page_title: Exo (band)
section_title: 2013–2014: Commercial success
hierarchical_section_title: Exo (band) / History / 2013–2014: Commercial success
caption_attribution_description: English: President Park Geun-hye’s state visit to China한국어: 박근혜 대통령 중국 국빈방문
context_page_description: Exo is a South Korean–Chinese boy band based in Seoul, with nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai and Sehun. The band was formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. Their music incorporates genres like pop, hip-hop, and R&B, alongside electronic dance music genres like house, trap, and synth-pop. Exo releases and performs music in Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese. The band ranked as one of the top five most influential celebrities on the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list each year from 2014 to 2018, and have been named "the biggest boy band in the world" and the "kings of K-pop" by media outlets.
  Since 2014, Exo has exclusively performed as one group, while continuing to release and perform music in multiple languages. Previously, the band debuted with twelve members separated into two sub-groups: Exo-K and Exo-M. Exo-K and Exo-M performed music in Korean and Mandarin, respectively, until the release of their third EP Overdose in 2014. After the departures of Kris, Luhan, and Tao amid legal battles in 2014 and 2015, the band continued with the remaining nine members.
context_section_description: The group's first studio album, XOXO, was released on June 3, 2013, in two versions: one in Korean and one in Mandarin. Unlike the EP Mama, for which Exo-K and Exo-M had separate promotions, XOXO was jointly promoted, mainly in South Korea. Exo recorded the album's lead single "Wolf" together, but the rest of the album tracks were recorded separately. A repackaged version of the album, titled Growl, was released on August 5, 2013, with three additional tracks. New single "Growl" peaked at number three on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 and at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart. All versions of XOXO collectively sold over one million copies, making Exo the first South Korean artists to reach that milestone in 12 years. That December, Exo released a second EP, Miracles in December, as a special winter album containing the single of the same name. Prior to the release, the group promoted the album through their first reality show, Exo's Showtime, which premiered on November 28, 2013 on the cable channel MBC Every 1. Following their 2013 releases, Exo won Song of the Year at the Melon Music Awards for "Growl", Disc Daesang at the Golden Disc Awards and Album of the Year at the Mnet Asian Music Awards for XOXO, and the Daesang at the Seoul Music Awards. In addition, Exo-M received the Most Popular Group Award at the 2013 Top Chinese Music Awards.
  Exo's third EP, Overdose, was released on May 7, 2014. Originally scheduled to be released on April 21, the album was delayed due to the Sewol Ferry accident on April 16. Overdose was promoted similarly to Mama, with Exo-K in South Korea and Exo-M promoting primarily in China. The album had over 660,000 pre-orders, making it the most pre-ordered Korean EP in history. The Korean edition also peaked at number two on Billboard's World Albums Chart, and at number 129 on the Billboard 200, making Exo the highest-ever charting male Korean group at that time. Overdose became the best selling release of 2014 in South Korea, and was the first EP to top the yearly charts and win the Album of the Year Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. On December 22, Exo released their first live album, Exology Chapter 1: The Lost Planet The album's single, "December, 2014 (The Winter's Tale)", peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, making it Exo's first number one single. By the end of 2014, Exo was Japan's best-selling K-pop artist of the year.
  On May 15, 2014, Kris filed a lawsuit against Sm Entertainment to terminate his contract and alleged that SM: disregarded his health; maintained unfair profit distributions; restricted his freedom; and treated him like a product rather than a person. On May 24, the group began its first headlining tour, "Exo from Exoplanet 1 – The Lost Planet", at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena. Tickets for the concert sold out in 1.47 seconds, breaking the record for the quickest concert sell-out by a Korean artist. On October 10, Luhan also filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate his contract. He cited health problems and alleged he was treated differently than the band's Korean members.
caption: Exo with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in China on June 28, 2013
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