The Korean wave has finally reached the Indian shores in a big way, when the 6 member boy band group IN2IT (also known as IN2ITXION) performed in Mumbai, Faridabad, New Delhi in April (15^th, 18^th and 19^th April) this year holding their first tour in India. Hopefully many more will follow.

According to a report on a music website, Korean culture has already garnered a fandom of over 60,000 registered fans. According to the Korean Culture Centre in Delhi and a potential audience of over 12 million youth (according to Facebook Ad) but this uber-organized fandom is already alive and well in WhatsApp chat rooms, on Instagram, and on Twitter.

It’s not just the millennials who seem hooked on the cutting-edge colourful music videos of these teenage boys.  Early this year, Indian fans urged film director Karan Johar to seek out K-pop group EXO’s Kai at a Gucci show in Paris. Although neither knew each other, the selfie instantly blew up on Instagram and Twitter across India. Other Bollywood actors (and their children) are also reportedly piqued by South Korea’s music groups with their stunning choreography and dynamic danceable vibes. In February of this year, INOX theatres screened a concert film by globally acclaimed K-pop A-lister BTS on two days in 88 cinemas across the country. K-pop fans inundated theatres with flash mobs, fan chants and thank you gifts and letters for INOX.

With many K pop bands joining the fray, Korean pop band BTS is getting some stiff competition it seems from another K pop band that is making waves all over the world. This band is no new entrant in the world of music and considering that the nine member band EXO was nominated in the Top Social Artist category at the recently held Billboard Music Awards in The Garden Arena Las Vegas alongside BTS, GOT7, Ariana Grande and One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, it is only a matter of time before EXO emerge top favorites at music awards in the future.

Though BTS took home the award, despite coming onto the music scene two years after EXO had grounded themselves, the band probably had a spark that ignited for them to be winner. To each his own, it is wondrous how a seven member band and a nine member band can make music that gets teenage girls falling at their feet.

South Korean K-pop boy band EXO perform melodic, dance-oriented pop music influenced by hip-hop and R&B. Formed in 2011 by S.M. Entertainment producer Lee Soo-Man, the band originally consisted of 12 members divided into two subgroups, namely EXO –K and EXO-M. It was Lee Soo Man’s idea of a boy group from China and South Korea, divided into sub-groups which would promote in different places at the same time, mainly their homelands, as well as record the same songs in both Chinese and Korean for the specified market.

Although they record the same music, EXO-K focus on playing in South Korea, hence the K for Korea and feature the members Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun. Suho is the leader of the group EXO, as well as the subgroup EXO-K. He is also the oldest in EXO-K.

EXO-M on the other hand specialize in performing in China for a largely Mandarin-speaking audience, hence the M for Mandarin (Chinese). The members include Xiumin, Lay, and Chen. EXO-M also has an official subgroup, EXO-CBX which was formed in 2016 by the trio of Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin.

The name EXO comes from the word “exoplanet” and stands for the idea that members are new humans from an unknown world. The group had 12 members at first, but it has now 9 members because of the withdrawal of three Chinese members.

Concentrating on the main band EXO, we have Xiu Min, Su Ho, Lay, Baek Hyun, Chen, Chan Yeol, D.O, Kai and Se Hun. Since the announcement by Lee Soo-Man, youngsters were awaiting for a band to relate to when the group that came to be known as EXO finally debuted on 8^th April 2012. Lee Soo-Man released over a dozen teaser videos in the market to create a wave of anticipation for a band that would rule the music waves; the three-month gap between the first release of the teaser and the debut was for a 100 days global promotion, a strategy of the agency to let people of the world know the name.

In 2012, EXO released several singles including What Is Love, History, and the ‘Mama’ EP. In May of 2013, EXO released their full-length debut album titled ‘XOXO’. Both the Korean-language Kiss and Mandarin Hug versions peaked at the top of the Billboard World Album chart upon release. The title single for the album was Wolf, and while the album itself was promoted only in South Korea, both versions of the album peaked at number 1. ‘XOXO’ was re-released in August 2013, titled Growl with a few new tracks added. Growl reached the top of all Korean single charts, and ‘XOXO’ was voted as the Album of the Year, making EXO the first K-pop group to sell over 1 million album copies in 12 years.

The band recorded a show “EXO Showtime”, through which they promoted their new EP a mini album title ‘Miracles’ which was also came to be known as ‘Miracles in December’ in 2013.

Their third EP, ‘Overdose’ arrived in 2014 and broke into the Billboard 200, making EXO the highest-charting male K-pop group to date. The album was pre-ordered for 660 000 copies, the most pre-orders in history.

Unfortunately that same year, Kris who auditioned in 2008 at a global SM Entertainment audition in Canada, before moving to South Korea for training and then joining the group decided to leave. His departure set the tone for Luhan a founding member in EXO who also left. Luhan was scouted by an SM Entertainment representative in Seoul and passed his audition and was inducted into the group. EXO was now left with ten members. The duo both Chinese members sued the label for numerous violations of contracts and general human rights.

The ten-piece group continued, bringing out another solid album ‘Exodus’ in 2015. The award-winning album topped the charts in Korea and the U.S., while also entering the Canadian charts, the first K-pop group to do so. The title track of the album Call me baby had the most views on YouTube during the whole first half of 2015 and by the end of the year the album sold over a million copies and was named the album of the year. Soon after this grand success, Tao became the third member to part ways with EXO, leaving the band with nine members as it stands today. Tao and his father sued SM Entertainment for mistreatment, which ended up in Tao’s permanent departure from the group, as well as the label. With the third member departure from the band, rumors were afloat that the members might have not been comfortable being confined to a contract as EXO and wanted to explore music on their own.

With three members off the roster, in 2015, EXO debuted in Japan. They recorded a song for the Korean premiere of the new Star Wars sequel and had an international tour when they performed a three-day live event called “Exo’luxion” at the Tokyo Dome. Now Tokyo Dome is usually reserved for groups with longer-running careers, with EXO playing there, they broke a record for performing shortly after their debut, and for three consecutive days in front of around 150 000 people.

Today all nine EXO members also maintain solo careers in fields including music, film, drama and television, thus showcasing a part of themselves that fans may not be aware of.

With a nine many army, the group continued its album promotion for ‘Exodus’ and soon released its first Japanese single, a re-recorded version of Love Me Right and the Japanese original Drop That. Before the end of 2016, EXO released their fourth EP ‘Sing for you’. With management team support, they extended the album promotion to North America with a brief tour of the U.S. and Canada in February 2016.

The same month, EXO went on a North American tour, a part of “Exo’luxion”, and visited Los Angeles, Vancouver, Dallas, New Jersey and Chicago; they were voted as the most powerful celebrities of 2015 by Forbes Korea magazine.

With overall success knocking on their door, ‘EX’ACT’ their third full-length album arrived that summer, with their fifth EP ‘For Life’ released in December. The album topped the United World Chart, breaking the record at over 520 000 sold singles within a week; the title track Monster topped the Billboard Chart in the U.S, as well as the iTunes chart in 7 different countries around the world.

Within no time they had lots more songs up their sleeve and soon dropped their fourth album ‘The War’ in the summer of 2017, topping Korean and U.S. World Albums charts once again.

The group made its Japan album debut in early 2018 with a full length Japanese album ‘Countdown’ comprising previously released tracks and new songs like Electric Kiss. A month later, they performed at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang. By year end, the group scored its first hit on the U.S. charts, as their fifth album ‘Don’t Mess up my Tempo’ debuted just outside the Top 20 on the Billboard 200.

With a career spanning over 9 years and success coming every step of the way, EXO have won numerous awards in South Korea and internationally. On 14^th June, 2013, the band earned their first-ever music show win, with the single Wolf on Korea's Music Bank. Music Bank is a weekly television show in South Korea and China that award the artist with the most popular song in the country based on digital chart performance, album sales and social media popularity. EXO hold the record for the most music show wins for a single song, with 18 wins for their single Call Me Baby released in 2015.

EXO have also received 23 Daesang awards from various year-end award shows. In South Korea's music industry, a Daesang award is the "grand prize" of an award ceremony. They were also honored with a Prime Minister Commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards, an honor bestowed in recognition of public service and/or excellence in a given field.

With BTS and EXO flying all over the world, we hope they make plans to visit India and hold concerts for their ever growing fans.

By Verus Ferreira