# Growl (song)

"Growl" (Korean: 으르렁; RR: Eureureong; Chinese: 咆哮; pinyin: Páoxiào) is a song recorded by South Korean–Chinese boy band Exo, released on August 5, 2013, for the repackaged edition of their first studio album XOXO. It was released in both Korean and Chinese versions by their label SM Entertainment. The song is known as Exo's breakthrough single, with over two million downloads in South Korea.

## Release and promotion

Composed by Hyuk Shin, DK, Jordan Kyle, John Major and Jarah Gibson, "Growl" is described as a dance-pop song with contemporary R&B and funk influences. After its release was announced, a video filming the group practicing the song's choreography was leaked online on July 27. Exo began performing the song on South Korean music TV shows on August 1 before it was officially released together with the album on August 5, 2013. They also performed the song on several Chinese TV shows.
The song was performed during the closing ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, along with their 2017 song "Power".

## Music videos

The Korean and Chinese music videos for "Growl" were released on August 1, 2013, four days ahead of the song itself. They exclusively feature Exo's performance of the song at a dimly lit warehouse and utilized the one shot style, appearing to have been filmed in a single take. Another set of music videos for the song, filmed at a different location, were released on August 20, 2013. On May 29, 2019, the Korean music video surpassed 200 million views on YouTube, becoming their fourth music video to do so.

## Reception
### Music charts

"Growl" reached number 2 on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, as well as number 3 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 and World Digital Songs charts. Billboard listed "Growl" as the fifth best-selling K-pop song in America during 2013. The song also won first place 14 times in total on South Korean music TV shows.
Describing it as "the crown jewel in EXO's fantastic 2013", Billboard picked "Growl" as the best K-pop song of 2013. It was named Song of the Year at the 2013 Melon Music Awards and KBS Song Festival. The song is Exo's best-selling single to date, having accumulated over two million downloads.

### Public reception

In July 2017, defectors from North Korea stated Exo has some popularity in North Korea, although people have to listen to them in secret and don't know what the members look like, and Growl in particular is used as a confession song amongst youth to confess to one's crush due to the lyrics.
"Growl" on critic lists :
| Publication | Year | List | Rank |
| Billboard | 2013 | The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2013 | 1 |
| Billboard | 2018 | The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time | 58 |
| Billboard | 2019 | The 100 Greatest K-pop Songs of the 2010s | 50 |
| British GQ | 2019 | Best K-pop songs of the decade | No order |
| Dazed | 2013 | Top 10 K-pop Songs of 2013 | 2 |
| The Dong-a Ilbo | 2016 | Best Male Idol Songs in the Past 20 Years | 3 |
| The Forty-Five | 2023 | The 45 best K-pop songs of all-time (Rhian Daly) | 29 |
| Melon | 2021 | Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time | 2 |
| Munhwa Ilbo | 2019 | 10 best K-pop songs of the decade (Kim In-goo) | No order |
| Rolling Stone | 2023 | 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music | 34 |
| SBS PopAsia | 2013 | Top 100 Asian pop songs of 2013 | 1 |

## Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Growl" :
| Organization | Year | Award | Result |
| Golden Disc Awards | 2014 | Digital Bonsang | Nominated |
| Hito Music Awards | 2014 | Best J-pop & K-pop Song | Won |
| KBS Song Festival | 2013 | Song of the Year | Won |
| Korean Music Awards | 2013 | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| Korean Music Awards | 2013 | Best Dance & Electronic Song | Won |
| Melon Music Awards | 2013 | Song of the Year | Won |
| Melon Music Awards | 2013 | Music Video Award | Nominated |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2013 | Best Dance Performance – Male Group | Nominated |
| Seoul Music Awards | 2014 | Best Song | Won |
| World Music Awards | 2014 | World's Best Song | Won |
Music program awards (14 total) :
| Program | Date |
| Music Bank | August 16, 2013 |
| Music Bank | August 23, 2013 |
| Inkigayo | August 18, 2013 |
| Inkigayo | August 25, 2013 |
| Inkigayo | September 1, 2013 |
| Show Champion | August 21, 2013 |
| Show Champion | August 28, 2013 |
| Show Champion | September 4, 2013 |
| M Countdown | August 22, 2013 |
| M Countdown | August 29, 2013 |
| M Countdown | September 5, 2013 |
| Show! Music Core | August 24, 2013 |
| Show! Music Core | August 31, 2013 |
| Show! Music Core | September 7, 2013 |

## Sales

| Region | Sales |
| South Korea (digital) | 2,023,254 |

## Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Studio
* SM Blue Cup Studio – recording, mixing
* In Grid Studio – recording
* Sound Pool Studios – recording
* Sonic Korea – mastering
Personnel
* SM Entertainment – executive producer
* Kim Young-min – executive supervisor
* Lee Soo-man – producer
* Exo – vocals
** Baekhyun – background vocals
** Chanyeol – background vocals
** Chen – background vocals
** D.O. – background vocals
** Suho – background vocals
** Tao – background vocals
* Seo Ji-eum – Korean lyrics
* Wang Yajun – Mandarin lyrics
* Hyuk Shin – composition, arranger, vocal directing
* DK – composition
* Jordan Kyle – composition, arranger
* John Major – composition, arranger
* Jarah Gibson – composition
* Kim Jin-hwan – vocal directing
* Jeong Eul-seok – recording, mixing
* Jeong Eun-kyung – recording
* Kim Ji-eun – recording
* Jeong Ho-jin – recording
* Lee Yoon-ji – bass
* Cheon Hoon – mastering

## Release history

Release history for "Growl" :
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
| Various | August 5, 2013 | Digital downloadstreaming | SMKT Music |