Seeing EXO's Achievements For 8 Years In The Korean Entertainment Industry

JAKARTA - Today, Wednesday, April 8, EXO-L (as EXO fans) celebrates eight years of EXO group's debut in the South Korean entertainment industry. Formed in 2012, EXO shows potential as a top group. Evidently, entering its eighth year, EXO still made a number of achievements that confirmed them as a group of legends in the third phase.

Consisting of Xiumin, Baekhyun, Lay, Chen, Chanyeol, Sehun, DO, Suho, and Kai, countless achievements have been achieved by this group. For five consecutive years, Forbes Korea has named EXO as the group with the biggest influence in South Korea. Apart from having a good career, they are known to have various concepts that are different from most groups.

In 2013, EXO released their first album XOXO which named Growl as a single song. The positive response received was so great that it affected the sales of this album. At that time music sales in physical form were low, but EXO's presence made them the first biggest selling artist after 12 years in South Korea.

The sales soared even more when pre-purchases for EXO's next work reached over one million copies. EXO was also nicknamed Quadruple Million Sellers because it succeeded in increasing the enthusiasm of EXO-L who awaited each of their comeback works.

Not only in their home country, EXO began to penetrate the international world when Power was chosen to be the first Korean song to be played at The Dubai Fountain in Burj Khalifa, Dubai. The song was chosen because it contains an uplifting element and fits the philosophy of this systemic fountain.

They also had the opportunity to perform the song Power at the closing of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. One of the members, Baekhyun, even sang the South Korean national anthem at the opening 100 days before this winter's multi-event sports party. In addition, EXO is also part of the promotion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens by releasing a song called Lightsaber.

Not only are they popular with the agency's name, EXO members have varied sound qualities so that they are suitable to be aligned with various magical concepts that are actually trending. Among them are Tempo songs that include acapella elements, Ko Ko Bop with its EDM reggae, and most recently Obsession with its hip hop.

Producer Harvey Mason Jr. once said, EXO is like a color that can be used for anything. "They can sing, they can dance, they have energy… like a painter has all the colors to draw," said Mason Jr. Meanwhile, Billboard said EXO had a 90s rhythm sound that had hip-hop and R&B nuances.

Lately, EXO has rarely existed. The members mostly carry out their own activities, such as Xiumin and DO, who started their mandatory military service since 2019. In addition, Lay is busy with a career in China. Chanyeol and his friends are working on a YouTube channel called NNG. Baekhyun and Kai exist with SuperM, and Suho has just released his first solo album titled Self Portrait and will hold an Online Fanmeeting.

The 8th anniversary of EXO was marked by trending topics # EXO8thAnniversary and # 8YearsWithEXO on Twitter. Congratulations on celebrating your 8th year, EXO!