How is EXO so successful in the music industry?

EXO's new song "Growl" is popular among teenagers everywhere, and is popular even among fans in their 20s and 30s. Not only that, they've succeeded in both singles and album sales, and are the new top boy group model. "Growl" has been number 1 for 3 consecutive weeks on SBS "Inkigayo" and Mnet's "M Countdown," and also has won the number 1 trophy on MBC "Show! Music Core" and KBS "Music Bank." Thanks to this song, EXO has sold over 700,000 copies of their 1st album. Not only that, currently their song is in the top 5 on Melon charts, a whopping one month after its release.

For a while, boy groups battled it out with difficult choreography and a strong hook. However, EXO came and changed things up. EXO lacks 3 things that other groups have.

There Is No Hook

"Growl" doesn't have a shouting singing style, as is characteristic of many boy group's songs. And there is no hook to emphasize the repeated chorus. That's what sets it apart from other boy groups' songs.

Although there is an "I growl" part in the beginning of "Growl" that can be called a hook, it doesn't play a major part in the song. Instead, there are different melodies throughout the song. There is also no unnecessary rap in the song used to fill the void.

Lee Sung Soo, the head of SM's producing department said, "Since most songs have hooks, it's hard to differentiate between songs that have it and songs that don't. But 'Growl' has a repeating loop, and unlike other songs that have a repeating pattern in the chorus or climax, there is a different melody to change things up. Also, the song's genre is urban R&B, so it is very unlike other songs that have hooks."

He continued, "'Growl' isn't a song of a new genre. However, because it doesn't have the same pattern of a repeating melody on top of repeating accompaniment to call a hook, it is different from a lot of songs you see on television. That's why people in their 20s and 30s, who grew up listening to pop and R&B, can appreciate this song."

There Is No One Point Choreography

Instead of choosing easy point choreography to highlight a specific melody, EXO's "Growl" has an outstanding high quality performance. If the average boy group were to be admired for individual choreography, then can you imagine the choreography a 12-member band could produce? The 12 members could each have a different part, then pair up in teams of 2, and then all come together to perform the same dance.

SM's performance directing team leader Tak Young Joon stresses the storytelling aspect of the choreography. He said, "When we consider choreography, we have to make sure there is a point, and also an overall harmony, but in EXO's case, storytelling is just as important."

That story is told in "Wolf." He said, "In the song 'Wolf,' there was a dance depicting a wolf, but more than that, there was a boy's expression of love and masculinity. 'Growl' then continued that story about a man's love for a woman. It's the story of two different men fighting for the same woman. They did this by use of camera angles and singing straight into the camera, as if speaking to the other party fighting over the same girl."

This type of battle performance is best expressed in the music video. The music video is without edit and gives the audience a point of view from someone who is actually watching the members of EXO, who emit a natural masculine aura.

There Is No Individual Activity

EXO did not take advantage of their many members to raise general awareness of the group. Every group has a good-looking star, or a member who is particularly talented in entertainment programs, but EXO never tried to make just one member popular. Instead, they focused on the group's character as a whole.

EXO was mysterious. Before they released their song "Wolf," they made their name known for 1 year and 5 months. They did their best not to be forgotten by fans by releasing new songs often, and they were different in that they didn't try to publicize their group through television entertainment. They gained the teen fans' interests by leaving everything up to imagination.

There's been talk in the music world that EXO's fans are the ones that made them idol stars, and EXO's fandom boasts as being the largest fandom since TVXQ. Every time EXO attended an event, the fences would get knocked down, and because of overeager fans, SBS "Inkigayo" even had to restrict some of the fans. A music security guard with 10 years of experience once said, "While there have been many popular groups, it's the first time I'm seeing this syndrome of overeager fans since TVXQ."

That's because the group appealed to the fans through their mysteriousness. Since their inception, EXO has been chasing the image of being an alien group with superpowers. While this could have put a distance between the group and the fans, they drew closer to their fans with their latest album. They shot the music video with a school background and released teaser images that were taken in a familiar neighborhood. They wore school uniforms on stage, and even included a scene in their music video where they actually had a battle against high school students. And so EXO became familiar to their fans, who then in turn became that much more popular.

Even up until "Wolf," a lot of boy group agencies considered EXO as rivals, but now they're saying that EXO is at a whole different level.  EXO truly is a top idol group of this age, and their massive fandom is indication of their unparalleled popularity. And this was all made possible by not doing what the other groups do, but by being original and unique, setting themselves apart from everyone else.