The first page of their fateful history

‘EXOPLANET’. Have you ever heard of this unknown planet out of our solar planet? They were born from this place that only exists in our imagination and they of course all have superpowers and incredibly good looks. Moreover, only 60 days after their debut, their talents make it hard to believe they are only rookies. The unknown world they came from or their superpowers might be considered as nonsense but the more you look at them, the more you think their existence is different from the people here. There is definitely something special about EXO-K.



ABOUT EXO

ONE. 100 day-long debut promotion

After SHINee four years ago, ‘EXO’ is the first boygroup to debut under ‘SM Entertainment’, the company that produces Korea’s best idol groups. Even before their official debut through a showcase on March 31st, and without clear information about them, this group caused many to become curious about the team and the members. Starting with member ‘Kai’, they released 23 online teasers in order for 100 long days before revealing the truth. Their debut song ‘MAMA’ has been released both in Korean and Mandarin, both simultaneously promoting in both countries and also making it ground-breaking together… As expected, their debut received an explosive response both in Korea and China, making them known as extraordinary rookies.

TWO. 1ST Mini Album [MAMA]

EXO-K’s first mini-album was released on April 9th. Extraordinarily for a debut album, it came first on the ‘Hanteo Chart’, a ‘Korean Music Chart’ of the Korean site that totals the CD sales, a month after the release, receiving amazing results as they ‘Broke through selling 100,000 CDs’. This hot yet scary reaction speed towards EXO-K as a result shows them an even bigger number of possibilities, as they’re now on the starting blocks. They’re so unrivaled that we can’t even follow their moves and we can only call them ‘Supersized Monster Rookies’.

THREE. ‘EXO, let’s love!”

They don’t take the public and the fans’ love for granted and it’s a motto that means ‘Let’s become a group that shares rather than receives’. They’re warm men who never forget their chant “EXO, let’s love!” they shout before going up on stage while holding each another. It’s not a meaningless sentence as even before debut until now, they regularly did voluntary service and put in application of their ‘sharing spirit’, isn’t it obvious that the eyes looking towards EXO who are prettier than flowers and have even more beautiful hearts can only be full of love!
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Track 01. MAMA

It’s a song talking about the sadness of the absence of communication and the discord with reality modern men feel in a digital world, it’s also an emotional song as it expresses the feeling of hope to find an innocent love. EXO-K and EXO-M’s debut song have a Gregorian chant and the orchestra’s imposing sound that makes the mood even more mysterious and the sharpness of the synth and the guitar riff duing the dancebreak with the strong shouting’s powerful singing overwhelm the ear.

Track 02. What Is Love

It’s an R&B song with a sophisticated sound made by the worldwide famous producer Teddy Riley and the composer Yoo Youngjin. The electric guitar giving a vintage feeling lead the whole song with the simple drums and bass, the smooth sound of the synth that match it and stimulate the listeners’ sensibility. EXO-K’s members, D.O and Baekhyun sing the Korean version while EXO-M’s Chen and Luhan sing the Chinese one, the vocals are realling refreshing and the song has a dream-like atmosphere.

Track 03. HISTORY

The percussions and the fresh bouncing beats and melody link the song tightly and give it tension. It’s a light dance song made by Yoo Youngjin and the Danish composer Thomas Troelsen who is known to the Korean fans too thanks to DBSK’s ‘MIROTIC’, SHINee’s ‘Sherlock’ etc., it’s a song where we can feel EXO-K and EXO-M’s hope to make new history.

Track 04. 너의 세상으로 (Angel)

It’s a medium tempo ballad where we can feel EXO-K and EXO-M’s rich sensitivity, famous for producing the pop star Justin Bieber, Shinhyuk composed this song. It’s an R&B song with an unique touching melody line and a sophisticated piano tune that match the mysterious mood of the lyrical lyrics taking about an ‘angel’s innocent love’.

Track 05. 두 개의 달이 뜨는 밤 (Two Moons) feat. KEY (SHINee)

The strong heavy drum’s sound match the dynamic composition of the trendy crunk song, the Korean version is sang by EXO-K’s Chanyeol, Kai and Sehun while the Chinese version is sang by EXO-M’s Kris, Lay and Tao who are in charge of rapping and show a perfect harmony, SHINee’s member KEY participating in the featuring making it even fresher.

Track 06. MACHINE

As an addictive strong dance song that’s sharp while being groovy, it balances EXO-K’s powerful vocals with a heavy bass and a strong synthesizer’s sound. It’s composed by the German composer Albertsson, it’s different from standard dance song as it uses a robotic sound instead of conventional drum sounds. It’s even more interesting as it talks about a man’s peculiar imagination thinking “She’s not human, isn’t she a cyborg?” about a girl so perfect it’s hard to approach her.
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Suho
Birthdate : 1991. 5. 22
Blood Type : AB
Position : Leader, Sub Vocal
Speciality : Acting and Golf

The skilled leader Suho already gets called “Myunkael” (a nickname obtained by mixing his real name, Joonmyun and Mickael) thanks to his sacred looks. With his live skills being acknowledged after his seven long years of training and his gentle charisma that brings the members together, Suho had no other choice but to become EXO-K’s leader. Because he looks like every girl’s nice and warm romantic senior, he might be seen as a man who keeps his life on the straight and narrow all the time. Even though he is charming, Suho also has an unexpected simple minded side in certain situations. Nevertheless, knowing what a leader’s true role is and with his honest life, Suho never fails to show EXO-K’s bright elegance. 

Chanyeol
Birthdate : 1992. 11. 27
Psychic Powers : Flame
Blood Type : A
Position : Main Rapper
Speciality : Guitar, Drum, Bass and Djembe, Acting

Just with his smile, Chanyeol has the ability to spread the happy virus and make all the people around him happier. After watching him react with a bright smile that exposed his teeth and showed him using his facial muscles as well as his signature “multiple claps”, we understand why the fans call him a ‘personality pretty boy’. But no matter what, Chanyeol’s biggest charm is his “low voice” that generates an echo, which is the total opposite from his innocent and bright smile. Besides, his big eyes that can either express pureness or provocation turns Chanyeol into a completely different person whether he’s on or off stage.

D.O.
Birthdate : 1992. 1. 12
Blood Type : A
Psychic Powers : Earth
Position : Main Vocal
Speciality : Singing, Beat box

He is the one who unintentionally became a hot issue after his cute mistake (superior orchestra) during their first debut stage on [Inkigayo]. However if you were in the audience during the rehearsal, you can’t possible forget how D.O perfectly introduced their song! When you compare him to the other members, D.O’s physique is quite small but the powerfulness of his voice makes up for it. The sweet color of his voice that makes your ears melt and his live skills help him to express EXO-K’s music in a cooler way. Besides, thanks to his particularly clear and lovely eyes, D.O carries a charm that keeps you from detaching your eyes from him even if he is surrounded by the others members with strong personalities. From his lovable eyesmile to the cuteness he has had ever since he was in his mom’s womb, trying to pick one of the infinite D.O’s charms is entertaining. 

Baekhyun
Birth : 1992. 5. 6
Blood Type : O
Psychic Powers : Light
Position : Main Vocal
Speciality : Hapkido, Piano

Main vocal, aspiring entertainer, moodmaker, an endless number of nicknames for Baekhyun are still being made. If we think about it the other way around, it means that he has as many talents in as many various fields, and even better, many of those mean that he’s EXO-K’s ‘Rising Star’. Even while moving to other schedules, he has an impersonation parade with D.O and has the sense to make the other members laugh, even if it’s not intentional, Baekhyun knows a lot of ways to receive love. He even got the nickname ‘Mediocre Song Joongki’ (T/N: Mediocre as in it is a Song Joongki we can see in our daily lives) by the fans because he looks like the actor ‘Song Joongki’ but, if we went out right now in the street, we doubt that we could find someone so good looking. As a main vocal, Baekhyun’s voice color has a personality and his singing skills are painfully good, we recommend the 2nd track ‘What Is Love’ and the 4th track ‘너의 세상으로 (Angel)’ where his vocals are remarkable to understand these explanations.

Kai
Birthdate : 1994. 1. 14
Blood Type : A
Psychic Powers : Teleportation
Position : Man Dancer
Speciality : Dance (ballet, jazz, hip hop, popping, locking)

How many singers are capable to give a dramatic feeling with their dance are there? There is no other word but “art” to use to describe the god-given aptitude Kai possesses. When he gets on stage, his unique dreamlike gaze gets wild, you can see a dark aura coming from him. Moreover, if you look at his appearance capable to make a puppet of his fans, you would think he and the maknae Sehun do ‘oppa cosplay’. Even with his pokerface that gives a strong impression and makes it impossible to know what’s inside of him, this man is surprisingly famous for his breathtaking fan service. He makes eye contact with everyone in the audience on a regular basis and he doesn’t hesitate to express his affection with his cool and low voice that makes you want him to speak more. The best way to describe the charms of Kai, who makes his fans go through emotional breakdowns because he always exceeds their expectations, is “undefinable”.

Sehun
Birthdate : 1994. 4. 12
Blood Type : O
Psychic Powers : Wind
Position : Lead Dancer
Speciality : Dance, Acting

Even though he might seem cold at first, the maknae Sehun is in charge of the “ppuing ppuing” aegyo and is also the mischievous boy of the team. Usually, his eyesmile is so soft it makes you melt but on stage, he oozes manly force and make his many nuna fans lament deeply about the fact he is a ‘minor who is still a senior in high school’. With his handsome looks and perfect body that makes him look like the main character of a novel, Sehun’s dancing consists of precisely saving the keypoints of the dance and using the choreo’s story to show a graceful strength through fluid movements. Sehun’s talent to put his own color in his dancing regardless of the style is infinite, just how you can’t determine how deep the sea is because of how quiet it gets. 


Source: exofanclub.com
Translation Credit: saphira and emilie from exok-trans 

Here are some scans from Inkigayo's magazine!