On April 8th, fans around the world celebrated the 5 year anniversary of the Korean boy group EXO. It has been 5 years since they first debuted. EXO has been through its ups and downs throughout the years, with sweeping wins and members leaving. Through it all EXO has stayed strong and the remaining members are working harder than ever to continue creating quality music and performances for their fans. So to celebrate one of my favorite and first kpop groups, I've made a list of 50 facts about this awesome group to contribute to the festivities!
First, let's get some of the basic facts out of the way.
1. EXO was formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012 with 12 members.
2. When EXO debuted, they formed 2 subgroups: EXO-K (Korean) and EXO-M (Chinese). EXO-K sang in Korean while EXO-M sang in Mandarin.
EXO-K consisted of (from left to right) Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun, Suho, and Baekhyun:
EXO-M consisted of (from left to right) Tao, Xiumin, Chen, Luhan, Kris, and Lay:
3. Suho is the leader of EXO.
He is also referred to as the 'mom' of the group, with Kris being the dad. However, Kris left and now Suho is a single mom with too many children to take care of. Poor Suho. What a stressful job it must be dealing with his dumb children.
4. EXO has lost 3 members: Kris, Luhan, and Tao.
Kris and Luhan both left and filed lawsuits against S.M. Entertainment in 2014. Tao left and filed a lawsuit in 2015.
All fans as each member left:
5. In 2016, a new EXO subgroup called CBX debuted. Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin make up the group and debuted with their song "Hey Mama!".
And now on to some basic EXO member facts!
6. Xiumin is the oldest member at age 27 (born March 26, 1990), but he doesn't look like it! He has such a young face!
7. Fun Xiumin Fact! Xiumin wants to be a barista and open his own coffee shop in the future.
8. Luhan's name means "morning deer", which is why many fans call him a deer!
9. Although Luhan has left EXO and returned to China, he is maintaining a successful solo music career there.
Some of his solo career songs are "That Good Good", "Lu", "Skin to Skin", and "Your Song".
10. Kris was the leader of EXO-M before he left. He tries to act really cool and manly, but is really just a big dork.
Expectation:
Reality:
11. Fun Kris Fact! Kris lived in Vancouver, Canada as a child and he knows 4 languages: English, Chinese, Korean, and Cantonese.
12. Fun Suho Fact! The memory of the first time he cried on public TV when EXO got their first win still haunts him to this day.
Us fans love it though, so here it is in gif form again! (They are happy tears, I promise!)
13. Fun Lay Fact! Many fans jokes that he looks/acts high because of his slow reaction times and his facial features.
14. Lay is talented in many things despite how he may look sometimes. He is a great dancer, musician, composer, as well as a very hard worker.
15. Baekhyun is a main vocalist for the group.
He not only has many parts in EXO songs, but he has sang with other artists, for drama OSTs, and in the musical Singing In The Rain!
16. Chanyeol is nicknamed Happy Virus because his happiness and excitement is infectious. He has a huge laugh and loves having fun!
17. Fun Chanyeol and Baekhyun Fact! These two are closest to each other within EXO.
They are constantly joking around and messing with the other members. Their 'ship' name is Chanbaek and they are precious. #Friendgoals right here folks.
18. Chen has amazing arms, but even more amazing is his voice! This boy can sing!
Like, seriously, look at those arms though. They are works of art.
19. Fun Chen Fact! He loves pulling pranks on the other members and they call him the troll of the group.
20. D.O. is the member the rest of EXO knows not to mess with.
While he may be small, quiet, and generally a nice guy, he is a force to be reckoned with and the members know it. They still love him of course!
21. Fun D.O. Fact! He cooks for the members a lot.
He loves cooking so much that if he hadn't pursued kpop he would have wanted to be a chef.
22. Tao became a trainee at S.M. Entertainment in 2010 and was added to EXO in 2011, making him the member with the shortest trainee time period.
Because of this he said he had to work a lot harder in order to catch up.
23. Fun Tao Fact! He has been practicing martial arts since he was 8.
He has even won multiple first places in Wushu competitions.
24. Kai is great at completely switching his personality depending on whether he is on the stage or not.
Off stage he is an adorable puppy. On stage he is a dancing sex machine. He is the living embodiment of the saying "find a man that can do both".
Cute:
Sexy:
25. Fun Kai Fact! He has 3 dogs and loves them so much.
Their names are Jjang Ah, Mong Gu, and Jjang Gu.
26. Sehun is the maknae, or youngest, of the group at age 22 (born April 12, 1994).
He can be a very sassy maknae and likes to mess with the older members.
27. Fun Sehun Fact! Fans have a term for his butt, the "sebooty".
It is a magnificent booty.
And now for some fun random facts (about members and other things)!
28. EXO's fans are called EXO-Ls, which stands for EXO Love!
29. EXO made a song titled "Lightsaber" for the internationally known brand Star Wars.
The music video only had 3 members appear in it: Kai, Baekhyun, and Sehun.
30. EXO's most viewed music video on YouTube is "EXO-K 중독(Overdose) Music Video" with over 133 million views!
It's the one in the box....
31. EXO has a "Beagle Line", which consists of Chen, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol.
They are called the Beagle line because they are energetic, mischievous, and playful (just like beagle puppies).
32. EXO has catchphrases among its members and fans that have become inside jokes.
Kkaebsong, yehet/ohorat, and not my style are a few that have been added to EXO-Ls' vocabulary.
33. EXO has their own reality show called EXO's Showtime that ran from the end of 2013 into the beginning of 2014 for 12 episodes.
The show was meant to help fans get to know the many members. It is very fun to watch and a good way to learn their names!
34. EXO Thrusts are FATAL
Don't believe me? Then I'll give you evidence:
35. EXO members settle most arguments by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors.
36. Chanyeol was on a reality show called Roommates, where 11 Korean celebrities lived in the same house and their day to day lives were filmed.
Chanyeol is on season 1 of the 2 season show.
37. Tao, despite trying to appear tough and manly, is terrified of ghosts and bugs.
38. Sehun really likes bubble tea and he and Luhan would go buy it often.
39. EXO members + puppies = cutest pictures/gifs ever
40. EXO winking hurts a lot, #truesciencefact
And then there is this dork:
41. EXO is part of an occult.
That's actually false, this is from their music video "Mama". But they do look like they could be in an occult.
42. Unofficially, EXO's official fan club, EXO-L, is the biggest fan club in the world (in 2014).
43. EXO’s "The Lost Planet In Seoul" concert sold out in 1.47 seconds.
44. In 2015, EXO released their own web series called "EXO Next Door", which contains 16 short episodes.
Basically 4 EXO members move into a house next door to the main girl's house and comedy and romance ensues. So every fangirl's/boy's dream.
45. Managers don't like being in the car with EXO because they sing and beat-box the whole time.
It is mostly Chanyeol and Baekhyun who never stop.
46. D.O. was cast in the Korean drama "It's Okay, That's Love", among other dramas as well.
47. Before Kris left, he was the tallest member of EXO at 6'2''. Now the tallest member is Chanyeol at 6'1''.
48. Suho is the messiest according to the other members.
49. EXO has won over 88 music program awards.
50. EXO members celebrated 5 years with a special V-Live stream, thanking fans for their love and support and promising to continue working hard.
EXO-Ls had the hashtag #5yearswithexo trending #1 for a while.
Whether you are a new fan or old, I hope you enjoyed these 50 EXO facts and are supporting the members as they continue to work on future projects!
