Formed by SM Entertainment, EXO is a South Korean-Chinese boyband which consists of twelve members Xiumin, Luhan, Kris Wu, Suho, Lay, Chen, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, D.O., Tao, Kai and Sehun. They were divided into two groups, EXO-K for Korea and EXO-M for China, and made their debut on April 9, 2012 with their first EP "Mama". The group quickly garnered people's interest, with their songs ruling music charts in both countries. In the same year, they were honored with Best New Asian Group at MNET Asian Music Awards and the Newcomer Award at Golden Disc Awards.

EXO released their first album "XOXO" on June 3, 2013 in two versions, Korean and Chinese, though they promoted the lead single "Wolf" as one group. All versions of the album collectively sold over one million copies, making them the first South Korean group to do that in 12 years. A repackaged version of the album, "Growl", was released on August 5 of the same year. Showing no sign of slowing down, they unveiled a holiday album "Miracles in December" on December 9 and premiered their first variety show "Exo's Showtime".

Following the success of their 2013 releases, EXO won multiple awards that year. Among them were Song of the Year at 2013 Melon Music Awards for their single "Growl" and Album of the Year at MNET Asian Music Awards for "XOXO". EXO-M was additionally honored with Most Popular Group Award at Top Chinese Music Awards.

After postponing the release of their third EP "Overdose" due to the Sewol Ferry accident, EXO finally unveiled the album on May 7, 2014. It became the best-selling album in 2014 in South Korea and the first EP to win Album of the Year at the MNET Asian Music Awards. They also embarked on their first headlining tour from May to December. Despite their continuous achievements, 2014 also saw members Kris and Luhan filing a lawsuit to terminate their contract and no longer joining the group's activities.

EXO kicked off their second headlining tour on March 7, 2015 before releasing their second studio album "Exodus" on March 30 of the same year. Tao was absent during the promotion of the sophomore album and later became the third member of the group to file a lawsuit to terminate his contract. A repackaged version of "Exodus" titled "Love Me Right" hit the stores on June 3 and featured four additional songs. Later in October, they became the first Korean artist to hold a dome concert in South Korea as "EXO Love in Concert Dome" took place at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

For the remainder of the year, the group made their Japanese debut in addition to releasing a few standalone singles, including "Lightsaber" which was unearthed to promote "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". They also released their second holiday album "Winter for You" on December 10.

In the following year, EXO unleashed their third studio album "Ex'Act" and embarked on their third headlining tour in support of the album. Also in 2016, Kris and Luhan officially left EXO as their contractual disputes with SM Entertainment were settled. Lay later announced in June that he would focus on his solo career and opted out from group activities.

Other members of the group also spent time advancing their solo careers, with Baekhyun teaming up with singer Suzy to release their collaboration "Dream". He also formed a sub-unit with Chen and Xiumin called EXO-CBX, unveiling their debut album "Hey Mama!" on October 31, 2016.

Excluding Lay, the group later reunited in 2017 to release their fourth studio album "The War" which was followed by a repackaged album titled "The War: The Power of Music". EXO then embarked on their world tour called "Exo Planet #4: The ElyXiOn" on November 24, 2017 and wrapped it up on August 11, 2018. In the middle of the tour, they released their fourth holiday album "Universe" on December 26, 2017 and released their first Japanese album "Countdown" on January 31, 2018. They additionally performed at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang on February 25, serving as a representative of K-Pop.

After wrapping up their tour, EXO was gearing up for the release of their fifth studio album "Don't Mess Up My Tempo". It was released on November 2, 2018 and featured their Chinese member, Lay. It became his first appearance in the group since announcing his plan to focus in solo career back in 2016. A repackaged version of the album, "Love Shot", was released on December 13.