By AZUREEN SOON and LOI BI LIAN
brats@thestar.com.my

MTV World Stage was held in Malaysia for the fifth year last weekend and EXO was among the performers. BRATs had the chance to attend an exclusive invite-only group interview with members of EXO, the super rookie K-pop idol group which is divided into EXO-M and EXO-K.

EXO-M does its promotions in China whereas EXO-K is responsible for the Korean market. But recently, both groups combined to promote their latest album XOXO, which features hits such as Wolf and Growl.

There were a few challenges that the South Korean boyband faced when they first emerged as a 12-member troop due to its size. Co-ordination to make sure that everything runs smoothly is one. However, there are also perks of being in a group with multiple members.

“We can have more variety and try new things in our performances with 12 members, rather than six,” Baekhyun, 21, stated.

Whenever the “next K-pop sensation” is mentioned, EXO immediately pops to mind. Although they debuted just last year, they have broken the record of notching up over 700,000 copies of their albums in their homeland and being the first artistes to do so in 12 years.

When asked on how they felt, EXO-K leader Suho, 22, stated that they felt very happy as they have never expected to be able to achieve this kind of great success.

“We’ll always try to give a better quality performance or album next time when we are having another comeback,” Suho continued.

EXO’s selling point lies in the fact that they are separated into two groups – something unprecedented in the K-pop market. This leads to them having a bigger audience due to the simultaneous promotions in both China and South Korea.

The boys also had the chance to showcase their vocals on the popular South Korean music programme Immortal Song 2. During the show, they performed in sub-units of two – a refreshing change from their standard EXO gigs.

“We missed our members!” exclaimed Chen, 21, when asked how they felt about performing as sub-units on the show.
EXO, said Chen, is interested in collaborating with any international artistes as this will be something extraordinary for the group.

When probed on their future album concept, all of the members laughed and said it is a “secret”. However, they are open to plans of releasing an English album. EXO-M leader Kris, 23, quipped that “anything is possible”.

At the end of the interview, Suho thanked their fans for their immense support. He promised that bigger and better things than Wolf and Growl would come.

We are definitely excited and looking forward to what EXO has in store for us!