XOXO (album)

XOXO
Studio album by Exo
Released June 3, 2013
August 5, 2013 (repackage)
Recorded 2011-2013; S.M. Studios, Seoul
Language
Label S.M. Entertainment, KT Music
Producer
Exo chronology
Mama
(2012)		 XOXO
(2013)		 Miracles in December
(2013)
Repackage cover
Repackage album cover with the name "Growl" written in Korean
Singles from XOXO
  1. "Wolf"
    Released: June 3, 2013
  2. "Growl"
    Released: August 5, 2013

XOXO is the first studio album by South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, released on June 3, 2013 by S.M. Entertainment. The album is a follow-up to the group's debut EP, Mama (2012). Like all of the group's music, the album was released in two versions – a Korean "Kiss" edition and a Chinese "Hug" edition.[1]

Two singles were released from XOXO: "Wolf" and "Growl", the latter being the lead single off the album's repackaged version released on August 5, 2013. Both singles went to chart in the top ten of the Gaon Singles Chart, and "Growl" peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100. The album won Album of the Year at the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards and sold over 1 million copies, becoming the best-selling album in Korea since 2001.[2]

Background

The album's lead single, "늑대와 미녀" ("The Wolf and the Beauty"), known in English as simply "Wolf", was composed by Will Simms, Nermin Harambasic from Dsign Music and S.M. Entertainment resident songwriter Kenzie. Kenzie also provided the lyrics for the Korean version of the song while Zhou Weijie penned the lyrics for the Mandarin Chinese version, "狼与美女". Yoo Young-jin provides background vocals. The dance for the song was choreographed by Tony Testa. In several shows such as Arirang's After School Club, the members explain that the dance has 3 elements: the trees and forest, the caves, and the wolf itself. Member Kris revealed that it took them approximately 3 to 4 months to get the choreography down, due to its level of difficulty. A demo version of the song was leaked in February 2013, in response to which producer Ryan Jhun later gave a warning to illegal downloaders on May 29, 2013, "...I will report it to FBI and service department for all links...".[3]

Several "developmental" tracks were produced and recorded in 2011 before Exo's official debut into entertainment industry but never made it into their first EP Mama. Some of these tracks were included on the XOXO album, including "Black Pearl" and "My Lady".

In July 2013, a re-package version of 'XOXO', renamed 으르렁 (Growl), was developed with three additional tracks. The single from this edition was its title track, "으르렁" ("Growl").[4] The song was recorded in both Korean and Mandarin Chinese ("咆哮") versions. Composed by Hyuk Shin (Joombas), DK, Jordan Kyle, John Major, and Jarah Gibson, "Growl" is a dance-pop song with contemporary R&B and funk influences. The single was prematurely leaked online on July 27, when a video of the group practicing to the Korean version of the song was uploaded to various video-sharing websites.[5]

Release and promotion

May 30, 2013, the Korean and Chinese versions of the music video for "Wolf" were released,[6] and the song's first performance was made on M.net M! Countdown.[7] Both song versions were released digitally on June 3, 2013, and on the same day, two physical formats of the entire album XOXO were also released in South Korea: a "Kiss" edition in Korean and a "Hug" edition in Mandarin.[8] After a performance on SBS Inkigayo on June 3, 2013, Exo visited and thanked 2,000 fans who had been waiting at a nearby park to meet them.[9] The first performance of the Mandarin version of the song was aired on a popular Chinese variety show Happy Camp in mid-June.[10]

The album reached over 300,000 collective pre-orders,[1] and peaked at number one on the Billboard World Album Chart a week after release.[11] As of December 2013, the Korean and Chinese versions of the album, as well as their respective repackaged versions, have collectively sold over 1,070,000 copies,[12][13][14] making it the best-selling album of the year in the K-pop industry. With over a million copies sold, XOXO also became Korea's best-selling album in 12 years.[2]

Track listing

XOXO (original edition)

Growl (repackaged edition)

Charts

Korean and Chinese versions

Chart Peak position
XOXO
Kiss edition		 XOXO
Hug edition		 Growl
Kiss edition		 Growl
Hug edition
South Korea Gaon Weekly Albums Chart 1[15] 2[15] 1[16] 2[16]
South Korea Gaon Monthly Albums Chart 1[17] 2[17] 1[18] 2[18]
South Korea Gaon 2013 Yearly Albums Chart 3[19] 6[19] 1[19] 7[19]
South Korea Gaon 2014 Yearly Albums Chart 53 83 15 67
South Korea Gaon 2015 Yearly Albums Chart — — 71 —
Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart 9 18 — —
Japan Oricon Monthly Albums Chart 18 36 — —

Combined version

Chart Peak
position
Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart[20] 23
Billboard World Albums Chart[21] 1

Sales and shipments

Album sales

XOXO

Chart Sales
Japan (Oricon) 28,000+ (Hug version)
62,000+ (Kiss version)
South Korea (Gaon) 224,373+ (Hug version)[19]
308,298+ (Kiss version)[19]

Growl (Repackage)

Chart Sales
South Korea (Gaon) 234,764+ (Hug version)[19]
458,306+ (Kiss version)[19]

Release history

Edition Date Region Format Label Catalog
Original June 3, 2013 Worldwide / South Korea[22][23] CD, digital download S.M. Entertainment, KT Music SMK0242
SMK0243
July 19, 2013 Taiwan[24] Avex AVKCD80280/A
AVKCD80280/B
July 27, 2013 Philippines Universal Records SMK0242
SMK0243
June 12, 2013 Thailand S.M. True
Repackage August 5, 2013 Worldwide / South Korea S.M. Entertainment, KT Music SMK0275
SMK0276
September 13, 2013 Taiwan Avex Taiwan AVKCD80280/C
AVKCD80280/D
August 16, 2013 Thailand S.M. True

Awards

Year Award Nominated work Category Result
2013 Golden Disk Awards Growl Digital Bonsang Nominated
XOXO Disk Bonsang Won
Disk Daesang Won
MelOn Music Awards Growl Song of the Year Won
Music Video award Nominated
XOXO Album of the Year Nominated
Mnet Asian Music Awards XOXO BC - UnionPay Album of the Year[25] Won
Growl BC - UnionPay Song of the Year Nominated
Seoul Music Awards Record of the Year in Digital Release Won
KBS Music Festival Song of the year Won
World Music Awards Best World Song Won

References

  1. 1 2 "EXO finally drop their 1st full album, 'XOXO', was it everything you waited for?". 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "EXO just a few records shy from selling one million copies of XOXO". Kpop Starz. October 14, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  3. ↑ "EXO's producer gives illegal downloaders a warning". Allkpop. May 29, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  4. ↑ sallice10 (July 25, 2013). "EXO to release repackaged album and gear up for follow-up promotions with 'Growl'". Allkpop. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  5. ↑ "EXO's 'Growl' dance practice video leaked". ttwigo. July 27, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  6. ↑ "EXO releases "Wolf" MV!". Allkpop. May 30, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  7. ↑ "EXO to become "Wolf" boys for their title track + first comeback stage on May 30th". Seoul: Allkpop. May 22, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  8. ↑ "EXO's 1st full album, 'XOXO' ranks high on real-time music charts". Allkpop. June 3, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  9. ↑ "EXO celebrate their comeback with 2,000 fans at fanmeeting". Allkpop. June 3, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ "EXO to head to China for their first performance of "Wolf" on 'Happy Camp'". Seoul: Allkpop. May 28, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  11. ↑ Addy (June 14, 2013). "Chinese-Korean boy band, Exo, reaches No. 1 on Billboard World Album Chart". JayneStars. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  12. ↑ "EXO becomes the first million seller in twelve years!". Allkpop. December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ "EXO-M @ Weibo". Weibo (in Chinese). October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  14. ↑ Jeon Su Mi (September 3, 2013). "EXO achieves major feat with 740,000 albums sold". Mwave E-News World. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  15. 1 2 "2013년 24주차 Album Chart". Gaon. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  16. 1 2 "2013년 33주차 Album Chart". Gaon. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  17. 1 2 "2013년 06월 Album Chart". Gaon. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  18. 1 2 "2013년 8월 Album Chart". Gaon. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "2013년 Album Chart". Gaon. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "Exo Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Exo Chart History - World Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  22. ↑ "엑소(EXO) - 정규 1집 XOXO [Kiss Ver.]" (in Korean). music.aladin.co.kr. June 3, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  23. ↑ "엑소(EXO) - 정규 1집 XOXO [Hug Ver.]" (in Korean). music.aladin.co.kr. June 3, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  24. ↑ "EXO - XOXO (Kiss&Hug)」[Hug版/中文版]" (in Chinese). G-Music. July 19, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  25. ↑ "2013 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list". MAMA. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
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