Legend dictates that twelve young men with supernatural powers hailing from another planet called the "Exoplanet" were nurturing the tree of life. However, an eye of red force created evil, so the twelve divided the tree into half and hide each side, overturning time and creating two suns that look alike into two worlds that seem alike...
Or at least, that's the concept formed for the band.
EXO (Korean: 엑소) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band who debuted under SM Entertainment on April 8, 2012, after 23 teasers. They are split into two sub-units, EXO-M and EXO-K, who promote in China and South Korea, respectively.
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 October 10, 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.
After the departure of 3 Chinese members, EXO-K and EXO-M began promoting as a single group EXO. However, due to political reasons, EXO currently promotes as 8 members, while Lay does solo activities in China. Despite this, Lay participated in the group's fifth studio album Don't Mess Up My Tempo released in 2018. On May 7, 2019, eldest member Xiumin enlisted for mandatory military service, and member D.O. has voluntarily applied for early military enlistment in July of the same year, leaving Don't Mess Up My Tempo as the last album with the participation of 9 members and Love Shot as the last album with the participation of all 8 Korean members.
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 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens ahead of its release in South Korea, as part of a collaboration between SM Entertainment and 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, which debuted 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 31, 2016, a sub-unit of the group debuted under the name 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 EXO-SC (Korean: 세훈&찬열, EXO Sehun & Chanyeol) consisting of members Chanyeol and Sehun debuted with the EP What a life, in which the mentioned members participated in the writing of music and lyrics.
In 2016, main dancer Lay debuted as a solo singer with the Chinese mini album Lose Control. The mini album stayed as number one on Billboard's China V Chart for six weeks in a row, broke the record in South Korea for the most sales by a solo artist, peaking at #1 on the Gaon Album Chart and number four on Billboard's US World Albums chart. In 2019, main vocalist Chen's first Korean solo album April, and a Flower debuted at No. 3 Billboard's World Albums, making him the highest-charting solo K-pop act since November 2018 and the first solo star to chart this high in 2019. Main vocalist Baekhyun had his solo debut in July 2019 with the mini album City Lights, making him the 5th solo artist to sell over 100,000 album copies in the past decade and breaking previous records set by EXO (placing number 1 on iTunes in 63 countries) and fellow member Lay (highest first day sales by a solo artist). In March 2020, leader Suho's debut mini album Self-Portrait topped iTunes album charts in 50 countries, notably getting 1st place in Japan, a feat which EXO as a whole has yet to achieve.
On April 8, 2022, Lay left S.M. Entertainment after completing his 10-year contract with the agency, though he is still a member of EXO.
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. On January 8, 2024, Baekhyun formed his agency called INB 100 which would handle the solo activities of his, Chen, and Xiumin. They're still members of Exo.
On October 18, 2023, Kyungsoo departed from S.M. Entertainment to form a new agency which he founded with his former manager that would handle his solo activities. Just like Lay, he's still a part of Exo.
Members Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, and D.O. have their own pages. Ex-members Kris Wu, Lu Han, and Z.Tao have their own pages.
- Xiumin note (Kim Minseok, born March 26, 1990)
- Suho note (Kim Junmyeon, born May 22, 1991)
- EXO & EXO-K: Leader, Lead Vocalist
- Baekhyun note (Byun Baekhyun, born May 6, 1992)
- EXO & EXO-K: Main Vocalist
- EXO-CBX: Main Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer
- Chen note (Kim Jongdae, born September 21, 1992)
- EXO & EXO-M: Main Vocalist
- EXO-CBX: Main Vocalist, Maknae
- Chanyeol note (Park Chanyeol, born November 27, 1992)
- EXO & EXO-K: Main Rapper, Vocalist
- EXO-SC: Main Rapper, Sub Vocalist
- D.O. note (Do Kyungsoo, born January 12, 1993)
- EXO and EXO-K: Main Vocalist
Inactive:
- Lay note (Zhang Yixingnote , born October 7, 1991)
- EXO: Main Dancer, Sub Vocalist, Sub Rapper
- EXO-M: Main Dancer, Sub Vocalist
- Kainote (Kim Jongin, born January 14, 1994)
- EXO & EXO-K: Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist
- Sehunnote (Oh Sehun, born April 12, 1994)
- EXO: Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Visual, Maknae
- EXO-K: Lead Dancer, Rapper, Sub-Vocalist, Maknae
- EXO-SC: Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Maknae
Former:
- Luhan (Lu Han, born April 20, 1990)
- EXO & EXO-M: Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer
- Kris (Wu Yifannote , born November 6, 1990)
- EXO: Main Rapper
- EXO-M: Leader, Main Rapper, Sub Vocalist
- Tao (Huang Zitao, born May 2, 1993)
- EXO: Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer, Sub Vocalist
- EXO-M: Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist, Maknae
- EXO-K - The sub-unit promoting in Korea. The group consists of Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun. The unit's leader is Suho.
- EXO-M - The sub-unit promoting in China. Upon the departure of members Kris, Luhan, and Tao, the group currently consists of Xiumin, Lay, and Chen, with Lay currently inactive from group activities. The group did not elect a new leader after Kris's departure.
- EXO-CBX - With CBX standing for Chen Baekhyun Xiumin, 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.
- EXO-SC (Korean: 세훈&찬열) - A sub-unit consisting of Sehun and Chanyeol.
Discography:
- 2013 - XOXO
- Growl (Repackage)
- 2015 - EXODUS
- Love Me Right (Repackage)
- 2016 - EX'ACT
- LOTTO (Repackage)
- 2017 - The War
- The War: The Power of Music (Repackage)
- 2018 - Don't Mess Up My Tempo
- Love Shot (Repackage)
- 2019 - OBSESSION
- 2023 - Exist
- 2012 - MAMA
- 2013 - Miracles in December
- 2014 - Overdose
- 2015 - Sing for You
- 2016 - For Life
- 2017 - Universe
- 2021 - Don't Fight the Feeling
- 2014 - Exology Chapter 1: The Lost Planet
- 2017 - EXO PLANET #3-The EXO'rDIUM[dot]
Japanese Release
- Studio Albums
- 2018 - Countdown
- Mini Albums
- 2015 - Love Me Right ~Romantic Universe~
- 2016 - Coming Over
Singles
- 2012 - What is Love
- 2012 - History
- 2014 - December, 2014 (The Winter's Tale)
- 2015 - Lightsaber
- 2015 - Unfair
- 2016 - Monster [LDN Noise Creeper Bass Remix]
- 2016 - Dancing King feat. Yoo Jae Suk
- 2017 - Power [R3hab remix] (for SM Station)
Singles
Suho
- See Suho
Lay
- See Lay
Baekhyun
- See Baekhyun
Chen
- See Chen
Chanyeol
Singles
- 2015 - Who I am
- 2015 - Last Hunter (Theme song of Law Of The Jungle)
- 2015 - Young Street Logo Song (Young Street Logo commercial)
- 2016 - You Are
- 2016 - I Hate You (duet with Yuan Shan Shan, OST of So I Married An Anti Fan)
- 2016 - Freal Luv (Collaboration with Far East Movement and Marshmellow)
- 2016 - Moon
- 2016 - Stay With Me (Duet with Punch, OST of Guardian: The Lonely and Great God)
- 2017 - Let Me Love You (Duet with Junggigo)
- 2017 - Hand
- 2018 - We Young (duet with Sehun, for SM Station)
- 2019 - SSFW (For SM Station)
- 2021 - Tomorrow
D.O.
- See Do Kyungsoo
Kai
Singles
- 2015 - Beautiful Goodbye
- 2017 - I See You
- 2020 - KAI (开)
- 2021 - Peaches
- 2023 - Rover
Sehun
Singles
- 2017 - A Go
- 2018 - We Young (duet with Chanyeol, for SM Station)
Filmography
Suho
- See Suho
- See Lay
- See Baekhyun
- 2008 - Things I Will Do Even If Regretted(literal translation), as one of the gang (cameo)
- 2008 - High Kick!, as one of the delinquents (cameo)
- 2013 - Royal Villa, as one of the popular university boys (cameo)
- 2017 - Missing 9, as Li Yeol (supporting character)
- 2018 - Memories of the Alhambra, as Jung Se-Ju (supporting main character)
- See Do Kyungsoo
- 2017/2018 - Andante, as Lee Shi-kyung (main character)
- 2018 - Spring Has Come, as Lee Ji-won (main character)
- 2018 - The Miracle We Met, as Ato (supporting character)
- 2013 - Royal Villa, as one of the popular university boys (cameo)
- 2016 - Seondal: The Man Who Sells the River, as Gyeon-I (supporting main character)
- See Suho
- See Lay
- 2015 - Salut d'Amour, as Min-sung (supporting character)
- 2016 - So I Marry An Anti-Fan, as Hoo Joon/Hou Zhun (main character)
- See Do Kyungsoo
- TBA - Catman, as Liang Qu (main character)
- 2015 - EXO Next Door, as himself (supporting character)
- 2015/2016 - Falling For Challenge, as Na Do-jeon (main character)
- See Suho
- See Lay
- See Baekhyun
- See Chen
- 2015 - EXO Next Door, as himself (supporting character)
- 2015 - EXO Next Door, as himself (main character)
- 2018 - Secret Queen Makers, as himself (one of the main characters)
- See Do Kyungsoo
- 2015 - EXO Next Door, as himself (supporting character)
- 2015/2016 - Choco Bank, as Kim Eun-haeng (main character)
- 2016 - First Seven Kisses, as Himself (one of main characters)
- 2015 - EXO Next Door, as himself (main character)
- 2018 - Secret Queen Makers, as himself (one of the main characters)
- TBA - Dear Archimedes, as Yan Su (main character)
- 2018 - Dok Go Rewind, as Kang Hyuk (main character)
Tropes relating to EXO-CBX and EXO-SC can be found on their respective pages. Tropes relating to the members' solo works can be found on their respective pages (Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, D.O.).
EXO provides examples of the following tropes:
. In short, if it's not related to their fictionalized personas, it should not be added.- Animal Motif: They all have an official one confirmed in Exordium dot.
- Xiumin is a cat.
- Suho is a rabbit.
- Lay is a sheep. He even released a Boastful Rap declaring himself as the sheep. His original motif in MAMA MV is an unicorn. In "Go Fighting!" he is also referred to as a little fox. With the release of his song "Honey", he is now associated with a bee.
- Baekhyun is a flying squirrel. He is often compared with a puppy (particularly a Corgi) by fans due to his looks and hyperactive personality.
- Chen is a dinosaur. Some fans compared him to a cat.
- Chanyeol is a white tiger. Like Baekhyun, he is also compared to a puppy by fans. His original motif in MAMA is a phoenix.
- D.O. is a penguin.
- Kai is a bear.
- Sehun is a wolf. Some compared him to a baby bird or chick.
- Lu Han is compared to a deer. Bonus points because his name means "deer of the dawn" in Chinese. He refers to himself as the deer in his solo work.
- Kris's motif in MAMA is a dragon.
- Tao is often compared to a panda because of his eyes, and he calls himself "Kung Fu Panda".
- Arc Number: There's 88 for WOLF.
- Boy Band: One of the most popular examples in Korean Pop Music.
- Catchphrase:
- "We are one" and "사랑하자" (meaning "let's love").
- Suho usually ends events with "지금까지 엑소 였습니다" ("Up until now, this has been EXO!").
- Lay's personal motto and catchphrase is "努力努力再努力" ("Work hard, work hard, and work harder"). This is included in his solo song SHEEP's lyrics and is his display name on Weibo.
- Lay also has a specific way of saying aiyowei (a Chinese expression for shock or surprise).
- Lay also has his golden advice for the trainees in "Idol Producer": BALANCE.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience:
- EXO's official color is silver, or as some called, cosmic latte.
- Purple for Lay as a soloist.
- In CBX promotions, Baekhyun is blue, Chen is green, and Xiumin is red.
- Power assigns everyone colors based on their individual superpower - Xiumin is cyan, Suho is blue, Baekhyun is white, Chen is yellow, Chanyeol is red, D.O. is purple, Kai is black and Sehun is green.
- Differently Powered Individual: 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. From oldest to youngest, their powers are:
- An Ice Person: Xiumin
- Mind over Matter / Telepathy: Lu Han
- Flight: Kris
- Making a Splash: Suho
- Healing Hands: Lay
- Light 'em Up: Baekhyun
- Shock and Awe: Chen
- Playing with Fire: Chanyeol
- Super-Strength / Dishing Out Dirt: D.O
- Time Master: Tao
- Teleportation: Kai
- Blow You Away: Sehun
- Evil Counterpart:
- 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 separate beings, with them participating in battles against each other in the Obsession music video, EXO describes them as the evil inside them and make comments such as "I'm going to turn into X-EXO".
- Flanderization: Their fans are experts at this in their fanfiction.
- Xiumin was stereotyped as a big eater until he lost an alarming amount of weight◊. Nowadays, it's no longer acceptable.
- Luhan is often feminized, much to his dismay.
- Kris is the snarky, aloof team Jerkass.
- Suho is called $uho for coming from a wealthy family.
- Lay is the Cloudcuckoolander. Also the ForgetFul Jones.
- Chen is a Deadpan Snarker and Troll for making many snide remarks (all in good fun, of course.)
- The beagle line (Baekhyun, Chen and Chanyeol) together is portray as mischief makers who play pranks on everyone.
- Tao is a narcissist who constantly takes photos of himself.
- Kai is a seductress who will sleep with just about anyone.
- Xiumin was stereotyped as a big eater until he lost an alarming amount of weight
- Fun with Acronyms:
- EXO-CBX, which stands for Chen Baekhyun Xiumin (often called ChenBaekXi for short), or as Chanyeol asserts, it can also stand for Chanyeol Baekhyun Xiumin.
- EXO-SC, which stands for Sehun and Chanyeol.
- The name "Lay" can be interpreted as "Look At Yixing." Additionally, his Instagram username of zyxzjs stands for Zhang Yi Xing (his real name) Zhang Jia Shuai (his birth name).
- Guyliner: The use of makeup of more outlandish makeup was more common in the group during their debut era, but they've mellowed out since then.
- Kaleidoscope Hair: During the Wolf promotions, especially, everyone's hairs were switching between all kinds of colours.
- Mr. Fanservice: Kai, and also Lay and Baekhyun to an extent. Very much so and acknowledged In-Universe, as they are often put in the center for group shots, have some of the longest amounts of full face shots in music videos, and in the case of Kai, has been dressed in some of the more revealing pieces of clothing like the infamous bare chested red suit in "Love Shot" and cropped tops in "Tempo" and "Obsession".
- Odd Name Out:
- Xiumin points out that compared to the members, his stage name is the longest in Korean (with three syllables; though Kris is written with three as well, it's easier to pronounce than Xiumin).
- On the other hand, Chen is the only one to have his stage name in one Korean/Chinese syllable.
- D.O. is the only member to use an acronym for a stage name, and it's the only one to be almost always written in English (Kris is usually written as 크리스).
- Luhan is the only member to have his birth name (which is Han) in one syllable.
- Reality Show:
- They got their own show, conveniently named EXO's Showtime!
- Later, they had EXO 90:2014, alternately named "K-Pop Time Slip".
- In 2017, they have a show on Vlive+ called "EXO Tourgram".
- The show Travel the World on EXO's Ladder season 1 and 2 will be aired in 2018.
- Stage Names: 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.
- Unicorn: Lay's original Animal Motif.
- You Are Number 6: Each member is associated to a specific number: 99 (Xiumin), 7 (Luhan), 00 (Kris), 1 (Suho), 10 (Lay), 4 (Baekhyun), 21 (Chen), 61 (Chanyeol), 12 (D.O.), 68 (Tao), 88 (Kai), and 94 (Sehun).
- Abandoned Warehouse: Their Growl music video looks like it's being shot in this.
- Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: The primary setting for their Power music video takes place on a vividly blue and purple planet complete with 80s-style motifs.
- Animated Music Video:
- The introduction of their MAMA music video.
- Again in Power.
- Anti-Climax: In their Lightsaber MV, we see Kai, Sehun, and Baekhyun acting cool with their lightsaber, Kai waving lightsaber in the hallway with the music building up. Then the song ends and the hallway turns empty.
- Artistic License – Space: What is Love MV. You can't watch a solar eclipse directly like that. Sehun and Chen didn't learn from that and made the same mistake in their Pathcode teasers.
- Audience Participation: EXODUS' Pathcode teasers, with hints available from the official Pathcode twitter account. Analysis were rampant such as this one.
- Audience Participation Song: Drop That.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Shown here, about two and a half minutes in.
- Bilingual Bonus: You could learn that "Comet is Appearing in 10 cities in the world"◊ from Tao's pathcode teaser if you know Spanish.
- Catholic Schoolgirls Rule: Gender-inverted examples.
- The Growl music video.
- Their stylists have been dressing them in these for a while.◊
- Also the official posters◊ for Growl.
- The Growl
- Christmas Songs: Miracles in December and For Life contain Christmas-themed music. Also The Winter's Tale.
- Classical Elements: In "Love, Love, Love" the group sings "You're my Earth, Air, Water, Fire" in reference to the four classical elements as the basic components of all matter and life to essentially say "You're my everything."
- Cool Car: A white Lamborghini and red Ferrari in their Call Me Baby MV, and a vintage red Mercedes-Benz in the Ko Ko Bop MV.
- Cover Version:
- SM bought the song "Eternally Lost" by J. Lewis. This eventually became "Angel/Into Your World".
- The same case happened with Let Out The Beast, as it was originally an English song by Beast Mode.
- SM bought the song "Eternally Lost"
- Dubstep: Their music in the Ko Ko Bop and Monster era was influenced by the genre.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: London Eye in Kai's Pathcode teaser.
- Escaped From The Hospital: What the video for Lucky One is all about.
- Fairytale Motifs: Both fairy tale and fantasy motifs appear a lot as themes or references in their music, including but not exclusive to El Dorado, Black Pearl, Baby Don't Cry, and Peter Pan.
- Fantastic Romance: A lot of their songs are implying this including Don't Go (with a butterfly girl), Baby Don't Cry (them singing from the prince's POV), Wolf (the Korean title is even Wolf and The Beauty), also Paranormal Romance in Angel (them as an angel loving normal girl they protect).
- Genre Roulette: EXO's music spans a rather wide variety of genres, ranging from standard teen pop and R&B to hip hop, baroque pop, harsh Electronic Music and the occasional ballad.
- A Glass of Chianti: Chen is seen with this in the Lotto music video.
- Gratuitous English: Most of, if not all their songs, will have at least one English line.
- "Careless, careless, shoot anonymous, anonymous. Heartless, mindless, no one who care about me..."
- The very popular "Shawty imma party til the sun down" from Love Me Right.
- "Time's wasting girl" and "never don't mind about a thing" from CALL ME BABY.
- "Honestly you da true, body talk when you move" from Sign.
- Hotter and Sexier: Lay's mini album Honey and Baekhyun's debut mini album City Lights in comparison to Chen's debut mini album April, and a flower, the latter which came out around four months earlier than the first two.
- Ice Queen: The love interest of their song Machine, an Emotionless Girl with perfect beauty, doll-like feature, and cold smile.
- Image Song: The tracks (and specific lyrics) from the 5th album Don't Mess Up My Tempo each correspond to a specific member and his powers:
- Xiumin has 24/7, a song about the singer's love interest becoming an Ice Queen to him after an argument/breakup.
- Suho has Oasis, a song about finding an oasis after a long and tiring journey.
- Lay has Smile on My Face (though he didn't participate in the song), a song about healing and moving on from a breakup.
- Baekhyun has With You, a song about falling in love with someone who fills the singer's words with light.
- Chen has ''Damage: "It’s all your fault that the damage grew, you set off my flares."
- Chanyeol has Sign: "It might set off a firework that will burn it all down" and "the fire spreading in a way we can’t stop"
- D.O has Gravity: "My heart will always draw you in like gravity."
- Kai has Ooh La La La, a song about the singer trying to approach and get closer to his love interest.
- Sehun has Bad Dream: "This nerve-wracking silence; you blow in on it at some point, at some point."
- Just Friends: A theme of their song My Lady, also appeared in Tender Love.
- Korean Honorifics: For the Obsession promotions, EXO speak in formal Korean while X-EXO speak in informal Korean.
- Lighter and Softer: Growl isn't as harsh and loud as previous songs.
- Limited Wardrobe: X-EXO's other◊ outfits are just palette swaps of their main outfits◊.
- Location Song: El Dorado is about the singer looking for El Dorado.
- Love Is a Drug: Overdose, as the title say, equating love with overdosing.
- Lucky Charms Name: The X-EXO members are listed as Suhø, Baëkhyun, Chën, Chanyeøl, Kāi, and Sehůn.
- Lyrical Dissonance: Happens extremely frequently, but is most obvious in The Eve from their album The War. The English demo is overtly sexual, but the final Korean version is about wanting to work out a troubled relationship. Then there's the choreography...
- Lyrics/Video Mismatch: MAMA's lyrics are pretty symbolic, about people losing contacts and love with each other, while the MV is mostly about the group showcasing their elemental powers.
- Manly Tears: Chanyeol and Tao in Miracles in December.
- The Maze: Their logo for Overdose, also appearing in the MV.
- The hospital in Lucky One is also shaped like one.
- Merchandise-Driven: EXO-K's song for the Samsung ATIV Smart PC.
- Metal Scream: MAMA in both versions:
- Kai in the Korean version.
- Kris and Xiumin in the Chinese version.
- Kai
- Money to Burn: Quite funny that Suho is the one burning a pile of money in their Lotto music video.
- Nonuniform Uniform: Their Growl era costumes are basically personalised school uniforms, from sleeveless jackets, neckties/no neckties and inside shirts.
- Onomatopoeia: From the songs Growl and Wolf; it's right in the titles.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Wolf is all about being a werewolf in love with a beautiful girl. In the Drama version of the music videos for both Wolf and Growl, we can see that being a werewolf in EXO entails having an exotic white hair colour, a cool tattoo on your arm, glowing red eyes at certain times, and no transformation (although the usual werewolf aspects of super-strength are still there).
- Playing with Syringes: The nurses in Lucky One injected mysterious black substance in their IVs.
- Pixellation: Done a few times in their Monster music video for aesthetic effects.
- Product Placement: Samsung Level headset in Call Me Baby, Samsung phones and headsets in Pathcode teasers. Maybe because they have a tie-in with Samsung.
- Sequel Song: My Turn to Cry is the prince version of Baby Don't Cry.
- Shirtless Scene: The Let Out the Beast VCR in The Lost Planet concert.
- Sixth Ranger: After Kris's and Luhan's departure, D.O. and Baekhyun are featured in some of EXO-M's songs.
- Shout-Out
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in Love Me Right. Analysis is here.
- There's also a Murakami reference◊ in the same MV. It's the quote on the wall reading "that's what this storm's all about."
- Lightsaber, considering the Star Wars tie-in, doesn't have a lot of shout outs. Started from Darth Vader breathing in the song, lightsabers in Baekhyun's, Kai's and Sehun's hands , 'Jedi Only', 'May the Force', 'Security Notice: Concealed Sabers are Prohibited in This Facility' signs in the MV
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in Love Me Right. Analysis is here
- Sigil Spam: A lot of their MAMA era costumes incorporate their logo somewhere. Logos also appeared on kites and caravan in What is Love MV.
- Singer Name Drop: The "E-X-O" in Growl and Overdose, as well as the "EXO" in Two Moons''.
- Lately the "E-X-O" came back in Call Me Baby.
- There's a subtle one in XOXO.
- Also appeared in Drop That, "JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! E X O".
- Space Whale: On the cover of their second winter special EP, Sing for You◊.
- Stock Sound Effects: There are lot of cha-ching!s in Lotto.
- SWAT Team: SWAT-like team appeared in Monster, upped up with their Lotto where the SWAT-like team have uniform with SWAT written on their backs.
- Total Eclipse of the Plot: In What is Love. Also appeared in Pathcode teasers and later again in Total Eclipse teaser. A big theme of the group.
- Translated Cover Version:
- For singles and mini albums, EXO-K and EXO-M sing in Korean and Mandarin, respectively.
- The first four albums have two versions: Korean and Mandarin. Due to Lay's absence leaving EXO-M with two active members, the fifth album and repackage only have the title tracks Tempo and Love Shot in Mandarin (with Lay only participating in Tempo). After Xiumin enlisted, leaving Chen as the only active EXO-M member, the sixth album only contains the title track Obsession in Chinese, with the vocals of the six promoting EXO members.
- LOVE ME RIGHT is the only title song with three versions: Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. The promotional single Lightsaber has Korean, Chinese, and Japanese versions.
- LOVE ME RIGHT's B-single Drop That has a Korean version.
- D.O. performed an English cover of For Life.
- Chanyeol's SSFW has Korean, Chinese, and Japanese versions.
- Vanity License Plate: The plates on the cars in the Call Me Baby MV read Tao, Kai, El Dorado, and EXO 12.
- You Are Number 6: The jersey numbers in Love Me Right, the chokers in Monster and Lucky One, and the case sightings in OBSESSION label the members with their specific number.
Tropes found in the variety shows:
Tropes for Travel the World on EXO's Ladder can be found on its own page.
The first season of the show "Showtime", EXO's Showtime is a reality TV show that allows the fans to see behind-the-scenes of EXO's daily lives and how they act offstage.
EXO's Showtime provides examples of the following tropes:
- Birthday Episode: Episode 3 (Chanyeol's birthday) and episode 11 (D.O.'s birthday).
- Catchphrase: "EXO's Showtime!"
- Haunted House: The members visit one in episode 10.
- Manly Tears: Shown in the fourth episode, where the members watched Miracle in Cell No. 7. Even Xiumin, who rarely cries, shed tears as he was watching. The only exception is Lay, who slept throughout the entire movie.
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Missing Episode: A lot of members' parts are cut due to editing restrictions, such as the drivers' license team or the rap line practice.- Chanyeol and Kai were edited from the the Haunted House episode, and people assumed it was because they swore a lot. In a different broadcast 7 years later, Chanyeol explains it was because they took the wrong path through the haunted house, going into random places like in between the wooden boards, and bumped into the staff who were getting ready.
- New Year's Resolution: In episode 8, the members go out to do things that will help them achieve their goals in 2014. Over dinner, the members discuss goals they have for the new year of 2014. Afterwards, some split off into groups to engage in activities related to their goals. Xiumin and Chen take a coffee making lesson; Kai and Sehun learn how to perform a tea ceremony and write calligraphy; while Chanyeol, Suho, Kris, and Tao exercise and replicate moves with a martial arts instructor.
- Room Escape Game: Present in episode 11, where all twelve members were isolated in separate karaoke rooms. The purpose was to test EXO's "telepathy skills," thus the goal is for all members to give the same answer.
- Set Behind the Scenes: Episode 9 shows the boys preparing for their upcoming concert.
- Show Within a Show: Baekhyun and D.O.'s talk show, which appears in episodes 6 and 12.
- Slice of Life: Episode 2, which focused on what the members do when they have free time. Kris, Tao, Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Sehun go window shopping and try different Korean traditional food; Xiumin, Lay, Chen and Luhan go biking at the Han River; D.O. watches a movie alone; and Kai and Suho go out for a walk with Kai's dogs.
- The Stoic: Kris always tries to act like one only to fail.
- The Quiet One:
- Xiumin's New Years' Resolution is to be able to talk more. A segment in the last episode is dedicated to letting him talk.
- The members point out that D.O.'s improvement as a result of filming the show was that he would now talk during interviews.
- Surprise Party: The member's plan one for Chanyeol's birthday in episode 11.
EXO's first personal reality program, Heart4U: EXO's Relay Video Records (Korean: 심포유 - EXO의 릴레이 영상 기록기'') is a reality series that closely records the daily life that each member wants to share with their fans. The first season's promotional material includes Lay in the lineup, however, he was removed in the second season onwards.
The first season follows Xiumin's daily life, including his housewarming party and trips with friends, filmed before his enlistment in the Korean military. Besides the EXO members, his non-celebrity friends are featured in the show.
Xiumin passes the baton to the next member, who he chose because said member appeared at the Heart4U filming afterparty. The second season is Chen's national busking tour before the release of his second mini album Dear my dear. Many Korean singers are featured as his guests as he travels to Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, and Seoul.
For some reason, Chen doesn't pass the baton to the next member, and Suho introduces himself as the third member to participate in the series. The season shows Suho's preparations for his first solo album Self-Portrait and moments spent with the other members (and their manager), also before his mandatory enlistment.
Chanyeol is the fourth member to participate in the series. The season focuses on his summer camping trip where he would enjoy getting in touch with nature.
After V Live shut down and merged with Weverse at the end of 2022, the future of the program remains in limbo.
Heart4U provides examples of the following tropes:
- Competition Freak: Chanyeol. In the first season, he was about to leave for a different recording but came back upon hearing that the members are going to play the "frying pan game". In the third season, Suho and Chanyeol (and later Sehun) compete for prizes that varied from an air fryer to a snack coupon.
- Camping Episode: Suho goes camping with Chanyeol and Sehun in the third season.
- Fancy Camping: The aforementioned Camping Episode isn't going outside to form a bonfire and sleep in tents: it's to play games and sleep in small air-conditioned and furnished huts/houses. They originally planned for a bonfire, but it rained so they weren't able to do it.
- Fortune Teller: Xiumin visits one with his friends, and he asks about things in their life such as their health, careers, and about love. Xiumin then takes the opportunity to test his compatibility and relationship with leader Suho.
- Gratuitous English: Xiumin frequently uses the expression "Oh my god" and "ddaengkyu".
- There's also "I can do it. You can do it. We can do it."
- Guest Host: Suho leaves for a moment, and Chanyeol and Sehun have already claimed the show as their own.
- Korean Honorifics: Fans ask Xiumin to test on the lie detector whether he wants Suho to call him hyung or not.Xiumin: Do I want Suho to treat me like an older brother? No, we're friends. We're friends. My friend, my leader. I would never lie about that. (lie detector goes off) I think this is broken...
- Lovable Jock: Xiumin's sports abilities are showcased in a soccer game with his friends.
- Neat Freak: Xiumin is frequently shown cleaning, and some extra clips are dedicated to him showing how to fold clothes and make the bed.
- Otaku: Xiumin's friends recall that during their school days, he liked watching anime and playing Pokémon. Xiumin says he still does, and that the other members tell him to act his age.
- In one of the paid episodes, Xiumin buys anime figures to display in his living room.
- Set Behind the Scenes: The first episodes of the third season feature Suho's preparations for his first solo album Self-Portrait, including not just the photoshoots and music video filming, but also the concept meetings and lyric-writing.
- Singer-Songwriter: Chen had written the lyrics for his song Beautiful, which was specifically written by Jo Jungchi as a memento of their tour.
- Slice of Life: The main purpose of the broadcast is to showcase EXO members' daily lives. Xiumin's episodes were focused on his new house and him hanging out with his non-celebrity friends.
- Travelogue Show: The whole second season is dedicated to Chen's busking tour in Korea.
