Maps of Music

Exist (2023)

Where the lyrics of Exist take you, and where it was really made.

Exist received 1.6 million pre-orders within 28 days, yet the group promoted it as a seven-member act because Kai was serving mandatory military service.

Key places

Recording place credited on the album page (2023)

Recording site doobdoob Studio — The album page credits Doobdoob in Seoul as a recording place for Exist. The point is placed at the Seoul location given in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Exist is the seventh studio album by South Korean boy band EXO
• Released July 10, 2023 by SM Entertainment
• Eighth overall album counting the group's Korean releases
• Nine songs in total, including two pre-release singles
• First album promoted as a seven-member group, as Kai was undergoing mandatory military service
• Vocals from all eight Korean members, including Kai
• Member Lay did not take part in this album
• Opening track 'Cream Soda' is a dance-pop song with an exotic rhythm and upbeat brass, keyboard and drum instrumentation
• 'Regret It' is an energetic R&B song with a groovy 808 bass beat and colorful synths, with Chanyeol credited for helping write the lyrics
• 'Hear Me Out' is an R&B song with an old school vibe
• 'Private Party' is an R&B dance song that combines powerful bass drums, dreamlike synth, vocal chops and whistling
• 'Cinderella' is a synthpop song built on a explosive drop made from pluck synth riffs and drums
• 'No Makeup' is an R&B song with a trap beat
• 'Love Fool' is an R&B pop song with retro synth production
• 'Another Day' is an alternative pop song with a laid-back rhythm, 808 bass and keyboard layering
• The album closes with the first pre-release single 'Let Me In', an R&B ballad with a dreamy sound

Background

• January 2023: leader Suho announced that the group would release new music after spring
• June 9: SM announced that EXO would release the seventh studio album on July 10
• June 12: SM announced the title release date, along with a video featuring EXO's updated logo
• June 12, 2023: pre-release single 'Let Me In' released
• June 30, 2023: second pre-release single 'Hear Me Out' released
• Title track 'Cream Soda' released alongside the album
• Pre-orders opened June 12, in three photobook versions, eight digipack versions and eight SMini versions

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed by SM Entertainment in 2011, debuted in 2012 as a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul.
• Debuted with twelve members split into Exo-K and Exo-M, performing in Korean and Mandarin respectively.
• Kris, Luhan, and Tao left the group individually amid legal disputes with SM Entertainment in 2014 and 2015.
• Exo has performed exclusively as one group since the 2014 EP Overdose, though its music continues to use multiple languages.

Members

• The group currently consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun.
• Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin formed the sub-unit Exo-CBX in 2016; Sehun and Chanyeol formed Exo-SC in 2019.

Career

• The first studio album XOXO (2013) sold over one million copies, making Exo the first Korean act to do so in twelve years.
• Exist (2023) is their best selling album in South Korea, with over 2 million copies sold.
• Exo won five consecutive Album of the Year awards at the MAMA Awards and two consecutive Artist of the Year awards at the Melon Music Awards.
• Don't Mess Up My Tempo (2018) became their highest-charting album on the US Billboard 200, debuting at number 23.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Released July 10, 2023 by SM Entertainment
• Pre-orders: 1.6 million within a 28-day period before release
• Surpassed Exo's previous personal pre-order record of 1.2 million set by Don't Fight the Feeling (2021)
• Available in three photobook versions, eight digipack versions and eight SMini versions
• Nine songs, including two pre-release singles, 'Let Me In' and 'Hear Me Out'
• Title track 'Cream Soda' released with the album
• Vocals from all eight Korean members, with Kai taking part despite his military service
• Lay did not participate, so the album was promoted as a seven-member group

Records

• Ranked eighth among the best-selling albums worldwide in the IFPI Global Music Report 2023
• Sold 2.3 million units worldwide, according to the IFPI report
• Pre-order total of 1.6 million in 28 days set a new personal record for the group
• Release marked the seventh studio album and eighth overall album for EXO

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Member Lay did not participate on this album.
• Chanyeol helped write the lyrics for the track 'Regret It'.
• The album closes with the first pre-release single 'Let Me In', which was released on June 12, 2023.
• Leader Suho announced in January 2023 that the group would release new music after spring.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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