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In their early years, EXO spearheaded the rise of K-pop's third generation, which ultimately achieved global domination.
While newer groups have since surpassed them in sales, EXO remains an iconic force with one of the most influential brands in K-pop. Several members have also found great success as solo artists. Today, we'll take a closer look at the charts and sales of the group's main units.
Looking at the big picture: EXO
Formation and debut (2012)
EXO, a South Korean-Chinese boy group formed by SM Entertainment, debuted on April 8, 2012. The group was split into two subunits: EXO-K, focusing on the Korean market, and EXO-M, targeting Chinese audiences. Their early singles like Mama and History introduced a sci-fi-inspired narrative involving superpowers, paired with dynamic performances. While initially garnering moderate attention, the group’s concept and style set them apart in the competitive K-pop landscape.
Breakthrough with XOXO (2013)
In 2013, EXO released their first full-length album, XOXO, featuring the hit single Growl which was named K-pop's best song of the year by Billboard. The album and its repackaged version became commercial successes, with over a million copies sold, something undone in the Korean music industry for twelve years.
Quickly, EXO established themselves as a prominent act in K-pop. The release of Miracles in December at the end of 2013, another South Korean #1 and US' World chart #1 too, confirmed this new status.
Member departures and Overdose (2014)
2014 was a pivotal year for EXO, marked by the release of their EP Overdose, which topped charts in both South Korea and China. At #129, it was the highest ranked male K-pop album in the US, paving the way for subsequent K-pop bands' successes.
However, it also saw the departure of Kris and Luhan, who filed lawsuits against SM Entertainment, citing unfair treatment. Despite these challenges, EXO maintained their popularity, with Overdose becoming the best-selling album of the year in South Korea, a first for an EP.
Continued success with Exodus and Love Me Right (2015)
In 2015, EXO released their second full-length album, Exodus, and its repackaged version, Love Me Right. The title track Call Me Baby achieved widespread acclaim, and the album sold over a million copies, reaffirming EXO’s commercial dominance. Love Me Right also got a Japanese single release, which became the highest selling Japanese debut single by a Korean act.
With Exodus reaching the US Top 100 album chart (#95) and Call Me Baby charting in the Canadian Hot 100, the global presence of EXO was a unique phenomenon at the time. They were in a league of their own in South Korean, charting five albums among the year's top 10, including the entire top 4.
Tao’s departure later that year marked another shift in the group’s lineup, leaving EXO with nine active members. More specifically, half of their Chinese sub-unit were gone at that point, leaving only Xiumin, Lay and Chen.
Ex’Act and For Life and the sub-unit EXO-CBX (2016)
EXO’s 2016 releases, Ex’Act and its repackaged version, Lotto, continued their streak of commercial success. Singles like Monster and Lotto highlighted a darker, edgier sound. The album was another million seller with all versions combined (Korean and Chinese for the original and the repackage). While cumulatively it was the top album of the year, for the fourth time in a row, officially BTS' Wings landed at #1 as all its sales came from a single version,
Later that year, EXO released their third winter album, For Life, further showcasing their versatility with a focus on ballads.
The end of the year was very busy, with a new smash Japanese single in Coming Over, the debut of Lay as a solo artist, and the expansion of the EXO brand to EXO-CBX, a new sub-unit featuring Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin. The 2016 year end chart in South Korea was one more EXO demonstration, with EXO-K's Ex'act at #2, For Life at #3, EXO-CBX' Hey Mama! at #6, Lay's Lose Control at #7, EXO-M's Ex'act at #8, EXO-K's Lotto at #9 and EXO-M's Lotto at #17.
The War and global tours (2017-2018)
The group’s 2017 album The War and its repackaged version, The War: The Power of Music, featured the reggae-inspired hit Ko Ko Bop. The album was another commercial success, selling over a million copies, despite the absence of Lay. EXO also embarked on their third world tour, performing in multiple continents and expanding their reach. They closed the year with a new smash winter EP release, Universe.
In 2018, EXO performed on multiple events tied with the Winter Olympics, gaining global exposure. Later in the year they released Don’t Mess Up My Tempo, their first album to benefit from significant exports worldwide, unlike its predecessors which were often limited to downloads outside of Asia. It didn't disappoint as it became their first to chart on the Billboard 200’s top 25, at #23. Its repackage, Love Shot, featured the title track of the same name, which became one of their most iconic songs.
EXO-CBX' Blooming Days and the Japanese effort Countdown completed their release schedule. In both years 2017 and 2018 EXO was beaten by BTS on South Korean annual charts, but they were still increasing their sales album after album and leading over anyone else. Tempo and its repackage close the year on an incredible 1.95 million sales.
Military enlistments and Obsession (2019-2024)
By 2019, several members began their mandatory military service, leading to fewer group activities. Their main figures also kicked their solo careers, including Chen, Baekhyun, ans Chanyeol and Sehun as a duet, EXO-SC. Baekhyun and Kai were also part of the K-pop supergroup SuperM.
At the end of the year EXO released Obsession, their sixth full-length album, as a six-member group, with Xiumin and D.O. on military duties. The album’s title track reflected a more experimental sound and was well-received by fans.
In 2020, members pursued solo ventures and subunit projects, again adapting to military service contraints. Suho debuted his solo career, while Baekhyun and Kai also released successful solo albums. Sehun and Chanyeol continued to promote the subunit EXO-SC. On his side, Lay focused on his activities in China.
In 2021, they managed to record a new mini album, Don't Fight the Feeling. It became another million seller. D.O. debuted solo as well, with Baekhyun settling as the biggest solo member, shifting a million copies of his third mini album Bambi.
While they are still not done with military services - Kai and Sehun are currently enlisted - they released their last album to date in mid-2023 with Exist.
Legacy and current status
As of 2025, EXO remains a significant figure in K-pop. Known for their consistent album sales, innovative concepts, and global influence, they have left a lasting impact on the industry. While newer bands like Stray Kids and Seventeen are outselling them at this point, their decade-long career has been outstanding. They were pioneers in breaking boundaries for K-pop, initiating the movement that made the genre global. Today's review will establish how much they sold throughout every format, from sales to downloads to streams.
EXO album sales
Updated studio album sales & comments
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Let's set the scene: when EXO debuted, the biggest stars of K-pop's second generation like Super Junior, Girls' Generation, BigBang and TVXQ were selling around 300,000 copies of their main albums.
EXO’s success was evident right from the start, as they surpassed these figures effortlessly, even with lower-profile releases like EPs and winter albums.
Their first full-length album, XOXO, raised the bar significantly, selling an incredible 1.4 million copies overall. It was a massive success in both Korea and China, with similar sales in the two markets, something that remained true all along their career.
EXO quickly established a remarkable sales pace: over half a million copies for their mini albums and well over a million for their studio albums with the related repackage. Exodus and Ex’Act confirmed this trend, while The War (1.76 million) and Don’t Mess Up My Tempo (over 2 million) set even higher marks.
Although Obsession sold fewer copies, it still performed as a blockbuster release. Conversely, their mini album Don’t Fight the Feeling broke the million mark, as did their latest album, Exist.
Altogether, EXO has sold over 16 million copies of their studio releases, cementing their legacy as one of K-pop’s most successful groups.
Want to compare the act's albums with others?
EXO songs sales
Below, we list down results from the artist through physical sales, digital sales and streaming.
Digital songs
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The majority of EXO's top-selling downloads were released between 2012 and 2017, benefiting from South Korea's robust digital sales market before streaming replaced them from 2018 onwards.
Among these hits, Growl stands out as a signature song. After its initial success in 2013, it stayed in South Korea’s charts for years, eventually selling 2.5 million copies across all its versions.
Nearly every album up to 2017 had its standout hit. The title track Overdose sold 1.5 million copies, as did Call Me Baby from Exodus and Love Me Right from its repackage. While tracks like Unfair and Sing for You fell just short of the seven-digit mark, blockbuster hits such as Monster and Ko Ko Bop reached those heights.
From 2018 onward, with South Korea’s download market fading and limited availability of songs in China, sales numbers for later tracks were significantly smaller. Even massive hits like Love Shot managed only 55,000 units.
Still, EXO’s earlier success extended beyond singles. At their peak, all album tracks were selling over 300,000 copies each, contributing substantial numbers to their total. Combined, EXO’s career download sales exceed 35 million, highlighting their impact during the digital era.
Streaming
Audio Streams
– South Korea: Genie streams * 2.20 (consistent with Gaon streaming numbers)
– Japan: AWA streams * 100 / 4 (AWA has 4% of the Japanese streaming market)
– Arabic world: Anghami streams
– Sub-Saharan Africa: Boomplay + Audiomack streams
– Elsewhere: Spotify streams * Spotify market shares based on artists' market distribution
Video Streams
– China* : QQ video streams * 50 if the song is available for audio stream, QQ video streams * 5 elseway (scale built based on known figures for several major artists)
– Elsewhere : Youtube views increased by 10% to account for various local platforms
*since Chinese streaming platforms are mostly video streaming platforms, their streams are weighted on par with YouTube streams.
Audio Stream value – 1,500 plays equal 1 album unit
Video Stream value – 6,750 views equal 1 album unit
Equivalent Albums Sales (EAS) = ( Spotify * ArtistRatio + Genie * 2.20 + AWA * 100 / 4 + Anghami + Boomplay + Audiomack ) / 1500 + ( QQ views* 50(or 5) + YouTube * 1.1 ) / 6750
Top hits
EXO's extensive discography is headlined by Love Shot, a standout track dominating both Spotify and YouTube with nearly 400 million streams and 1 billion views. It ranks as the second most popular song on Chinese platforms, a runner-up on Japan’s AWA, and a top 5 track on South Korea’s Genie. Altogether, Love Shot has earned an impressive 770,000 equivalent album sales (EAS).
Close behind, Monster, Ko Ko Bop, and Call Me Baby each boast around half a million EAS. While these tracks may seem slightly less global, they were actually bigger than Love Shot upon their initial releases, topping the charts in their homeland with peak positions of #1, #1, and #2, respectively.
In the 300,000-400,000 EAS range, you'll find early hit Growl - EXO’s only Song of the Year winner at the MelOn Awards - alongside Tempo, their last top 5 hit in South Korea, Obsession, and their strongest album cut, The Eve.
In total, an impressive 27 EXO songs have surpassed 100,000 EAS from streaming. Their cumulative streaming achievements are remarkable: over 10 million EAS, more than 15 billion streams in China, nearly 10 billion views on YouTube, and 4.4 billion streams on Spotify.
Full catalog breakdown
If you are familiar with the artist's catalog and want to check details of each and every song, you can access to all of them right here.
Keep yourself up to date
Our website provides you a fantastic tool which fetches updated Spotify streams as you request them, use it to watch these results grow day after day!
EXO compilations sales
Assigning compilation sales to original studio albums
How do you understand this table? For example, if we check the EXO FROM EXOPLANET #1 - THE LOST PLANET IN JAPAN [Video] line, these figures mean it sold 80,000 units worldwide. The second statistics column means all versions of all the songs included in this package add for 1,590,023 equivalent album sales from streams across all formats.
The second part (on the right of the table) shows how many equivalent streams are coming from each original album, plus the share it represents in the overall package.
Therefore, the streaming figures convey that songs from XOXO equate to 55% of EXO FROM EXOPLANET #1 - THE LOST PLANET IN JAPAN [Video]'s tracklist attractiveness. Meaning, it generated 37,000 of its 80,000 album sales and so on for the other records.
Raw compilations sales
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Although EXO never released a traditional greatest hits album, they have an extensive catalog that includes several live albums with accompanying videos, a pair of Japanese singles that functioned as EPs, and many albums available for download on Chinese platforms.
For instance, the Ex’Act album sold an impressive 1.12 million copies via Chinese downloads. However, these sales are adjusted to account for pre-2021 bulk-buying practices, which inflated figures before regulations were introduced. In any case, the numbers are staggering - The War alone moved 870,000 copies, contributing to a total of 4.2 million sales through this channel.
EXO’s Japanese singles also performed strongly, with Love Me Right selling 305,000 copies and Coming Over adding another 250,000. Additionally, their video releases have combined for over half a million sales, further showcasing their commercial success across various formats.
Re-assigned compilation sales – Results & comments
As is often the case with K-pop stars, EXO’s entire catalog has been leveraged in various formats, driving additional sales across all their albums. The strongest performers on this list, Ex’Act and The War, benefit from their huge sales of downloads in China.
Bonus: Total album (all types) sales per country
Please note country-specific numbers may miss sales of a few minor releases, although totals are complete.
EXO: career results (CSPC)
Albums results (CSPC)
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EXO, the trailblazers of the K-pop industry in the mid-2010s, have surpassed 35 million equivalent album sales.
Leading the pack are four albums nearly tied at the top, each with around 4 million sales: The War, Don’t Mess Up My Tempo, Ex’Act, and Exodus. Close behind is XOXO, rounding out the top five with 3.4 million.
Additional millions come from Exist (2.5 million), Don’t Fight the Feeling (1.9 million), Obsession and Overdose (1.6 million each), Sing for You (1.4 million), Miracles in December (1.3 million), Universe (1.1 million), and Mama (1 million). Altogether, EXO boasts an impressive total of 13 projects surpassing the one-million mark.
The only exceptions are Hey Mama! and Blooming Days by EXO-CBX, each with over 700,000 sales, the mini album For Life (over 900,000), and the Japanese release Magic (220,000).
Thanks to the enduring strength of their catalog, the band is poised to reach 40 million sales eventually - whether they make a comeback soon or not will determine how quickly they achieve this milestone.
Singles results (CSPC)
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Want to compare the act's songs with other top hits?
Discography results (ASR)
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Records & achievements
- EXO's XOXO was the first Korean album in 12 years to reach a million sales.
- Overdose, Exodus, Love Me Right, Ex'Act and The War each broke pre-orders records in South Korea.
- At 147,000 EAS, Love Me Right had the highest debut of all-time for a foreign single in Japan.
- In 2016, EXO was the first K-pop artist ever to top 2 million album sales in a year.
- Until its shutdown, EXO were the most streamed artist on Chinese platform Xiami with over a billion streams.
- By the end of 2017, Ko Ko Bop was the most streamed song ever on Genie with over 60 million.
Dynamic Spotify key performance indicators
As usual, feel free to comment and / or ask a question!
Sources: IFPI, Spotify, YouTube, Discogs.
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