Meet The Boy-band from Planet EXO!
EXO is a boy-group created by the big agency, SM Entertainment in 2011, with 12 members. EXO’s name was settled on in December, 2011, and actually is an abbreviation. “EXO” comes from the name “Exoplanet”, a planet outside of our solar system. EXO is further divided into two sub-units, EXO-K (Korean) and EXO-M (Mandarin/China), and each unit promotes in a different country, either China and Korea. As we know, currently EXO only has nine members, and their sub-units are nowhere to be seen. Some EXO-M members have even left the group.
What’s the story behind the formation of EXO-M? Why did some of the members leave the group, and what is EXO-M’s fate? In this article, Channel-Korea will inform you about the story of EXO M, the EXO Chinese Subunit. So, stay tuned!
Group Profile and Facts
Name: EXO (엑소)
Old Name: Boys Heaven / Land of Boys (소년천지)
Label: SM Entertainment
Members: 12 (now 9)
Sub-units: EXO-K & EXO-M
Genre: K-Pop, MandoPop, Pop, Dance-Pop, EDM, C-Pop, Electropop, Hip-hop, J-pop, R&B.
Years Active: 2012 – recently (EXO) and 2012-2014 (Sub-unit)
The EXO group originally consisted of 12 members, but now the group only has nine. EXO divided into two sub-units, EXO-K and EXO-M. In the distribution of members, each of unit got an equal number of members, with six members in each group. In EXO-K, there are Baekhyun, Suho, Chanyeol, Sehun, D.O, and Kai. In EXO-M the members are Kris, Xiumin, Lay, Chen, Luhan, and Tao. SM Entertainment deliberately divided them into sub-units because it proved they were able to sell their albums and be a best-selling album in Japan. EXO-M only focused on promoting in China, and the members in that unit mostly came from China, such as Kris, Luhan, Tao, and Lay.
This group is arguably a group that has unique talents, both in vocals and dance. There are several facts that show the uniqueness of this group and the similarity in each of the sub-units.
- Kris (EXO M) and Chanyeol (EXO K) they both have a deep or heavy voice.
- In the group, Kris (EXO M) and Chanyeol (EXO K) have the same position as a main rapper.
- Besides that, Kris and Chanyeol are the tallest members in each group.
- The uniqueness doesn’t stop there, they both have third place among the other members on the birthday position.
- EXO M and EXO K were joined in the “Wolf” era, but the sub-units still exist.
- In 2015, EXO M came back with “Love Me Right”, but there were only three members left in the unit.
Member Profiles and Facts
Kris
Name: Wu Yi Fan (吴亦凡)
Stage Name: Kris (크리스)
English Name: Kris Wu
Birthday: November 6, 1990
Nationality: Chinese-Canadian
Position : Leader, Main Rapper, Sub-vocalist
Nicknames: Ken, Cowboy, Fanfan, Benben, Dduijang
Power (Badge): Dragon (Flight)
Blood Type: O
Zodiac: Scorpio
Height: 187 cm
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada.
Abilities: Multilingual (Korean, Mandarin, English, Cantonese), playing basketball, drawing, and rapping.
Instagram: kriswu
Facts :
- Kris moved to Vancouver when he was 10 years old
- He was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- He was ranked 75th on TC Candler’s “The 100 Most Handsome Faces in 2018”
- Before he was known as Wu Yifan, he had the real birth name “Li Jiaheng”
- Kris’s Chinese zodiac sign is the Horse
- He’s the 11th member to be introduced as an EXO member, and he immediately started getting people’s attention when he debuted because of his charisma
- Kris prefers to read books about self-improvement or inspirational books
- He was appeared on SNSD’s VCR during the ‘Girls Generation Tour Concert’ in 2011
- Before he joined EXO M, the agency intended to put him in EXO-K
- During his time as a trainee, he always took care of Tao, cooking for him and everything, but when they debuted, Kris never cooked for Tao again.
- Kris and Chanyeol always fight about who look more handsome between them
- When he was interviewed on Todou, Kris once said that he really shocked and stressed when he was announced as the leader of the sub-unit, but he always tries to be the best leader and make the group better
- He entered SM Entertainment by audition on SM Global in 2007
- Kris has an ideal type for girls. She must good at cooking, care, be filial and nice, and care for each other
Xiu Min
Name: Kim Min-seok (김민석)
Stage Name: Xiu Min (Xiumin) (시우민)
Chinese Name: Jin Min Shuo (金珉碩)
Nicknames: Bao Zi, Mandoo, King of Detail, and Lil’ Fattle.
Birthday: March 26, 1990
Zodiac: Aries
Position: Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer
Power (Badge): Frost (Snowflake)
Nationality: Korean
Height: 173 cm
Weight: 53 kg
Blood Type: B
Hometown: Guri, Gyeonggi Province
Abilities: Kendo and Taekwondo
Instagram: e_xiu_o
Facts :
- Xiumin became an SM Entertainment trainee in 2008
- He’s the strongest, neatest, and cleanest member in EXO-M
- He acted in “EXO Next Door” in 2015, and he tried to be an actor by starring in the film “Kim Sun Dal” in May, 2015
- Beside film, Xiumin acted in the drama series, “Falling for Challange” in 2015, and released his first single
- He acted in “Seondal: The Man Who Sells the River” in 2016, then, in 2017 he became a regular cast member on the show “It’s Dangerous Beyond The Blankets”.
- He became the 7th member in EXO that was revealed by SM Entertainment
- Xiumin became the 2nd winner in the SM Everysing Contest that was held in 2008
- He was a trainee for four years in SM Entertainment
- Xiumin’s ideal type is someone who is huggable and can give comfort to others
- Xiumin has been carrying out military service since May 7, 2019, and will back in 2021
Luhan
Name: Lu Han (鹿晗)
Stage Name: Luhan (루한)
Nicknames: Cute little prince, Marilyn Monroe
Birthday: April 2, 1990 Beijing, China
Zodiac: Taurus
Position: Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Face of The Group
Nationality: Chinese
Power (Badge): Telekinesis
Height: 178 cm
Blood Type: O
Hometown: Beijing Haidian, China
Abilities: Playing rubik’s cube and soccer
Instagram: 7_luhan_m
Facts :
- Before becoming a trainee in high school, Luhan was a Korean Chinese exchange student. He’s currently studying at Korea’s Yonsei University, known as the 3rd best University in Korea.
- On June 23, 2013, Luhan joined the Chinese team at a soccer match in the Asian Dream Cup in Shanghai, China.
- On August 5, 2014, Luhan held the “Most Comments on a Weibo Post”, according to Guinness World Records.
- Luhan joined SM in 2010, when he went to Korea to study at Yonsey University as an exchange student.
- After success in the audition, Luhan joined EXO in 2011. Before SM Entertainment, he recorded a music video with XING. Afterwards, on December 27, 2011, he was introduced as an EXO member.
Lay
Name: Zhang Yi Xing (张艺兴)
Stage Name: Lay (레이)
Nickname: Xing Tuo
Birthday: October 7, 1991
Zodiac: Libra
Position: Main Dancer and Vocalist
Nationality: Chinese
Blood Type: A
Weight: 60 kg
Height: 177 cm
Hometown: Changsha, Hunan, China
Abilities: playing guitar, dancing, music composing, writte lyrics
Instagram: layzhang
Twitter: @layzhang
Weibo: 努力努力再努力x
Facts :
- Lay was one of the winners on the Star Academy TV Show in 2005, taking 3rd place
- Lay had once been named the leader of EXO-M, but because he was busy replacing Jonghyun at Shinee’s concert, then Kris replaced him
- He started as a trainees in 2008, when he was 17
- In 2018, Lay started to focus on his solo career in China and the USA
Chen
Name : Kim Jong-dae (김종대)
Stage Name: Chen (첸)
Chinese Name: Jin Zhong Da (金鐘大)
Nickname: Orange
Birthday: September 21, 1992
Zodiac: Virgo
Nationality: Korean
Position: Main Vocalist
Power (Badge): Scorpion (Lighting)
Height: 173 cm
Weight: 60 kg
Blood Type: B
Hometown: Siheung, Gyeonggi Procvince
Abilities: Singing, and playing piano
Facts :
- He studied at Hanyang Cyber University, majoring in MBA Media Adverstising.
- He is the last member that joined EXO-M.
- He joined SM Entertainment in 2011, after being scouted by an agency.
- Chen has participated in writing lyrics for several EXO songs, such as “Lights Out”, “She’s Dreaming”, and “Ko Ko Bop” (co-credited).
- Chen sang the OST “When Cherry Blossoms Fade” for the drama 100 Days My Prince .
Tao
Name: Huang Zi Tao (黄子韬)
Stage Name: Tao (타오)
English Name: Edison Huang
Nicknames: Kung Fu Panda, Peach
Birthday: May 2, 1993
Zodiac: Taurus
Nationality: Chinese
Position: Lead Rapper, Maknae, Sub-vocalist
Power (Badge): Hourglass (Time Control)
Height: 183 cm
Blood Type: AB
Hometown: Qingdao, China
Instagram: hztttao
Facts :
- In 2010, he was scouted by an SM Entertainment representative when he attended the MBC Star Global Audition
- On July 23, 2015, he made his solo debut under the stage name Z.Tao, with the mini album “T.A.O”
- His solo debut album was a huge success in China, with 670,000 copies sold in the first week of release
- On August 24, 2015, he filed a lawsuit against his agency
- The main reason stated for leaving SM Entertainment was the aggravation of the ankle injury he suffered at the ISAC (Idol Star Athlete Championship).
- On January 12, 2016, Tao won the “Most Influential Male Singer” award at the 2016 mobile video festival.
- On October 27, 2017, it was announced that the Seoul court made a final decisions to support SM Entertainment. Unlike Kris and Luhan, whose lawsuit against SM were resolved by compromise, Tao’s case was the only case in which the court decided entirely in the interest of SM.
- In February 2018, Tao won a lawsuit in China against SM Entertainment, but it was explained that the ruling was related to the release of Tao’s album, which violated the right not to contract with SM Entertainment.
- Tao has appealed, but on March 15, 2018, the court rejected Tao’s appeal, so he had continued his exclusive contract with SM Entertainment.
