History Music / EXO

** Chen is a dinosaur. Some fans compared him to [[CatSmile a cat]].

On June 1, 2023, Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate their contracts due to the lack of transparency of their finances and contract disputes.

* Sehun (Oh Sehun, born April 12, 1994)
** EXO: Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Visual, Maknae
** EXO-K: Lead Dancer, Rapper, Sub-Vocalist, Maknae
** [[Music/{{EXOSC}} EXO-SC]]: Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Maknae

The group originally debuted with 8 Korean members and 4 Chinese members. Former member Kris filed a lawsuit to terminate his contract in early 2014. There was debate about the group disbanding for a while, but members have reassured their fans that they will continue on. Also, as of 10 October 2014, Lu Han has decided to terminate his contract with SM Entertainment as well. There were rumors as far back as September 2014 which said that Lu Han would be leaving due to his health and because SM would make him work despite his health, so as sad as fans were that he decided to leave EXO they were not surprised. Member Tao went on hiatus from group activities beginning April 2015, and officially departed from the group in August.

The group's two albums, the 2012 debut EP ''MAMA'' and the 2013 comeback studio album ''XOXO'', were major commercial successes, selling over 1.5 million units in total worldwide. All versions of ''XOXO'' collectively sold over one million copies, making EXO the first South Korean artists to reach that milestone in 12 years. The group was also named the Best Korean/Japanese Act at the MTV EMA Awards. Their following releases continued their trend of having strong sales, with each comeback being impressive on its own, either in terms of pre-orders, sales numbers or charting position. The Korean version of their third EP ''Overdose'' had over 660,000 pre-orders, making it the most pre-ordered Korean EP in history. It also peaked at number two on Billboard's World Albums Chart, and at number 129 on the Billboard 200, making EXO the highest-ever charting male Korean group at that time. ''Overdose'' became the best selling release of 2014 in South Korea, and was the first EP to top the yearly charts and win the Album of the Year Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards.

In 2015, the group released a special single titled ''Lightsaber'' to promote the movie [[Film/TheForceAwakens Star Wars: The Force Awakens]] ahead of its release in South Korea, as part of a collaboration between SM Entertainment and [[Creator/{{Disney}} Walt Disney]]. Domestic pre-orders for third studio album ''Ex'Act'' exceeded 660,000 copies and broke the record for the highest first-week sales of a Korean album, previously set by the band's own fourth EP ''Sing For You''.

On November 4, 2015, EXO released their Japanese debut single ''Love Me Right ~romantic universe~''. On the day of its release, the album sold 147,000 copies and reached the top of the Oricon chart, becoming the all-time best-selling debut single in Japan by a Korean artist. On January 31, 2018, the group released its first Japanese studio album ''Countdown'', debuting at number one on the weekly Oricon chart, selling approximately 89,000 copies. This achievement made Exo the first non-Japanese band whose debut single and debut studio album both reached number one on the weekly Oricon chart, and ten days after its release, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.

On October 31st, 2016, a sub-unit of the group debuted under the name '''[[Music/{{EXOCBX}} EXO-CBX]]''' (Korean: 엑소-첸백시; ''EXO Chen-Baek-Xi''), CBX standing for Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin, the members composing it. Their debut EP ''Hey Mama!'' topped the Billboard World Albums chart and South Korean's Gaon album chart. On July 22, 2019, a new sub-unit '''[[Music/{{EXOSC}} EXO-SC]]''' (Korean: 세훈&찬열, ''EXO Sehun & Chanyeol'') consisting of members [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Chanyeol and Sehun]] debuted with the EP ''What a life'', in which the mentioned members have participated in the songwriting and lyrics composition.

'''EXO''' (Korean: 엑소) is a [[KoreanPopMusic South Korean]]-Chinese {{boy band}} who debuted under SM Entertainment on April 8, 2012, after [[ProlongedPrologue 23 teasers]]. They are split into two sub-units, '''EXO-M''' and '''EXO-K''', who promote in China and South Korea, respectively.

** Kai will sleep with {{anything that moves}}.

* '''[[Music/{{EXOCBX}} EXO-CBX]]''' - With CBX standing for '''C'''hen '''B'''aekhyun '''X'''iumin, the group was formed in 2016. The group promotes in Korea and in Japan and is also called '''[=ChenBaekXi=]''' (Korean: 첸백시) due to its easier pronunciation. Promotions ended in early 2019, and they are currently on hiatus due to Baekhyun's military enlistment.

On June 1, 2023, Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin terminated their contracts with SM Entertainment and filed a lawsuit against the company for overdue payments and unreasonable deals.

* Kai (Kim Jongin, born January 14, 1994)
** EXO & EXO-K: Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist

%% * FiveManBand:
%% ** EXO-K:
%% ** TheLeader - Suho
%% ** TheLancer - D.O.
%% ** TheSmartGuy - Baekhyun
%% ** TheBigGuy - Chanyeol/Kai
%% ** TheHeart - Sehun
%% ** EXO-M:
%% ** TheLeader - Kris
%% ** TheLancer - Luhan
%% ** TheSmartGuy - Xiumin
%% ** TheBigGuy - Tao
%% ** TheHeart - Lay/Chen

[[folder:Band and Member Tropes]]

[[folder:Music / Music Video / Concept Tropes]]

* AnimatedMusicVideo: The introduction of their ''MAMA'' music video.

* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: The pronunciation of "wolf" in ''Wolf''. Weird is that in the leaked demo version the "wolf" is pronounced properly.

* DifferentlyPoweredIndividual: The concept behind their ''MAMA'' promotions was that each member had a specific super power. They are still portrayed as superhumans in later promotions, but only rarely. The concept was then revived in the ''Pathcode'' trailers, with ''Call Me Baby'', ''Ko Ko Bop'', ''Power'', and ''Obsession'' showcasing the superpower concept again.
** While their powers are given a nod in music videos such as ''Lucky One'' or ''Kokobop'', ''Power'' takes the concept and runs with it, showing the members receiving their respective powers except for Baekhyun, who has never lost it in the MV.
*** AnIcePerson: Xiumin
*** MindOverMatter / {{Telepathy}}: Lu Han
*** {{Flight}}: Kris
*** MakingASplash: Suho
*** HealingHands: Lay
*** LightEmUp: Baekhyun
*** ShockAndAwe: Chen
*** PlayingWithFire: Chanyeol
*** SuperStrength / DishingOutDirt: D.O
*** TimeMaster: Tao
*** [[TeleportersAndTransporters Teleportation]]: Kai
*** BlowYouAway: Sehun
* {{Dubstep}}: Their music is very, very heavily influenced by the genre.

* EvilCounterpart: ''OBSESSION'' introduces the existence of X-EXO, described as questionable beings causing abnormal activities around the globe and are assumed to be similar in form with EXO. The reports confirm that only six of these beings exist: Suhø, Baëkhyun, Chën, Chanyeøl, Kāi, and Sehůn.
** Though initially thought that they were evil versions of EXO and were [[EvilDoppelganger separate beings]], with them participating in battles against each other in the ''Obsession'' music video, EXO describes them as the [[JekyllAndHyde evil inside them]] and make comments such as "I'm going to turn into X-EXO".

* StageNames:
** Xiumin for Kim Minseok, Suho for Kim Junmyeon, Lay for Zhang Yixing, Chen for Kim Jongdae, D.O. for Do Kyungsoo, Kai for Kim Jongin.
* StalkerWithACrush: Seems to be a constant wherever they decide to go, mostly thanks to dedicated fansite masters or overenthusiastic international fans. Unfortunately, many people stereotype all of EXO's fans as this.
* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Since ''Love Me Right'' Kai went from receiving barely any lines to being featured prominently in various songs. He even gets the lead vocal position in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTthk5uftcU Twenty Four]]''.