I. Introduction
XOXO is the first full album by EXO released on June 3, 2013.
The album is a follow-up to the group's debut EP Mama. The album was released in two version, a korean ''Kiss'' edition and a chinese ''Hug'' edition.
Two singles were released from XOXO, Wolf being the title track and Growl being the lead single of the repackaged version released on August 5, 2013.
II. Commercial Performance
Wolf and Growl went to chart in the top 10 of the Gaon Singles Chart and Growl peaked at number 3 of Billboard Korea Kpop Hot 100.
The album reached over 300,000 collective pre-orders and peaked at number one on the Billboard World Album Chart a week after release.
As of December 2013, the Korean and Chinese versions of the album, as well as their respective repackaged versions, have collectively sold over 1,070,000 copies. .
With over a million copies sold, XOXO also became Korea's best-selling album in 12 years.
III. Music and Background
Wolf was composed by Will Simms, Nermin Harambasic from Dsign Music and SM Entertainment resident songwriter Kenzie, who also provided the lyrics for the Korean version of the song while Zhou Weijie penned the lyrics for the Mandarin Chinese version and Yoo Young-jin provides background vocals. The dance for the song was choreographed by Tony Testa.
The members explain that the dance has 3 elements: the trees and forest, the caves, and the wolf itself. Member Kris revealed that it took them approximately 3 to 4 months to get the choreography down, due to its level of difficulty.
Several "developmental" tracks were produced and recorded in 2011 before Exo's official debut into entertainment industry but never made it into the first EP Mama. Some of these tracks were included on the XOXO album, including "Black Pearl" and "My Lady".
In July 2013, a re-package version of 'XOXO', Growl, was developed with three additional tracks.
Growl is composed by Hyuk Shin, DK, Jordan Kyle, John Major, and Jarah Gibson. Growl is a dance pop song with contemporary R&B and funk influences.
The single was prematurely leaked online on July 27, when a video of the group practicing to the Korean version of the song was uploaded to various video-sharing websites.
IV. Tracklist
1. Growl
2. Wolf
3. XOXO
4. Lucky
5. Baby Don't Cry
6. Black Pearl
7. Don't Go
8. Let Out The Beast
9. 3.6.5
10. Heart Attack
11. Peter Pan
12. Baby
13. My Lady
V. MV and Album Tracks
