to get it. This K-pop supergroup got its start in Seoul with industry powerhouse SM Entertainment in 2012, seemingly just one in an endless stable of talented South Korean boy bands. But EXO distinguished themselves early as both commercially savvy and artistically a cut above: They were originally split into two distinct groups—EXO-K and EXO-M—that performed for Korean and Mandarin-speaking audiences, respectively, doubling their cultural impact and geographic reach. They’ve also employed some of the best producers and songwriters in not just Korean but also American music, including Dwayne Abernathy Jr. and Timothy “Bos” Bullock. The result has been an invigorating, kinetic, and diverse output of songs that traffic in hip-hop, R&B, trap, and EDM (as well as the occasional ballad) without losing sight of their pop audience. Their 2013 debut, XOXO, broke the coveted 1 million sales barrier in South Korea, with songs like the jittery, edgy “Wolf.” Knotty, funky tracks such as the creepy “Monster” and the reggae-inflected “Ko Ko Bop” evoke Michael Jackson at his most romantic and Justin Timberlake at his most fleet-footed—but with a darker swagger. And with ongoing sonic adventurousness and live shows that literally employ all the elements (fire and water feature prominently), they remain a force to be reckoned with in K-pop’s crowded field.
- ORIGIN
- Seoul, South Korea
- FORMED
- December 23, 2011
- GENRE
- K-Pop