130614 - SM Idol EXO “When we see Girls Generation seniors, our hearts flutter”     12 member boy group EXO (EXO, Kai · Luhan · Tao · Chen · Sehun · Lay · Xiumin · Baekhyun · D.O · Suho · Kris · Chanyeol) was one  of the few rookie ‘survivors’ from last year’s music world. Out of the fifty rookie boy idols that came out last year, the ones that released a new album this year can be counted with five fingers. It is the same as breaking through a low survival rate of 1/10. They didn’t just succeed in simply surviving. They got the judgement of perfectly incarnating SMP (SM Performance) by representing singers that are thick with strong performance and sociality. They swept the rookie awards at end of the year · beginning of the year music awards as the successors of SM idols after Dongbangshingi · Super Junior.  

Split into EXO-K, which is composed of all Korean members, and EXO-M, which is composed of selected Chinese members, the plan to attack the Korean·Chinese industry simultaneously is judged to be a high success factor. They were able to rise as a group that the Asian industry focuses on because they became an issue simultaneously in the Asian music industry’s center, Korea and China.

 

EXO K and M, whom are dreaming of a one step higher jump, have started activities as a whole with both teams tied together. In the new album ‘XOXO,’ their potential, remaining intact, was revealed. In just one week after release, record sales broke through 120,000 albums. In the title song, ‘Wolf and Beauty,’ the performance is as if seeing a musical and with the expressiveness, it is gaining the judgement of opening a new chapter of idol performances. We met with EXO, the leading roles of the future of Hallyu that is gaining more anticipation for next year than this year.

 

-It is 2 years in your debut. Do you feel your popularity.

“My parents or my friends often say ‘You guys have popularity now.’ The public that sings along to our songs also has increased. The record sales was also really good, and although it was only for a short time, we got first place on the music charts too. Now, even if they don’t know our individual members, I’m happy that there are more people that recognize our team.” (Suho)

 

“They said that it’s to the degree that even if our fans come to the public broadcasts, there aren’t enough seats so they cannot enter. Because we are sorry, after the broadcast we have a mini fan meeting, and now around 700 people come. If you compare it to when we debuted, it has increased a lot. There were fans that came wearing hanbok (t/n: traditional Korean clothes), and I also saw fans that came wearing wolf pajamas. I become extremely grateful when they pay attention to us like that.” (Chanyeol)

 

-After debuting last year, it took one year until the next promotions.

“We invested a lot of time in album recording and performance production in order to make an even better album. During that time, it felt as if we had become trainees all over again. Maybe it’s because of that, but it feels like we newly debuted.” (D.O)

 

-The choreography of ‘Wolf and Beauty’ is becoming a hot topic. What thoughts did you get after seeing the choreography gestures for the first time.

“It’s artistic. The dramatic choreography was extremely impressive. It seemed as if each gesture was alive. It was hard to express in detail from the wolf’s mouth to the wolf’s ears. It took some time to perfect if because the composition is diverse and the level of difficulty was high. Every time the choreographer got an idea the choreography would change and we would get in trouble because we got confused.” (Baekhyun)

 

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