[NEWS] 13.10.08 EXO wants to celebrate

The rookie K-pop group breaks a 12-year record in album sales, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli

SOUTH Korea’s fastest and biggest selling rookie group, EXO, is the one to look out for. Boasting 12 enigmatic members with an energetic performing style, the group is taking the world by storm with its addictive singles Wolf and Growl.

Under South Korea’s biggest talent agency SM Entertainment, EXO is the first artiste to break the record in 12 years, selling over 700,000 copies of their first full-length album, XOXO (Kiss & Hug) within three months of release.
In 2001, Kim Gun Mo sold 1.39 million copies of his seventh album while Jo Sung Mo sold 960,000 copies of his fourth album.
“The fact that EXO is able to sell the album at such a speed makes us both very happy and surprised. We are very thankful for the love, adoration and good sales that we get from Korea, China and other parts of the world,” says Suho.
“The next time we make our comeback (with a new single), we will give a better performance,” he adds.

Besides a celebratory dinner, EXO has not had the chance to fully celebrate their recent success and hopes to do so once the members are less busy. The members have been performing in music programmes, at music festivals and attending autograph sessions. Last month, EXO was one of the four acts who performed at MTV World Stage, which took place at Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach, Bandar Sunway.

“We are working on (our celebration) soon!” says Baekhyun.

SUB GROUPS

EXO actually comprises two sub-groups, EXO-K and EXO-M, which promote their songs in Korean and Mandarin respectively.

EXO-K members are Suho (leader), D.O., Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Kai and Sehun, all of whom are South Korean. EXO-M consists of two South Korean members, Chen and Xiumin, three Chinese members Tao, Lay and Luhan, and Kris, who is the leader and of Canadian nationality.

The group made its debut last year with a single Mama, where it performed separately as EXO-K and EXO-M, with the song performed in both Korean and Chinese.

For Wolf and Growl of the album XOXO, EXO performed as 12. “Because there are so many of us, it’s harder to get organised at the beginning. It took more time to make everything right and perfect for stage performance,” explains Kris.
On a positive note, he adds that their performances as 12 are more powerful and it is a good way to perform. In agreement, Baekhyun says: “By being more dynamic, we get to show more during our performances to our fans.

“By singing in Korean and Chinese languages, we can conquer an even bigger market at the same time, not only in South Korea like most groups do,” says Chanyeol. “That’s our biggest advantage.”

For Wolf, the members incorporated howling sounds into the song as well as wolf-inspired choreography into their performance. So what concept next?
“It’s a secret,” says Suho good-naturedly and with a mysterious smile. “Please look out for it.”

To grow further in the competitive music industry and internationally, EXO would love to collaborate with foreign artistes as it would be a great experience for the members. Suho says it also offers the group the opportunity to release an English album in the future.

Last month, several members of EXO participated in KBS’s highly coveted music programme Immortal Song 2, where current artistes perform evergreen songs by South Korea’s music legends.

“For the show, it can just be two of our members performing or sometimes eight,” says EXO’s main vocalist Chen. “The experience is very different as we don’t have the others.

“We do miss the others during these times but at the same time, we experienced a new kind of experience as well, so we do appreciate it.”

On behalf of EXO, Suho thanks their fans for their ongoing support. “We hope to come out with something better than Wolf and Growl in the future. So please wait for it!

EXO gave a powerful performance at MTV World Stage last month. Picture courtesy of MTV ASIA

(Credits/ Article by: New Straits Times)

Shared by Luhan @ EXOdicted.net

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