Hi Everyone!
We are LaChiMoLaLa!
We are beginning our music journey with EXO, and we hope you join our journey with us! This video features both EXO-K & EXO-M versions. Please see the time stamps below:
What Is Love
02:19 “What Is Love” EXO-K Version
06:50 “What Is Love” EXO-M Version
11:18 “What Is Love” Discussion
History
20:36 “History” EXO-K Version
24:27 “History” EXO-M Version
28:08 “History” Discussion
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No they never flopped on sales and charts, they even became a million seller on their rookie days (2013) where the last relevant sales was 12yrs ago (2000). It's just a fan thingy
You are right, these are indeed appetisers or teasers to build expectation for the actual debut. And each song showcases a slightly different side of their talents and sound. What is Love is obviously very vocal based and shows how EXO will be very R&B based going forward. History is much more about the dance and performance side. And most kpop groups tend to pigeon-hole their members in very defined roles at least at the beginning just so that fans can get a handle on what to expect. And none of this prepared anyone for MAMA- their actual debut. hahahaha
Those MAMA MVs also give the biggest chunk of storyline so that will set up a lot for you. I would suggest seeing a good chunk of the MVs for lead singles before trying to get into huge theory guides. There are clues to the storyline in every MV, every teaser, and every concert VCR (little videos made for live shows). It's A LOT and can quickly get overwhelming. But I would say the most basic things to look out for: Eclipses (both solar and lunar) are very important to EXO, they are moments of change or big plot things happening (and happen to coincide with album release dates too). Red Force- their main adversary. If you see red in a video or characters are dressed in red you know where the opposition is coming from. In general, what was once united has been broken (even shattered into multiple universes) and EXO are trying to bring pieces back together and even find one another because they often get separated. Theme of staying One even when apart is a big thread for them.
You can also see why EXO is so very multitalented with so many great vocalists and dancers. They were originally set up so that each 6 member unit would be deep enough and strong enough to carry all the songs when doing separate promotions in different countries. So then when you put remaining members together we are totally spoiled for musical and dance talent.
I really hope you enjoy your journey! Take it slow and don't worry about getting all the details. Most of us EXOLs don't understand it all either and there are so many theories that could be right. 😉
Exo has very details concepts….i always thought exo concept very unique…..
my skirt has no pockets 😭😭😭😭😭😭
i starts crying in EXO M history … the thing i grew up with them 🙁 omo i will start crying again
So their main role were like this (just my opinion)
Main vocalist : Baekhyun, D.O., Chen and Luhan
Lead vocalist : Suho, xiumin
Main rapper : chanyeol, sehun, kris, tao
Main dancer : kai, lay, sehun
And their supporting role were :
Sub vocalist / vocalist : chanyeol, lay, kai
Sub rapper : kai, xiumin
But nowadays kai are more into the sub vocalist/vocalist than rapper.
The rap were different between K n M, chanyeol and sehun are more melodic rap while Kris and tao are more Rap rap.
About the flop thing i think its a fan thing. Its more because they produce musics and concept that are experimental and not usual that time.. after debut, they went on "hiatus" for a year but then they release wolf MV they win their 1st music bank, and then they release Growl and they become the 1st million seller album sale after 12 years drought.. and they revived the physicall album buying.
Ah about the 80's feel, for me EXO gives me the Backstreet Boys and boys 2 men vibe for sure.
Loved the reaction <3 What is Love is one of my favs!
I believe Teddy Reilly produced "What is Love". And with the EXO-K and M songs both groups often feature in dance scenes, and sometimes contribute vocals, if my memory if the videos holds true. Someone please correct me if necessary!
EXO also has albums in Japanese, Jerries are EXO-Ls from Japan. And yes there are EXO music videos on other platforms, youtube is banned in China are Cherries (Chinese EXO-Ls) watch the videos on another platform. EXO and the individual members have accounts on the Webo platform to communicate with fans, but there was a time when I don't think they were able to post.
In the early years EXO-K and EXO-M had separate activities in different countries. In EXO Showtime (EXO reality show) we can notice that some of the members were not familiar with each other.
HI, ladies! Thank you for delving into EXO's discography starting off with their pre-debut tracks!
EXO is the first ever K-Pop group to debut with a concept and story line which, as you've been told, are interwoven into their MVs and concert VCRs.
I dare say the reason why this boy band was thought out to be SM's first flop was because the public was simply not yet ready for EXO. Many did not like their music for being too different or "alien" (no pun intended) from K-Pop at that time. Their sound has been mostly experimental and dark. Looking back now, I see EXO as real mavericks. They had been trendsetters right from the beginning! Now, critics have widely considered them vocal kings for their top-tier vocal prowess. Many new idols do look up to EXO as their inspiration.
Fun Facts:
WHAT IS LOVE was produced by the famous American singer/songwriter TEDDY RILEY.
CHANYEOL designed the EXO hexagon logo.
i'm really glad that you checked these masterpieces first so that you can witness their progression. these are baby exo hahahha they were in a transitional period between 2 different generations.
I'm just going t provide some info and advice:
first, I just want to point out the fact that the Chinese MV's are tricky to react to! many reactors shad to delete their reactions even after a while because it gets blocked sooner or later. maybe only very few YouTubers were safe after reacting to them. so only the Korean MVs are safe to watch.
second, even when it comes to live stages in the future, just be careful if it's Chinese concert or source. also, be very careful when it's comes to Japanese stages, they're even trickier. so I would say that only the seoul versions are safe as far as I noticed.
finally, both versions of what is love featured both min vocalists in both units and they slayed. and the pocket shaking is still an iconic move until now XD I'm surprised u didn't point it out hahahah.
also up until this point until their debut eraa, they were hatred on and received a lot of criticism and they were called the failure group of SM. people at that time did not accept the concept of storyline, especially a dark one like that of exo. but no one can deny their talent. i mean just listen to those vocals nd watch their dancing, they were kings even back then. baby kings I mean hehe
Luhan has a beautiful voice. Miss him😢 And back then they got mocked a lot, the rookies EXO…not so easy days but glad they come this far.
What is love es mi canción favorita 🥰🥰gracias por reaccionar siempre a EXO y apoyarlos, History al igual que MAMA son diferentes pero buenísimas
In their debut people called them a flop and now in 2022 they are the wealthiest kpop
group with 1B net worth
i love those pants too..so comfortable😄
Aww 🥰 thanks for the spirit animal shout out and for making my username sound cool and french lmao Unless I'm hearing things then just overlook this part. Leśmusicfan is way more cooler but Les in my case is just short for my full name Leslina lmao I am now borrowing Leś-Musicfan though. Oh and you're very welcome again but let me know if you need anything else and I'll try to help as much as I can on your EXO content journey 🙂
Okay warning, this is gonna be one of my long novels (I'm so sorry because this is ridiculously long!) …
I love both versions of "What Is Love" but I tend to lean more towards EXO-K's version the most I think because Baekhyun is like one of my favorite vocalists in or outside of kpop and D.O. is another one of my favorite vocalists in or outside of kpop so there's a bit of an ear worm bias there lol I love when they sing together. Luhan and Chen slayed as well though. Both duos sounded great. It was the right song for people to go, "hmmm this is different" and possibly made people want to hear more from these two different yet same new groups.
"History", I agree is very retro sounding. Very 80s. One of the things I love most about EXO is the nostalgic feeling I get when I listen to most of their discography.They cover a lot of different genres though but a lot of their songs have what I call an 'old school' sound. Songs from the 90s, 80s, and even 70s ("My Lady" and "Non Stop" are two of my absolute faves). They sing a lot of R&B (fast and slow r&b) songs which you will hear when you listen to their albums and discover their amazing b-sides so if you love R&B then EXO is definitely the group to listen to. They have a lot of incredible BlPOC producers/creators behind a lot of their music like Dem Jointz (for ex. Cloud 9, Obsession), Rodnae Chikk Bell (Monster, Overdose, Lotto), Jayrah Gibson (Growl, Love Me Right) and the amazing Teddy Riley (thee Teddy Riley creator of the New Jack Swing sound, R&B producer extraordinaire… yes him lol He actually produced one of the songs you just listened to "What is love" and he did "Call Me Baby" another favorite of mine) are just some examples but I'd be here all day if I were to talk about this topic some more lol It certainly lends to the authenticity of these R&B songs. Dem Jointz though… I'm thisclose to building a statue of him outside my house lmao I think he's a brilliant producer (Can you tell I'm a music fan or nah? Lmao)
I'm very very interested in your thoughts about MAMA which is their official debut. I had such an odd reaction to it the first time I listened to it. Odd as in emotional. I read the lyrics before I watched the video because I do that before listening to the song just to understand what they're singing about and reading while the song is playing is distracting to me for some reason. The song though is very anthemic and powerful. That combined with the meaning of the song just made me tear up a little not gonna lie. I'm sure not everybody has that reaction lmao I swear though, with EXO there are many songs that make me emotional… not necessarily always because of the subject of the song but because they're just so ridiculously talented. Definitely an EXO fan until I'm in a nursing home still going on and on about my love for EXO and how talented they are LOL
As for the video views for History, Beth mentioned the Korean version had 90+ million views but EXO-K had less but I'm sure she meant EXO-M it's just EXO-K is a little bit easier to say because it's basically saying Ex-Okay but I don't even think she realized she was saying EXO-K instead of EXO-M lol Not that important but I think imo what's contributed to the higher EXO-K views are most reactors are kpop music fans and only react to EXO-K. More kpop fans are gonna watch the Korean versions since that's the language either they were born hearing and learning lol or many of us non native korean speakers have been introduced to while becoming fans of kpop groups/artists. The language becomes familiar sounding even if we still can't understand lol As far as Chinese fans and Cpop fans go, I have no idea how they feel about EXO-M. I'm thinking way too much about this.
Good grief, anyway all that to say that's my theory as to what's contributed to the different views lmao I say that because EXO as a 9 piece (is piece the right word? Sounds right but kind of odd to call humans pieces but I swear I think it's correct – "9 piece group"… ???? I need a nap smh) Anyhoo they continued to have songs in Mandarin for some other tracks even after 3 of the Chinese members left but those too aren't as focused on so I do think it's partly or possibly mostly a language reason. I am going to stop rambling now 🤣 Oh btw, after the MAMA videos, that's the last time they're split up for a music video. All the other videos starting from Wolf will have them all together even though there's still K and M versions (M versions will stop eventually)
Speaking of Wolf (oh dear lmao) The song is… interesting 😂 Some people either really like it or hate it when they first hear it. I think it's as corny as a corn cob but in a fun way lmao It's just so extra. It wasn't until the live version when they changed it up a bit, is when I started to really appreciate Wolf because the live version slaaaaays. So powerful and just *chef's kiss* perfection. Fun fact though- according to Baekhyun I do believe, the members thought if they sang Wolf badly for the demo that the company wouldn't choose the song so they sang it badly lmaooo The demo's out there somewhere on twitter to hear. The fact that they tried to not have it on the albums says a lot LOL
Still, Wolf is apart of EXO's legacy and musical journey. I don't skip it if it comes on while listening to my EXO playlist but I do have a giggle or five. No, but seriously it's not that bad while just listening (imo) it's a good work out song for me lol
Another note- Both groups had the same choreo for History but I think it might've looked different to you both because of how the video is edited possibly? When I first watched, it looked like the same choreo to me lmao but I can see why it could look different to some others. It might also be because how each group chose to interpret the dance moves??? Not sure but I thought that was also very interesting that you both saw it as different dances.
Lastly, Lay…. just a heads up. Lay is way too far under used as a member of EXO. He doesn't get many chances to shine and show what he's capable of. I don't like it. I feel the same way about Sehun but at least that improved a little bit over the years. Lay though… I'm just gonna walk away from that soapbox because I will perch myself on top of it all day and this is already embarrassingly too long 😬
First thing you should know about EXO's storyline is that SM never explains anything! So all we have is what we see etc and all we can theorise from that. So really there's no such thing as "reading too much into it" because that's all we have! 😄 Also, that the storyline is not in chronological order at all! So when you watch the MV's in order don't think "oh, this is what happened next" because for one, as I mentioned before – we don't actually know that and two, we don't know what the beginning really is – we have theories and guesses but – yeah, it's a whole mystery!
Both these pre-debut songs are on the MAMA EP, the song MAMA (their official debut song) is very much storyline – both the MV and the lyrics. What Is Love is actually technically just a mash-up of all their pre-debut teasers (there were like 23 teasers by the way!). These teasers featured songs that weren't released until years later, songs that were remixed and evolved into different songs and songs that have never been released! It introduced hints of their storyline and of each of the members, Kai was very prominently featured in the teasers compared to the other members.
Also on the MAMA album are the lyrically storyline-based songs History and Two Moons, the History MV has storyline elements as you have seen. Two Moons is actually super fascinating for me because I didn't "get it" until after Obsession came out and then I had a massive epiphany and completely geeked out to my EXO-L group chat! I love how years later we are still putting the EXO puzzle together but we know we still have pieces missing. The other songs aren't lyrically connected to the storyline as far as I am aware but we really can't say for sure – which is the thing that drives every EXO-L theorist (like myself) nuts! 😄
Sorry for rambling! I am a passionate EXO Theorist, so I get super into the storyline and all the theories floating around the EXO Universe!
I miss so much tris era 🙁
<3
I'm so happy you reacted to both versions because a lot of reactors (and fans in general) skip the M version because it's not in Korean and so they don't know Xiu-Chen-Xing and their amazing voices. So I'm a bit bitter that they were split into two sub groups
They were one group, but split into two. They mostly promoted separately – M members had to fly to China A LOT (and apparently Luhan is terrified of flying) for their promotions – but you'll see that they did have songs together even before the "merge" like Miracles In December or Wolf or Growl.
They also performed together like in SM concert and during their first concert (a few days after Kris left) they had many songs that were performed in both languages or one song was in Korean version and another in Mandarin.
Album sales in South Korea were not at it's peak in 2012 when EXO debuted. EXO actually revived the physical album market with their album XOXO in 2013 (title track Growl). They became the first million sellers in SK in 12 years.
Growl is also the song that gave them the popularity. They were mocked for their worldview and the unique concept (groups up to that point didn't have a set storyline that goes throughout their whole discography) and because of the sound (MAMA and Wolf were WAY too different from what people there were used to)
Spotify launched in SK only last year. They have the streaming platforms like Melon and Genie.
Funny info: even though D.O. was in EXO-K, chinese fans claim he has the best accent/pronunciation amongst all korean members while singing in chinese.
I really enjoy how you can really see the transition between 2nd and 3rd generations with early EXO mvs. You can see them searching for their own sound and aesthetic. In my opinion Growl was really the moment when they found their sound and looks. Everything just fits perfectly.
I love that you watched both versions. Chen has an incredible voice. I love when he, Baekhyun and D.O sing together though. Best main vocal line in kpop for me personally. The hairstyles were such a trip lol
The best vocal predebut kpop group!
The standard 💅
Before EXO, SM had Super Junior do a Chinese sub-unit (SJ-M) & they did fairly well in the Greater China markets (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau) so I’m assuming that’s where the idea for a permanent Chinese group came about (even the “-M” naming convention is similar). As an EXO-L who stanned EXO through EXO-M, it’s just really sad how the group was treated 😢
Although EXO-M only history now, but still I love all EXO members both exist or former.
I was a fan of New Kids On The Block (NKOTB). After long time, finally I like another boy group again that's EXO.
So…for the rest of my life, I only like two boy bands : NKOTB and EXO.
Thank you for reacting to EXO ore debuted songs, you will never regret to know EXO 👍👍👍
Ahhh okay so I went back to check the History choreo to see if I was the one who may have been mistaken about the choreo being different between EXO-K and EXO-M for History. The choreo is the same for 99% but there's a slight change during in the middle (rap breakdown???) and I think that's because of lyrics accommodations lol For example during EXO-M's version there's a part where they say "One more, two more, three four more" which is different than EXO-K's version and the choreo is different there. Other than that, the choreo is the same. It may just look different because how each group dances individually and together ? What do I know? lmao