Miracles in December

Miracles in December
Covers for the Korean version (left) and Chinese version (right)
EP by Exo
Released	December 9, 2013
Recorded	2013
Genre	Christmas R&B Ballad
Language	Korean Mandarin
Label	S.M. Entertainment, KT Music
Producer	Lee Soo-man (exec.)
Exo chronology
XOXO (2013) Miracles in December (2013) Overdose (2014)
Singles from Miracles in December
"Miracles in December" Released: December 5, 2013

Miracles in December (Korean: 12월의 기적; Simplified Chinese: 十二月的奇迹) is the overall second EP by South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo. It was released by S.M. Entertainment on December 9, 2013.^[1] Presented as a special winter album,^[2] Miracles in December is a follow-up to the group's first studio album XOXO, which was released in June 2013. Like all of the group's music, the EP has Korean and Chinese versions. The EP is also the group's second release as well as first EP to be promoted extensively being as a combined group. Its singles were "Miracles in December" and "Christmas Day".

Background and recording

In early November 2013, EXO's management agency, S.M. Entertainment, announced Exo would be holding a joint concert, titled "Christmas Wonderland", with f(x) from December 24 to 25.^[3] On December 3, a 2-minute medley clip for the Korean and Mandarin-language versions of the Miracles in December EP were released. On December 4, the music videos for "Miracles in December" were unveiled on YouTube.^[4]

Released in two separate languages, Exo-K, Exo's Korean-language sub-group, recorded the EP's tracks in Korean while Exo-M, the Mandarin-language sub-group, performed the same songs in Mandarin. A pop ballad with classical piano accompaniment, the lead single "Miracles in December", was written by Andreas Stone Johansson and Rick Hanley. However, the song was only performed by four Exo members: Byun Baekhyun, D.O., and Chen recorded the song in Korean, while Baekhyun, Chen, and Luhan recorded it in Mandarin. Special performances by all four (Baekhyun, D.O., Chen, and Luhan) members, with Lay miming the piano, were often performed on made-for-TV live music programs such as Inkigayo and Music Bank.

Release and promotion

The music videos for "Miracles in December" (one Korean, one Mandarin) were directed by Jo So-hyun, and were filmed in November in Paju, Gyeonggi-do and a studio in Ilsan, near Seoul.^[5] The videos were released on video-sharing websites on December 4, 2013.^[4] On December 5, Exo held their debut performances from the album with "Miracles in December" on Mnet's M! Countdown stage.^[6]

The EP Miracles in December was released on December 9, 2013. The group staged the Korean version of "Christmas Day" (Simplified Chinese: 圣诞节) on M! Countdown on December 19. Performances featured all twelve members of Exo with accompanying choreography produced by Tony Testa and Greg Hwang.

The EP finished at numbers 1 and 2 both weekly^[7] and monthly^[8] on the Gaon Albums Chart, for the Korean and Mandarin versions, respectively. The "Miracles in December" single (Korean version) reached number 2 on Gaon's Weekly Digital Singles Chart^[9] and number 3 on Billboard's Korea K-Pop Hot 100.^[10] The Mandarin version of the song was number 47 on the Gaon chart,^[9] but topped the Gaon International Singles Chart.^[11] It also went to number 7 on China's Baidu charts. "Christmas Day"'s Korean edition reached number 5^[9] and 38^[12] on the Gaon and K-Pop Hot 100 weekly charts, respectively, and the Mandarin edition reached number 10 on Baidu's charts.

Track listing

Korean version
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Translation	Length
1.	"12월의 기적 (Miracles in December)" (Sibiweolwi Gijeok, sung by Baekhyun, Chen, D.O)	Sarah Yoon	Andreas Stone Johansson Rick Hanley	Miracle of December	4:34
2.	"Christmas Day" (sung by: Suho, Xiumin, Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen, Lay, D.O)	Misfit	Gabriela Soza Samantha Powell Philip Hochstrate		3:46
3.	"The Star" (sung by Suho, Kris, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O, Kai, Sehun)	Soulfulmonster	Kei Lim Kwang-wook Martin Mulholland Nermin Harambasic		4:07
4.	"My Turn To Cry" (sung by Baekhyun, Chen, D.O)	Kim Young-hu	Alex Cantrall Jeff Hoeppner Phillip Anthony White		4:07
5.	"첫 눈 (The First Snow)" (Cheot Nun, sung by Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O, Kai, Sehun)	Kenzie	Kim Jung-bae Kenzie	First Snow	3:27
6.	"12월의 기적 (Miracles in December) – Classical Orchestra Version" (Sibiweolwi Gijeok)		Johansson Hanley	Miracle of December	4:33
Total length:					24:33

Chinese version
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Translation	Length
1.	"十二月的奇迹 (Miracles in December)" (Traditional Chinese: 十二月的奇蹟; Shíèryuè de Qíjì, sung by Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen)	Liu Yuan	Johansson Hanley	Miracle(s) of December	4:33
2.	"圣诞节 (Christmas Day)" (聖誕節; Shèngdànjié, sung by Suho, Xiumin, Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen, Lay, D.O)		Soza Powell Hochstrate	Christmas	3:46
3.	"The Star" (sung by Xiumin, Luhan, Baekhyun, Kris, D.O, Chen, Lay, Tao)		Kei Lim Kwang-wook Martin Mulholland Nermin Harambasic		4:07
4.	"爱离开 (My Turn To Cry)" (愛離開; Ài Líkāi, sung by Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen)		Cantrall Hoeppner White	Love Leaves, Love Has Left, or Love is Leaving	4:07
5.	"初雪 (The First Snow)" (Chūxuě, sung by Xiumin, Luhan, Kris, Chen, Lay, Tao)		Kim Kenzie	First Snow	3:27
6.	"十二月的奇迹 (Miracles in December) – Classical Orchestra Version" (Shíèryuè de Qíjì)		Johansson Hanley	Miracle(s) of December	4:33
Total length:					24:33

Charts

Korean and Chinese versions

Chart	Peak position
	Miracles in December (Kor ver.)	Miracles in December (Chn ver.)
South Korea Gaon Weekly Albums Chart	1	2
South Korea Gaon Monthly Albums Chart	1	2
South Korea Gaon 2013 Yearly Albums Chart	4	10
South Korea Gaon 2014 Yearly Albums Chart	34	66
Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart	7	20
Japan Oricon Monthly Albums Chart	24	48

Combined version

Chart	Peak position
Billboard World Albums Chart	1

Awards and nominations

Award	Nominated work	Category	Result
Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards	Miracles in December	Artist of the Year (Album) - 4th Quarter	Won

Music program awards

Song	Program	Date
"Miracles in December"	Show! Music Core (MBC)	December 14, 2013
		December 21, 2013
	Inkigayo (SBS)	December 15, 2013
		December 22, 2013
	Show Champion (MBC Music)	December 18, 2013
	M! Countdown (Mnet)	December 19, 2013
		December 26, 2013
		January 2, 2014
	Music Bank (KBS)	December 20, 2013
		December 27, 2013

Sales and shipments

Album sales

Chart	Sales
Japan (Oricon)	11,734 (Chinese version)
	24,530 (Korean version)
South Korea (Gaon)	204,438+ (Chinese version)
	341,878+ (Korean version)

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Worldwide	December 9, 2013	CD Digital download	S.M. Entertainment
South Korea			S.M. Entertainment KT Music
Taiwan	December 17, 2013[13]	CD	Avex Taiwan
Thailand	December 20, 2013	CD	S.M. True

References

1. "EXO reveals romantic and bittersweet MV teaser for Miracles in December". Allkpop. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
2. "EXO to comeback with special winter album". Mwave. November 29, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
3. "SM to hold its own music festival with SMTOWN Week". Mwave. November 8, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
4. "EXO's MV for 'Miracles in [December]' to be released today". Yahoo! omg! Philippines. December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
5. "EXO Giving Fans "Miracles in December" with New Music Video (Korean and Chinese)". Soompi. December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
6. "EXO to comeback with a winter special album". E Daily (in Korean). November 29, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
7. "2013년 51주차 Album Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
8. "Gaon Album Chart 2013년 12월". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
9. "2013년 50주차 Digital Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
10. "Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Week of December 28, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
11. "2013년 50주차 Digital Chart (국외)". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
12. "Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Week of December 21, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
13. "Exo @ Avex Taiwan Shop". Avex Taiwan (in Chinese). Retrieved December 4, 2013.