That was Chen and Luhan on the Mandarin version. While I absolutely love the Mandarin one, the Korean ones just hits a bit more for me. I think it's because Baekhyun and D .O. have a deeper more r&b soulful sound to them. Like I said though, both are amazing. Even more considering this was pre debut. Baby Exo did not come to play. Monster Rookies from the start. You just don't see groups with those big powerhouse vocals as much nowadays.
I totally agree. As much as i love beautiful vocal tones, i still believe every group needs a powerhouse vocalist who can belt a long and high ass adlib/high note.
I agree. For more soulful R&B, I prefer the K version because they have deeper warmer tones. For the sweet, more poppy R&B I usually like the M version because of Luhan, Chen and Lay’s brighter vocal tones. And this is why as a whole, EXO is a well balanced group when it comes to Vocals. They have Baekhyun, D.O., Chanyeol for the warm vocals, then Chen, Suho, Xiumin and Lay for the clearer, brighter tones. Then they have Sehun and Kai who can go warm and darker tones or soft and sweet (well, the rest of them can do this too I think) to balance it all out.
In Korean "Mama" is a term they use to address a leader or king or queen. It's a term of reverence and respect. It's similar to saying "Your majesty." If you watch very many historical Korean dramas you will hear the characters call the royal family, and especially the head of the royal family or leader, "Mama." So, in this song, EXO are speaking to the leader or deity who sent them to Earth, essentially asking, "Now that I'm here, Your Majesty what should I do? How do I fulfill what you have sent me to do? etc." (They use the Korean word in the Chinese version to keep the connection between the two groups.) From day one, EXO's concept is that they are aliens from planet EXO and they came to Earth with superpowers to protect the Tree of Life from the Red Forces. Each of the members has a superpower that is unique to them and almost every MV will have at least one, if not all of them, using their powers. Exo, as in exoskeleton, means "outer," so as a member of EXO they are outside the ordinary. The groups concept comes from the real term exoplanet, which is a term that is used for a planet that is outside our solar system, so their name was chosen to represent the fact that they are stars that are "out of this world" when it comes to their talents. EXO's concept is also connected to real life planetary and solar events so many of EXO's comebacks and new song releases for the main group of EXO are connected to when eclipses and other planetary phenomenon take place. For example, their War album and Power album release and comeback coincided with when we had a solar eclipse, etc. SM Entertainment has all their release dates and concepts planned out for years in advance and it all part of SM's SM Culture Universe storyline, which also includes parts of all of SM's other groups and artists storylines. As you can see, if you want to understand EXO's story, it's very important that you pay attention to the introduction story in "Mama" because it is literally setting up EXO's storyline. The narrator is telling us EXO's whole origin story, about how EXO have been split up into two groups, EXO-K and EXO-M, and they are part of the same group and yet separate -- part of two worlds that come together as one, etc. And he is telling us about how the Tree of Life has been split in half to protect it from falling into the Red Forces' control -- each half of the tree representing one half of EXO (EXO-K and EXO-M) -- and EXO's mission is to find the two halves of the tree and reunite them to restore peace in the world. In the EXO-K version of "Mama" the EXO-K members -- Suho, Baekhyun, D.O., Chanyeol, Kai and Sehun -- are using their powers to search for and meet up with the EXO-M members. That is why we see the K members searching for the M members. For example, we see Kai using his power of teleportation as he searches for all the members and Baekhyun use his power of light and Suho with his power of water, Chanyeol with the power of fire using his Phoenix wings, D.O. with the power of earth and strength and Sehun controlling the wind. Because Xiumin is a member of EXO-M, we see him appear in the mirror because he is being summoned by Suho, who is an EXO-K member. As the story goes, when EXO arrived on Earth, they did not all arrive together. Their story starts out that they were dropped on Earth in different locations all over the world -- which is explained more in their individual Pathcode teaser videos as part of their "Call Me Baby" comeback promotions -- and they have to search for each other and meet up, kind of like in a quest, before they can begin to figure out how to accomplish the tasks they have been sent to Earth to do. When we see the members all together in their "Mama" MVs they are together because they are still on Planet Exo, where they are still united. But when we see them separated it is when they have all been sent to Earth. They keep flashing back and forth between present moments and recent past moments. Therefore, how I interpret it is that at the end they aren't back together yet, but that is a scene from when they were still on Planet Exo as they are preparing to be sent to Earth. The two worlds the narrator talks about in the introduction could possibly be different dimensions, so we often see parts of their story in their MVs and other content, which could be interpreted as them being in different dimensions or time periods or different moments in history. Each of the members in EXO-K has a counterpart in EXO-M, so part of what we saw in this MV was them showing us which EXO-K member corresponded with which EXO-M member. For example, Suho (EXO-K) with the power of water corresponds with Xiumin (EXO-M) who has the power of frost/ice. Chanyeol (EXO-K) with the power of fire is Kris' (EXO-M) counterpart because he has the power of flight, and as we saw in the EXO-M MV, Chanyeol has the power of the phoenix and Kris has the power of the dragon, which both animal spirits have fire elements and flight, so they connect. D.O. (EXO-K) with the power of force is connected to Chen (EXO-M) with the power of thunder/lightning. And Sehun (EXO-K), who has the power of wind, is connected to Tao (EXO-M) who controls time. Baekhyun (K) with the power of light is connected to Lay (M) with the power of healing; and Kai (K) with teleportation is linked to Luhan (M) with the power of telekinesis, etc. That's how they maintain their bond even as members of separate groups. Yes, the symbols we saw represent each of the members and it has to do with each of their powers. For instance, Kai's symbol is a pyramid and it represents teleportation, and Lay's symbol is a unicorn and it represents his power of healing, etc. (In future MVs and other things to do with EXO, when we see things like a pyramid, we know that is a reference to something to do with Kai, etc.) Even the most minute of details in EXO's content has something to do with their origin story and EXO's storyline. During that screamo part, the "tattoos" on Kai's face and body say "EXO from Exoplanet 2012" and also all of the EXO members names, or at least the 6 EXO-K members names, as well as EXO's symbol and other hidden clues to EXO's origin story. (All of the words on Kai's face and body are in English, so if we really study that scene, we see there is a whole story even in his body paint, etc.) And although it looks like Kai is the one that does the really high note at that moment, the voice we are hearing is actually Baekhyun.
Each member in EXO-K also has a partner in EXO-M that fills the same role in their respective group. For example, Baekhyun is the main vocalist in EXO-K and Chen is the main vocalist in EXO-M; D.O. is the other main vocalist in K and Luhan was the other main vocalist in M; Chanyeol is the main rapper in K and Kris was the main rapper in M; Sehun is the lead rapper in K and Xiumin is the lead rapper in M; Kai is the main dancer in K and Lay is the main dancer in M; and then it's Suho is a lead vocalist in K and Tao was a rapper/vocalist in M, (I'm not sure how these two really work together because Tao is more of a rapper and Suho is a vocalist, but because they are the last two they are put together.) Now that you have seen "Mama" and are starting to understand EXO's backstory, as you watch all of their other MVs, it should make more sense to you if you keep in mind all the details about them being aliens with superpowers and how they are on a mission, etc. Plus, you should also know that all of SM's groups' MVs and storylines are connected. For example, aespa's storyline was specifically designed to connect to EXO's and SuperM's storyline, as well as Red Velvet, NCT/WayV, and maybe even some of SHINee's new MVs. And now it even looks like Super Junior's "House Party" MV, TVXQ's Max Changmin's solo "Devil" MV and U-Know's new solo "NEXUS Reality Show" MV, etc. are connected. Everything SM does is part of SM's Universe, which all started with the creation of EXO and has only become more complex and epic over the years as SM introduces each new group and storyline to the story. And with every new MV or video another chapter is added to the story.
I am so glad you also took the time to watch the EXO-M version of "Mama." Now you see why it was important to see both versions. If you watch all versions of everything EXO does -- even if you don't react to both -- you might be able to understand a little more about EXO's mission and everything they have been sent to Earth to do. Although, the EXO-K and EXO-M versions of their MVs may look similar on the surface. None of them ever use the same footage in both MVs. The scenes that look the same only look the same because they wanted them to, but they were all shot separately. Even when all 12 or 9 members are involved in both MVs, it's never the same because the members are all given different parts depending on the version that you watch. The EXO-K or Korean versions are meant to tell the story from EXO-K's point of view, where the EXO-M or Mandarin versions tell EXO-M's side of the story. In "Mama" the story starts in the EXO-K MV and it continues in the EXO-M MV, so no you never saw Kris' dragon in the EXO-K MV. In the EXO-K MV we see Chanyeol first activate his phoenix wings as he is preparing to go find Kris, which is why then in the EXO-M MV we see the two on parallel universes with Kris and his dragon on one side of the world and Chanyeol with his phoenix on the other side of the split screen. "Mama" was released in 2012, so this is more than 12 years ago. Xiumin, the oldest, was about 22 at this time and Kai and Sehun, who are the youngest, were about 18. However, if you remember, Suho and Kai were the members that trained the longest with the company before they debuted. Suho was a trainee for 7 years -- he began when he was about 14 years old (he was about 21 when he debuted) -- and Kai was a trainee for about 6 years -- he started training when he was about 12. But Baekhyun was only a trainee for about 6 months before he debuted. He was one of the older trainees at about 20 years old. So, this just goes to show you the amount of hard work, dedication and talent that EXO has. You also should look up the lyrics for "Mama." As you noticed, the majority of their Gregorian chant is in English: "Shoot anonymous, anonymous; Heartless, mindless; No one who care about me ... Careless, careless (Mama: Mama in Korean means Your Majesty); Shoot anonymous, anonymous (Mama); Heartless, mindless (Mama); No one who care about me (Mama)" Just in case you were wondering, in the beginning EXO's Mandarin MVs were subbed in Korean to help them appeal to a Korean audience. When you see English words those are lyrics that are sung in English and the rest of the song is in Mandarin. Also, if you know what the whole song is talking about and what the lyrics mean it will give you even more insight into why EXO have been sent to Earth and what their mission is all about. However, if you look up the English translation to both the Korean and Mandarin versions you will see that the lyrics are slightly different, because the story is being told from different perspectives. EXO's storyline begins with them being sent to Earth to try and heal the world and to stop and prevent the Red Force from taking over and corrupting everything. And the story in the lyrics of "Mama" foreshadows what they will have to overcome and understand about humans and our world to accomplish their tasks. EXO kind of takes humanity to task and asks us to explain why we would allow all this anger and hatred to cloud everything around us and why we don't love each other more? It's really a very beautiful message and the more you learn about EXO, the more interesting the whole thing becomes. In the song the members, being aliens from another planet, are struggling to understand how we as humans could allow all these evil and bad things to happen all around us, such as war, hate and the destruction of the environment etc. and they are daunted by the fact that they are now tasked with figuring out how to fix it all and prevent more evil from taking place. That's why they need to find the two halves of the Tree of Life and reunite them to restore peace. In the EXO-M MV Xiumin and Kris are the members that do the screamo part because they are EXO-M's rappers. However, although it looks like Kris is the one that does that high note at the end of that section, really the voice we are hearing is Chen. Tao is the one that can flip and jump like that, so he is the one that is always doing it in all of EXO's early MVs. (He does it in both the EXO-M and EXO-K MVs.) If you watch EXO's 23 pre-debut teaser videos, you will see Tao showcasing his martial arts skills and see that all his moves are 100% real. He can really flip and jump and spin like that and if in a battle he could kick butt. The numerous injuries he sustained from having to do those stunts in MVs and during live performances and on variety shows, etc. is one of the reasons why he left the group. The sword is real and he also often uses a staff. He is also the one that sends the butterfly to Sehun in this MV. Tao is the youngest member of EXO-M. (FYI: Tao, and Luhan, are now successful solo artists in China.) EXO's story is part supernatural and Sci-Fi and part based on reality, which touches on real life events and things that are really happening in the world. And from the very beginning, even during pre-debut days, and everything since then and everything yet to come, it all is connected to this storyline. Everything EXO does, including Baekhyun and Kai's parts in SuperM, all has something to do with the concept and story that began with "Mama," and each new installment of something from the members expands a little further on EXO's story. Whether it's an MV from the group, a solo project from one of the members, a sub-unit project, a live performance, teaser videos, concert VCRs, or even a good amount of their choreography, it all has been designed to connect to EXO's storyline. It's kind of mind blowing the amount of planning and manipulation SM has been doing over the years to connect all the dots and to continue the story. It gets even crazier when you realize how even the most minute of details were crafted to be a hidden message or detail within that storyline. To refresh your memory, here is a list of the members and what their special power is. EXO-K 💦 Suho (Kim JunMyeon) is the leader of the group and he is a lead vocalist -- his power is the ability to control water (Fun fact: Suho in Korean means guardian, as in the guardian of EXO. That's why as the leader of EXO, his stage name is Suho) 💡Baekhyun is a main vocalist and his superpower is the ability to control light. 🔥Chanyeol is the main rapper and lead vocalist -- his power is the ability to control fire and his spirit animal is the phoenix. 🌏D.O. (Do KyungSoo) is a main vocalist and his power is the ability to control earth (dirt) elements, which gives him strength/force. ☄Kai (Kim JongIn) is a main dancer, lead vocalist and sub-rapper and his power is teleportation. (Kai means opening -- as in a door or gateway -- in Chinese, so his stage name is meant to symbolize his role in the group, and as an EXO-K member he was given a Chinese name to symbolize how he is the center of the group that connects everyone together.) 🌪Sehun is the youngest member of the group and he is a lead rapper, lead dancer and a vocalist -- his power is the ability to control wind EXO-M ❄Xiumin (Kim MinSeok) is the oldest member of the group and he is a lead vocalist and lead rapper and his power is the ability to control snow/ice (frost). 🦄 Lay (Zhang Yixing) is the Chinese member of the group, he is a main dancer, lead vocalist and rapper -- his power is the ability to heal anything. 🌩 Chen (Kim JongDae) is a main vocalist and his power is the ability to control thunder/lightning/electricity. (As you can see, Xiumin and Chen were given stage names that sounded more Chinese so they would fit in better in EXO-M because they are the Korean members of the Chinese group.) The Chinese members who have since left the group: 🐉 Kris was the leader of EXO-M, he was a main rapper and vocalist -- his power was the ability to fly and his spirit animal was a dragon (Kris left the group in April 2014.) 💭 Luhan was a main vocalist and his power was telekinesis (the ability to control things with his mind). (Luhan left the group in October 2014.) ⏰Tao (Z.Tao) was a lead rapper and vocalist and the martial artist of the group, so he did the flips and stunts in the group's routines. His power was the ability to control time. (Tao ended activities with EXO in August 2015.) Fun fact: During their debut showcases, they often performed the song together, combining the Korean and Mandarin lyrics into one performance. Just wait until you hear them perform this song live in concert or during their debut showcase. It would be cool if you watched a live performance where they sang both the Korean and Mandarin versions, but you have to specifically look for a performance where they do both, because in concert most of the time the EXO-M members sang the Korean version. EXO-M rarely performed the Mandarin versions of their songs when they weren't in China. Although, as I said, there are a few early performances where they perform both versions together.
In the Korean version of MAMA, Kai was doing the scream rap part. You should most definitely check out the lyrics of the song, it'll give you a bigger appreciation for the song.
Yeah, the lyrics apply so well with the state of things nowadays. Out of the kpop I've checked out these past few years Exo's debut is one of my top faves😊😊😊😊
What Is Love is still one of my favorite songs ever. Specifically the EXO-K version. Chen and Luhan are hands-down the better singers in this era but DO and Baekhyun just put so much into it and it just hits different. Both versions are stunning, incredible, but it's the EXO-K one that stops me in my tracks every time. ETA because people forget or don't know this: Chen and Baekhyun joined the group way later than the other members. Most of the rest were trainees for years but Chen and Baekhyun only had around 11 months of traineeship each and joined the group like 8-7 months before debut. Chen sounded like this with less than 11 months of formal training with SM. He had singing lessons at school growing up but only joined SM in 2011 to begin training.
Remembering Baekhyun and chen went to same day for EXO audition ..they were competitors but went to eat together ... and passed the audition ... last added to exo line up ..Trained together just only four months to be EXO main vocalists.. overall thrir whole training periods are total 11 months ... it's crazy how both of them so passionate about their vocals stills getting vocal lessons and today industry's two of best vocalists s,....
thank you for checking out both the Korean & Mandarin versions. i only rarely see reactors react to both since it's just the same song. usually EXO-M versions are slept on because most people watch the EXO-K versions more. i hope you continue to check out both in the future.
To think that some considered them SM's first big flip. Little did they know the power standard and impact Exo would have in kpop and in future trainees, idols and artists.
I interpret the message within the lyrics of EXO's "What is Love" as EXO warning us humans to watch out for the Red Force because the Red Force have infiltrated humanity and are doing things to brainwash and control humans. "Baby, Baby, Baby, your love has caused me to lose my mind." In other words, the Red Force is using our love and passion for things like material goods and a greed for money to cause us to lose our minds. In future MVs it will become clearer how the Red Force are controlling things. I think EXO's storyline is essentially a social commentary on things within real life society that SM wants to spotlight or discuss. For example, in their "Tempo" MV, I think the reason why we see EXO just lazily sitting around staring off into space at times in that MV could be because the Red Force has brainwashed the EXO members in order to trap them. And in future MVs, such as EXO-CBX's "Hey Mama," as well as several of EXO's other MVs, you will see things such as the Red Force controlling the news media and manipulating the narrative of what is reported; and in EXO's "Coming Over" MV we see how the Red Force is spying on people with CCTV cameras and mirrors, etc. We also see an eye symbol that appears throughout several of SM's MVs -- such as Lay's solo "Namanana" and "Lit" MVs, Kai's solo "Mmmh" MV, aespa's "Savage" MV, SHINee Key's solo "Gasoline" and "Killer" MVs, etc. -- which could be what the Red Force is using to spy on everyone in the digital realm, etc., which I think could be interpreted as how "big brother" government could be watching and controlling us, etc. In the EXO-M version of "What is Love" we see the pants Lay is wearing in the dance break clip are bright red. Which could possibly be significant because we have learned that when we see red objects or red light that this most likely is because it represents something to do with the Red Force. Therefore, that could possibly mean the version of Lay we see in that clip is actually his X-EXO clone and not Lay the EXO-M member. However, something to note is that we had no idea about EXO's X-EXO clones until EXO's "Obsession" MV was released in 2019. Yet another example of how things could have been planned years in advance. Although we can never be completely sure if it really means anything, or if it's just what their stylist thought looked good on him. LOL. It's just a theory that we have developed over the years as we have worked to connect the storylines, etc. SM has never confirmed or denied anything and they have completely left it up to fans to decide what we think is happening in the story. (We can only hope that SM releases a book or produces a movie that will explain everything, so that we know whether any of our theories were actually correct.) However, as you can see, these are only the conclusions I have come to after years of analyzing EXO's storyline with the help of a lot more details added to the story from future MVs. When I first watched the "What is Love" MV, I had no idea about any of EXO's story, so I was even more clueless than you. Also, keep in mind that nothing is in chronological order when it comes to EXO's MVs, which means even within one MV each scene could be happening at a different moment within EXO's timeline of events and each scene could be connected to a different moment within any number of EXO's other MVs, as well as SM's other groups' and artists' MVs. I know, way too confusing and complex, right? It takes a lot of detective skills, so don't feel bad if you are overwhelmed or completely lost, even us fans who have been following them for years feel that way most of the time. However, I do have to say, once you start to understand how SM's brain works and how the story is designed and how things are created to connect, it does get a little easier to see how the story is unfolding. (But let me emphasize, it only makes it a LITTLE bit easier. LOL)
I'm a pre-debut stan of EXO (OT12) but because of my Chen bias (& because I live in SE Asia & not Korea) I followed EXO-M more than EXO-K. I always appreciate people who review both, so thanks!
What is love is the pre-debut for show-case the main-vocalists in each group and History was the pre-debut to show of their dancing. Love your reactions.
These are the few songs where the korean version is the one I prefer. With WayV it's almost always the Mandarin version that hits me hardest. Love EXO!
Although "What is Love" is a love song, the MV really doesn't have a whole lot to do with the song. The storyline in the MV is all about EXO's origin story and it shows the members as they first arrived here on Earth. (The song was mostly meant to showcase EXO's vocal talent and get people to pay attention to the group, etc. However, there are parts of the lyrics that could be loosely interpreted as EXO speaking to humanity.) This was their very first pre-debut MV -- about 3 or 4 months before their debut with "Mama" -- so it is setting up EXO's storyline and it's showing the members. This was before most people really even knew who EXO were. In the EXO-K (Korean) version you only hear D.O. and Baekhyun singing. In the EXO-M version, we see Chen and Luhan as the singers because they are EXO-M's main singers. However, in both MVs we see all 12 members. The rest of the members aren't singing the song, but they are helping to tell a story. The Mandarin Chinese EXO-M version has a slightly different feel because it has a sound and style that is designed to appeal more to a Chinese audience, but it's no less amazing. There's a reason why EXO has 3/4 main vocalists. The more R&B, sultry sound of the Korean version is what appeals more to a Korean ear, where the lyrical, smooth sound of the Mandarin version is what attracts their Chinese audience. As you may have noticed, there is an eclipse happening in the MV. The eclipse is what controls EXO's powers and it's where they get their power and strength from. EXO are aliens so staring at an eclipse or the sun doesn't affect them in the same way. After all, they come from Planet Exo, which has two suns. LOL In the scenes where we see D.O and Baekhyun singing, that is thought to be showing clues to EXO's storyline, such as the light that is streaming through the holes in the walls is thought to be representing Baekhyun's superpower, which is the ability to control light, and the fact that the room they are in is kind of disheveled could be after D.O. used his power of force. We also see scenes such as Chanyeol (a member of EXO-K) looking at a drawing of a unicorn and comparing it to a hieroglyph of a unicorn on a piece of rock, which is thought to be something to do with the fact that he is searching for Lay (an EXO-M member). Lay's symbol is a unicorn, which represents his power of healing. I think the rocks are clues that may have been left on Earth or on Planet Exo from ancient times. (You will see these symbols all over the place in EXO content because, as we saw introduced in their "Mama" MVs, each member has a symbol that represents them. Their symbols are often used kind of like a call beacon. When one member is looking for another member, or they want to send a member a message, you will see a version of their symbol appear. It's a way to know who the message is coming from and it's designed to make everyone aware that it's something important that you need to pay attention to.) Think of the message on those rocks like Egyptian hieroglyphs. (In one of EXO's concert VCRs -- videos that are played during their concerts -- we see that SM connects EXO's storyline to ancient Egypt, and they show us that EXO was actually mentioned in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Therefore, the EXO members either traveled back in time or they have been on Earth many times throughout history. As you may know, there are real life theories that the Egyptian pyramids were created by aliens, which is an example of how SM connected EXO's story to real things.) In the "What Is Love" storyline I think EXO are looking for clues that someone has left from the past. Just like in real life history, often ancient civilizations have left us clues to tell their story in order to make sure whatever happened to them doesn't get repeated. Therefore, I think someone has left EXO clues, just in case sometime in the future the Red Force was able to gain power once again. Hence, why in EXO's next pre-debut song "History" they talk about not wanting to allow whatever happened previously to repeat itself. And because it is thought that the EXO members can travel between time periods and dimensions, this could also mean that the clues could have possibly been left for them by their future selves. The future EXO members have traveled back in time to leave a message for the present-day EXO members in order to help them figure out how to stop the Red Force and prevent whatever happened in the future from taking place, etc. (Which we have now seen is possible from the events that take place within EXO's new "Let Me In" MV storyline, which was just released a few months ago. Yet another example of how we have to take what we know from the very beginning, and connect it to their most recent piece of the story.) The clues I think are something they need in order to find the Tree of Life and to do whatever needs to be done in order to create peace in the world once again, and free humanity and EXO from the control of the Red Force. Which will allow the Tree of Life to be whole once again and be at peace, no longer being used as a potential weapon by the Red Force, etc. In reality, I think the Red Force could be thought of as a symbol of all the things society is dealing with in the world and all the bad things that need to be fixed, such as war, hate, destruction of the environment, greed for money, corruption, etc. I interpret SM's wide-reaching message within their SM Cultured Universe and EXO's storyline as the dream of world peace. Therefore, I'm not sure we will ever see an official end to EXO's storyline or the SM Culture Universe story because World Peace is such a lofty goal that will never be accomplished fully. So, in other words, EXO's story may be an open ended one that never gets solved. I think the whole point of SM creating the SM Culture Universe storyline is because it's supposed to be a social commentary on what real life society needs to learn and do in order to create a better world. Think of everything in the SM Universe, and EXO's storyline, as a metaphor for what is happening all around us every day and what we have gone through in the past and will go through in the future if we don't learn from our mistakes, etc. In the MV for "What Is Love," we see clips from some of EXO's pre-debut teaser videos. All the clips in the MV are special clips that were originally released one at a time on their own to introduce EXO to the world, before the group's official debut. Before EXO debuted, SM released 23 teaser videos over a 3-month period and the videos showcased the members and their talents, such as Kai's special dance clips and Tao's martial arts skills, as well as told a story about EXO who are on a quest to find each other and to find clues to locate the Tree of Life, etc. Kai was the member that was featured in the most teasers -- somewhere around 10 videos. The "What is Love" MV takes clips from those teaser videos and puts them together to make the MV. Months and years later, we have also discovered that the teasers also were teasers to EXO's discography of songs. At the time, when the teasers were released, we had no idea the significance of the songs that you hear in the teasers. But now, over the years, we have discovered that the majority of the songs that were featured in EXO's pre-debut teasers were also meant to be teasers to songs that would be released as some of the main tracks of EXO's albums. All the teasers are still on SM's UA-cam channel if you want to check them out. If you watch the teasers, you will see how planned out everything EXO is involved in actually is. Most of the songs that they released even years after debut were songs that were teased to in their pre-debut teaser videos. That just goes to show you why we say that everything EXO does comes back to their storyline. :D Absolutely everything has been planned out down to the most minute detail for years in advance and for years to come.
MAMA is one of my fav exo title tracks. I started listening to exo from 2015 onwards and Suho has been my bias since but had Luhan be still in Exo......hmmm who knows. He always had some of my favourite parts in exo songs
Subunits? Nope!! They are vocal lineups that vary depending on the language and the song: two performers, three, four, etc. We Are ONE! This is how they introduce themselves since their debut.
Honestly, I don’t think you have to avoid Kris,like don't pressure yourself, thinking if you mistakenly address his parts or not.Like, We like it or not, he was part of EXO for two years, and because of him, we should not refrain ourselves from enjoying EXO M's stuffs.
the one with the dragon and fire in the exo m video of mama isnt chanyeol. its the other person that we don't acknowledge he had power of flight/dragon. each of the k members and m members have an opposite or similar. for example. suho is water whereas xiumin is frost. baek is light whereas lay is healing. etc. they have some sort of relation between the m and k side. because this is the M video the big clips of anyone using powers are all M members. the K members will only have small snipets in it.
It is easer to recognize Luhan, coz we was signing his aSs off back then in every song. Also he has softer features, deer eyes. You were right about Tao. Just to have in mind, to avoid him, Kris is the one who do the rap parts, deeper voice and raspy, tall guy, he was taller than Chanyeol, his power is flying if I remember correctly, so he is the one jumping from a building in the video. Yixing is also easer to recognize bc he has a softer voice, dimples and soft eyes, a strong accent when singing in Korean. I don’t know if this works bc I’ve known them for more than 10 years and I know every single feature, so maybe you’ll need more details to recognize them. By the way every ex member, except Kris, do not have any problem, so feel free to check up Luhan if you’re interested, cause in this songs he sounded amazing. He is an amazing singer and I think you’ll like him. Him and Tao still get along and do stuff together. Luhan just did a LIVE a few weeks ago and played and old EXO song and a Kyungsoo song too. He said he is no longer afraid of SM ( he win the lawsuit against Sooman ). I would recommend that you listen to Tao but I think you are not much into rap, he sings and raps but I think you would like Luhan more ( Tao just got married). Furthermore, Luhan released a song in November with lyrics in Chinese and Korean. Anyways, thank you for the video. I would recommend Wolf, both the Chinese and Korean versions. My favorite version is the Chinese one. I would also recommend Overdose, both versions. 😂❤❤❤❤
Wooowww so big streaming to EXO's old stuffs 🎉 Thank you ❤ Please also react to their vocal powerhouses - OPEN ARMS covered by D.O., Baekhyun, Chen, and Luhan ua-cam.com/video/JKr9GU9emfg/v-deo.htmlsi=KwgaFU-MuVvvbSG- What is Love (EXO M) : Chen and Luhan 18:56 EXO's superpower : EXO-K Kai -Teleportation Sehun -Wind Kyungsoo -Earth/Force Baekhyun -Light Suho -Water Chanyeol -Flame EXO-M Tao -Time Control Luhan -Telekinesis Chen -Lightning / Thunder Lay -Healing Xiumin -Frost Kris -Flight HISTORY was also pre debut song of EXO, please also react it 🥳 Thankyou so much 😍
Exo! Yesss I love them so so much! And I just realized it would be a crime if I didn't mention K.Will to you. I know how much you appreciate vocalist so... For me HI IS THE VOCALIST. His nickname is "Bryan Brother Night" or "The Prince of OST". His voice Live is out of this world. I'm gonna leave you a Link so you can check it out wen ever you have time... I think you won't be disappointed. m.ua-cam.com/video/Vjm5b-yHcoM/v-deo.html
Korean language flows better in my opinion, and most people prefer Korean versions ... I can totally understand you prefering the Korean version next time can you maybe react to Korean version first and after that the mandarin version?
Peter Pan, Baby Dont Cry , Thunder and Dont Go are the most OT12 side track that stole Exo-L heart in early days until now.. also Check out" Promise (2014) " that was the song created by exo some members for Exo-L after some members left the group😊
![Jungkutz First Reaction to [Full Album] EXO (엑소) - EXIST](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0jy4QtD7fR0/mqdefault.jpg)
What is Love and History were pre-debut and Mama was their official debut...That was Kai in EXO-MAMA song after the rock guitars...
That was Chen and Luhan on the Mandarin version. While I absolutely love the Mandarin one, the Korean ones just hits a bit more for me. I think it's because Baekhyun and D .O. have a deeper more r&b soulful sound to them. Like I said though, both are amazing. Even more considering this was pre debut. Baby Exo did not come to play. Monster Rookies from the start. You just don't see groups with those big powerhouse vocals as much nowadays.
I totally agree. As much as i love beautiful vocal tones, i still believe every group needs a powerhouse vocalist who can belt a long and high ass adlib/high note.
I agree. For more soulful R&B, I prefer the K version because they have deeper warmer tones. For the sweet, more poppy R&B I usually like the M version because of Luhan, Chen and Lay’s brighter vocal tones.
And this is why as a whole, EXO is a well balanced group when it comes to Vocals. They have Baekhyun, D.O., Chanyeol for the warm vocals, then Chen, Suho, Xiumin and Lay for the clearer, brighter tones. Then they have Sehun and Kai who can go warm and darker tones or soft and sweet (well, the rest of them can do this too I think) to balance it all out.
"Baby Exo did not come to play" You're absolutely right, 👏and that's why they are THE EMPERORS/KINGS of kpop now👑🤍
Your face at the Kai's rap part 😂😂😂😂😂😂 I always feel like MAMA needs a warning for 1st time viewers 😂
Lmao😅😅
hahahahhaa
In Korean "Mama" is a term they use to address a leader or king or queen. It's a term of reverence and respect. It's similar to saying "Your majesty." If you watch very many historical Korean dramas you will hear the characters call the royal family, and especially the head of the royal family or leader, "Mama." So, in this song, EXO are speaking to the leader or deity who sent them to Earth, essentially asking, "Now that I'm here, Your Majesty what should I do? How do I fulfill what you have sent me to do? etc." (They use the Korean word in the Chinese version to keep the connection between the two groups.)
From day one, EXO's concept is that they are aliens from planet EXO and they came to Earth with superpowers to protect the Tree of Life from the Red Forces. Each of the members has a superpower that is unique to them and almost every MV will have at least one, if not all of them, using their powers.
Exo, as in exoskeleton, means "outer," so as a member of EXO they are outside the ordinary. The groups concept comes from the real term exoplanet, which is a term that is used for a planet that is outside our solar system, so their name was chosen to represent the fact that they are stars that are "out of this world" when it comes to their talents. EXO's concept is also connected to real life planetary and solar events so many of EXO's comebacks and new song releases for the main group of EXO are connected to when eclipses and other planetary phenomenon take place. For example, their War album and Power album release and comeback coincided with when we had a solar eclipse, etc. SM Entertainment has all their release dates and concepts planned out for years in advance and it all part of SM's SM Culture Universe storyline, which also includes parts of all of SM's other groups and artists storylines.
As you can see, if you want to understand EXO's story, it's very important that you pay attention to the introduction story in "Mama" because it is literally setting up EXO's storyline. The narrator is telling us EXO's whole origin story, about how EXO have been split up into two groups, EXO-K and EXO-M, and they are part of the same group and yet separate -- part of two worlds that come together as one, etc. And he is telling us about how the Tree of Life has been split in half to protect it from falling into the Red Forces' control -- each half of the tree representing one half of EXO (EXO-K and EXO-M) -- and EXO's mission is to find the two halves of the tree and reunite them to restore peace in the world.
In the EXO-K version of "Mama" the EXO-K members -- Suho, Baekhyun, D.O., Chanyeol, Kai and Sehun -- are using their powers to search for and meet up with the EXO-M members. That is why we see the K members searching for the M members. For example, we see Kai using his power of teleportation as he searches for all the members and Baekhyun use his power of light and Suho with his power of water, Chanyeol with the power of fire using his Phoenix wings, D.O. with the power of earth and strength and Sehun controlling the wind.
Because Xiumin is a member of EXO-M, we see him appear in the mirror because he is being summoned by Suho, who is an EXO-K member. As the story goes, when EXO arrived on Earth, they did not all arrive together. Their story starts out that they were dropped on Earth in different locations all over the world -- which is explained more in their individual Pathcode teaser videos as part of their "Call Me Baby" comeback promotions -- and they have to search for each other and meet up, kind of like in a quest, before they can begin to figure out how to accomplish the tasks they have been sent to Earth to do.
When we see the members all together in their "Mama" MVs they are together because they are still on Planet Exo, where they are still united. But when we see them separated it is when they have all been sent to Earth. They keep flashing back and forth between present moments and recent past moments. Therefore, how I interpret it is that at the end they aren't back together yet, but that is a scene from when they were still on Planet Exo as they are preparing to be sent to Earth.
The two worlds the narrator talks about in the introduction could possibly be different dimensions, so we often see parts of their story in their MVs and other content, which could be interpreted as them being in different dimensions or time periods or different moments in history.
Each of the members in EXO-K has a counterpart in EXO-M, so part of what we saw in this MV was them showing us which EXO-K member corresponded with which EXO-M member. For example, Suho (EXO-K) with the power of water corresponds with Xiumin (EXO-M) who has the power of frost/ice. Chanyeol (EXO-K) with the power of fire is Kris' (EXO-M) counterpart because he has the power of flight, and as we saw in the EXO-M MV, Chanyeol has the power of the phoenix and Kris has the power of the dragon, which both animal spirits have fire elements and flight, so they connect. D.O. (EXO-K) with the power of force is connected to Chen (EXO-M) with the power of thunder/lightning. And Sehun (EXO-K), who has the power of wind, is connected to Tao (EXO-M) who controls time. Baekhyun (K) with the power of light is connected to Lay (M) with the power of healing; and Kai (K) with teleportation is linked to Luhan (M) with the power of telekinesis, etc. That's how they maintain their bond even as members of separate groups.
Yes, the symbols we saw represent each of the members and it has to do with each of their powers. For instance, Kai's symbol is a pyramid and it represents teleportation, and Lay's symbol is a unicorn and it represents his power of healing, etc. (In future MVs and other things to do with EXO, when we see things like a pyramid, we know that is a reference to something to do with Kai, etc.) Even the most minute of details in EXO's content has something to do with their origin story and EXO's storyline.
During that screamo part, the "tattoos" on Kai's face and body say "EXO from Exoplanet 2012" and also all of the EXO members names, or at least the 6 EXO-K members names, as well as EXO's symbol and other hidden clues to EXO's origin story. (All of the words on Kai's face and body are in English, so if we really study that scene, we see there is a whole story even in his body paint, etc.) And although it looks like Kai is the one that does the really high note at that moment, the voice we are hearing is actually Baekhyun.
Each member in EXO-K also has a partner in EXO-M that fills the same role in their respective group. For example, Baekhyun is the main vocalist in EXO-K and Chen is the main vocalist in EXO-M; D.O. is the other main vocalist in K and Luhan was the other main vocalist in M; Chanyeol is the main rapper in K and Kris was the main rapper in M; Sehun is the lead rapper in K and Xiumin is the lead rapper in M; Kai is the main dancer in K and Lay is the main dancer in M; and then it's Suho is a lead vocalist in K and Tao was a rapper/vocalist in M, (I'm not sure how these two really work together because Tao is more of a rapper and Suho is a vocalist, but because they are the last two they are put together.)
Now that you have seen "Mama" and are starting to understand EXO's backstory, as you watch all of their other MVs, it should make more sense to you if you keep in mind all the details about them being aliens with superpowers and how they are on a mission, etc. Plus, you should also know that all of SM's groups' MVs and storylines are connected. For example, aespa's storyline was specifically designed to connect to EXO's and SuperM's storyline, as well as Red Velvet, NCT/WayV, and maybe even some of SHINee's new MVs. And now it even looks like Super Junior's "House Party" MV, TVXQ's Max Changmin's solo "Devil" MV and U-Know's new solo "NEXUS Reality Show" MV, etc. are connected. Everything SM does is part of SM's Universe, which all started with the creation of EXO and has only become more complex and epic over the years as SM introduces each new group and storyline to the story. And with every new MV or video another chapter is added to the story.
I am so glad you also took the time to watch the EXO-M version of "Mama." Now you see why it was important to see both versions. If you watch all versions of everything EXO does -- even if you don't react to both -- you might be able to understand a little more about EXO's mission and everything they have been sent to Earth to do.
Although, the EXO-K and EXO-M versions of their MVs may look similar on the surface. None of them ever use the same footage in both MVs. The scenes that look the same only look the same because they wanted them to, but they were all shot separately. Even when all 12 or 9 members are involved in both MVs, it's never the same because the members are all given different parts depending on the version that you watch. The EXO-K or Korean versions are meant to tell the story from EXO-K's point of view, where the EXO-M or Mandarin versions tell EXO-M's side of the story. In "Mama" the story starts in the EXO-K MV and it continues in the EXO-M MV, so no you never saw Kris' dragon in the EXO-K MV. In the EXO-K MV we see Chanyeol first activate his phoenix wings as he is preparing to go find Kris, which is why then in the EXO-M MV we see the two on parallel universes with Kris and his dragon on one side of the world and Chanyeol with his phoenix on the other side of the split screen.
"Mama" was released in 2012, so this is more than 12 years ago. Xiumin, the oldest, was about 22 at this time and Kai and Sehun, who are the youngest, were about 18. However, if you remember, Suho and Kai were the members that trained the longest with the company before they debuted. Suho was a trainee for 7 years -- he began when he was about 14 years old (he was about 21 when he debuted) -- and Kai was a trainee for about 6 years -- he started training when he was about 12. But Baekhyun was only a trainee for about 6 months before he debuted. He was one of the older trainees at about 20 years old. So, this just goes to show you the amount of hard work, dedication and talent that EXO has.
You also should look up the lyrics for "Mama." As you noticed, the majority of their Gregorian chant is in English: "Shoot anonymous, anonymous; Heartless, mindless; No one who care about me ... Careless, careless (Mama: Mama in Korean means Your Majesty); Shoot anonymous, anonymous (Mama); Heartless, mindless (Mama); No one who care about me (Mama)"
Just in case you were wondering, in the beginning EXO's Mandarin MVs were subbed in Korean to help them appeal to a Korean audience. When you see English words those are lyrics that are sung in English and the rest of the song is in Mandarin.
Also, if you know what the whole song is talking about and what the lyrics mean it will give you even more insight into why EXO have been sent to Earth and what their mission is all about. However, if you look up the English translation to both the Korean and Mandarin versions you will see that the lyrics are slightly different, because the story is being told from different perspectives.
EXO's storyline begins with them being sent to Earth to try and heal the world and to stop and prevent the Red Force from taking over and corrupting everything. And the story in the lyrics of "Mama" foreshadows what they will have to overcome and understand about humans and our world to accomplish their tasks. EXO kind of takes humanity to task and asks us to explain why we would allow all this anger and hatred to cloud everything around us and why we don't love each other more? It's really a very beautiful message and the more you learn about EXO, the more interesting the whole thing becomes.
In the song the members, being aliens from another planet, are struggling to understand how we as humans could allow all these evil and bad things to happen all around us, such as war, hate and the destruction of the environment etc. and they are daunted by the fact that they are now tasked with figuring out how to fix it all and prevent more evil from taking place. That's why they need to find the two halves of the Tree of Life and reunite them to restore peace.
In the EXO-M MV Xiumin and Kris are the members that do the screamo part because they are EXO-M's rappers.
However, although it looks like Kris is the one that does that high note at the end of that section, really the voice we are hearing is Chen.
Tao is the one that can flip and jump like that, so he is the one that is always doing it in all of EXO's early MVs. (He does it in both the EXO-M and EXO-K MVs.) If you watch EXO's 23 pre-debut teaser videos, you will see Tao showcasing his martial arts skills and see that all his moves are 100% real. He can really flip and jump and spin like that and if in a battle he could kick butt. The numerous injuries he sustained from having to do those stunts in MVs and during live performances and on variety shows, etc. is one of the reasons why he left the group. The sword is real and he also often uses a staff. He is also the one that sends the butterfly to Sehun in this MV. Tao is the youngest member of EXO-M. (FYI: Tao, and Luhan, are now successful solo artists in China.)
EXO's story is part supernatural and Sci-Fi and part based on reality, which touches on real life events and things that are really happening in the world. And from the very beginning, even during pre-debut days, and everything since then and everything yet to come, it all is connected to this storyline. Everything EXO does, including Baekhyun and Kai's parts in SuperM, all has something to do with the concept and story that began with "Mama," and each new installment of something from the members expands a little further on EXO's story. Whether it's an MV from the group, a solo project from one of the members, a sub-unit project, a live performance, teaser videos, concert VCRs, or even a good amount of their choreography, it all has been designed to connect to EXO's storyline.
It's kind of mind blowing the amount of planning and manipulation SM has been doing over the years to connect all the dots and to continue the story. It gets even crazier when you realize how even the most minute of details were crafted to be a hidden message or detail within that storyline.
To refresh your memory, here is a list of the members and what their special power is.
EXO-K
💦 Suho (Kim JunMyeon) is the leader of the group and he is a lead vocalist -- his power is the ability to control water (Fun fact: Suho in Korean means guardian, as in the guardian of EXO. That's why as the leader of EXO, his stage name is Suho)
💡Baekhyun is a main vocalist and his superpower is the ability to control light.
🔥Chanyeol is the main rapper and lead vocalist -- his power is the ability to control fire and his spirit animal is the phoenix.
🌏D.O. (Do KyungSoo) is a main vocalist and his power is the ability to control earth (dirt) elements, which gives him strength/force.
☄Kai (Kim JongIn) is a main dancer, lead vocalist and sub-rapper and his power is teleportation. (Kai means opening -- as in a door or gateway -- in Chinese, so his stage name is meant to symbolize his role in the group, and as an EXO-K member he was given a Chinese name to symbolize how he is the center of the group that connects everyone together.)
🌪Sehun is the youngest member of the group and he is a lead rapper, lead dancer and a vocalist -- his power is the ability to control wind
EXO-M
❄Xiumin (Kim MinSeok) is the oldest member of the group and he is a lead vocalist and lead rapper and his power is the ability to control snow/ice (frost).
🦄 Lay (Zhang Yixing) is the Chinese member of the group, he is a main dancer, lead vocalist and rapper -- his power is the ability to heal anything.
🌩 Chen (Kim JongDae) is a main vocalist and his power is the ability to control thunder/lightning/electricity.
(As you can see, Xiumin and Chen were given stage names that sounded more Chinese so they would fit in better in EXO-M because they are the Korean members of the Chinese group.)
The Chinese members who have since left the group:
🐉 Kris was the leader of EXO-M, he was a main rapper and vocalist -- his power was the ability to fly and his spirit animal was a dragon (Kris left the group in April 2014.)
💭 Luhan was a main vocalist and his power was telekinesis (the ability to control things with his mind). (Luhan left the group in October 2014.)
⏰Tao (Z.Tao) was a lead rapper and vocalist and the martial artist of the group, so he did the flips and stunts in the group's routines. His power was the ability to control time. (Tao ended activities with EXO in August 2015.)
Fun fact: During their debut showcases, they often performed the song together, combining the Korean and Mandarin lyrics into one performance. Just wait until you hear them perform this song live in concert or during their debut showcase. It would be cool if you watched a live performance where they sang both the Korean and Mandarin versions, but you have to specifically look for a performance where they do both, because in concert most of the time the EXO-M members sang the Korean version. EXO-M rarely performed the Mandarin versions of their songs when they weren't in China. Although, as I said, there are a few early performances where they perform both versions together.
Thank you Milinda. I always read and love your comments, you are so knowledgeable about EXO
In the Korean version of MAMA, Kai was doing the scream rap part. You should most definitely check out the lyrics of the song, it'll give you a bigger appreciation for the song.
Yeah, the lyrics apply so well with the state of things nowadays. Out of the kpop I've checked out these past few years Exo's debut is one of my top faves😊😊😊😊
What Is Love is still one of my favorite songs ever. Specifically the EXO-K version. Chen and Luhan are hands-down the better singers in this era but DO and Baekhyun just put so much into it and it just hits different. Both versions are stunning, incredible, but it's the EXO-K one that stops me in my tracks every time.
ETA because people forget or don't know this: Chen and Baekhyun joined the group way later than the other members. Most of the rest were trainees for years but Chen and Baekhyun only had around 11 months of traineeship each and joined the group like 8-7 months before debut. Chen sounded like this with less than 11 months of formal training with SM. He had singing lessons at school growing up but only joined SM in 2011 to begin training.
I want a full album of D.O. & Baekhyun R&B!
CHEN - LUHAN - BAEKHYUN - D.O. ❤
EXO understood the assignment pre-debut!!
Remembering Baekhyun and chen went to same day for EXO audition ..they were competitors but went to eat together ... and passed the audition ... last added to exo line up ..Trained together just only four months to be EXO main vocalists.. overall thrir whole training periods are total 11 months ... it's crazy how both of them so passionate about their vocals stills getting vocal lessons and today industry's two of best vocalists s,....
thank you for checking out both the Korean & Mandarin versions. i only rarely see reactors react to both since it's just the same song. usually EXO-M versions are slept on because most people watch the EXO-K versions more. i hope you continue to check out both in the future.
Thanks for digging into Exo’s discography🌟! Please keep up the good work!
MAMA was their official debut song
What is Love and History were their pre-debut
To think that some considered them SM's first big flip. Little did they know the power standard and impact Exo would have in kpop and in future trainees, idols and artists.
I love mama so much i still have in my Playlist, and what is love was my first kpop song I listen after that i become EXO-L in 2016 ❤
I interpret the message within the lyrics of EXO's "What is Love" as EXO warning us humans to watch out for the Red Force because the Red Force have infiltrated humanity and are doing things to brainwash and control humans. "Baby, Baby, Baby, your love has caused me to lose my mind." In other words, the Red Force is using our love and passion for things like material goods and a greed for money to cause us to lose our minds. In future MVs it will become clearer how the Red Force are controlling things.
I think EXO's storyline is essentially a social commentary on things within real life society that SM wants to spotlight or discuss. For example, in their "Tempo" MV, I think the reason why we see EXO just lazily sitting around staring off into space at times in that MV could be because the Red Force has brainwashed the EXO members in order to trap them. And in future MVs, such as EXO-CBX's "Hey Mama," as well as several of EXO's other MVs, you will see things such as the Red Force controlling the news media and manipulating the narrative of what is reported; and in EXO's "Coming Over" MV we see how the Red Force is spying on people with CCTV cameras and mirrors, etc. We also see an eye symbol that appears throughout several of SM's MVs -- such as Lay's solo "Namanana" and "Lit" MVs, Kai's solo "Mmmh" MV, aespa's "Savage" MV, SHINee Key's solo "Gasoline" and "Killer" MVs, etc. -- which could be what the Red Force is using to spy on everyone in the digital realm, etc., which I think could be interpreted as how "big brother" government could be watching and controlling us, etc.
In the EXO-M version of "What is Love" we see the pants Lay is wearing in the dance break clip are bright red. Which could possibly be significant because we have learned that when we see red objects or red light that this most likely is because it represents something to do with the Red Force. Therefore, that could possibly mean the version of Lay we see in that clip is actually his X-EXO clone and not Lay the EXO-M member. However, something to note is that we had no idea about EXO's X-EXO clones until EXO's "Obsession" MV was released in 2019. Yet another example of how things could have been planned years in advance. Although we can never be completely sure if it really means anything, or if it's just what their stylist thought looked good on him. LOL. It's just a theory that we have developed over the years as we have worked to connect the storylines, etc. SM has never confirmed or denied anything and they have completely left it up to fans to decide what we think is happening in the story. (We can only hope that SM releases a book or produces a movie that will explain everything, so that we know whether any of our theories were actually correct.)
However, as you can see, these are only the conclusions I have come to after years of analyzing EXO's storyline with the help of a lot more details added to the story from future MVs. When I first watched the "What is Love" MV, I had no idea about any of EXO's story, so I was even more clueless than you.
Also, keep in mind that nothing is in chronological order when it comes to EXO's MVs, which means even within one MV each scene could be happening at a different moment within EXO's timeline of events and each scene could be connected to a different moment within any number of EXO's other MVs, as well as SM's other groups' and artists' MVs.
I know, way too confusing and complex, right? It takes a lot of detective skills, so don't feel bad if you are overwhelmed or completely lost, even us fans who have been following them for years feel that way most of the time. However, I do have to say, once you start to understand how SM's brain works and how the story is designed and how things are created to connect, it does get a little easier to see how the story is unfolding. (But let me emphasize, it only makes it a LITTLE bit easier. LOL)
I'm a pre-debut stan of EXO (OT12) but because of my Chen bias (& because I live in SE Asia & not Korea) I followed EXO-M more than EXO-K. I always appreciate people who review both, so thanks!
What is love is the pre-debut for show-case the main-vocalists in each group and History was the pre-debut to show of their dancing. Love your reactions.
These are the few songs where the korean version is the one I prefer. With WayV it's almost always the Mandarin version that hits me hardest. Love EXO!
I like Chen's voice the best for Ballads and other dance songs. R&B, yeah kyungsoo and Baekhyun take the crown
Yes Mama was their debut. And What is Love was pre-debut. These boys were legends from the beginning!!!!!
id love to see ya get into shinee.
Yes!
Seconded!!!
Although "What is Love" is a love song, the MV really doesn't have a whole lot to do with the song. The storyline in the MV is all about EXO's origin story and it shows the members as they first arrived here on Earth. (The song was mostly meant to showcase EXO's vocal talent and get people to pay attention to the group, etc. However, there are parts of the lyrics that could be loosely interpreted as EXO speaking to humanity.)
This was their very first pre-debut MV -- about 3 or 4 months before their debut with "Mama" -- so it is setting up EXO's storyline and it's showing the members. This was before most people really even knew who EXO were. In the EXO-K (Korean) version you only hear D.O. and Baekhyun singing. In the EXO-M version, we see Chen and Luhan as the singers because they are EXO-M's main singers. However, in both MVs we see all 12 members. The rest of the members aren't singing the song, but they are helping to tell a story.
The Mandarin Chinese EXO-M version has a slightly different feel because it has a sound and style that is designed to appeal more to a Chinese audience, but it's no less amazing. There's a reason why EXO has 3/4 main vocalists. The more R&B, sultry sound of the Korean version is what appeals more to a Korean ear, where the lyrical, smooth sound of the Mandarin version is what attracts their Chinese audience.
As you may have noticed, there is an eclipse happening in the MV. The eclipse is what controls EXO's powers and it's where they get their power and strength from. EXO are aliens so staring at an eclipse or the sun doesn't affect them in the same way. After all, they come from Planet Exo, which has two suns. LOL
In the scenes where we see D.O and Baekhyun singing, that is thought to be showing clues to EXO's storyline, such as the light that is streaming through the holes in the walls is thought to be representing Baekhyun's superpower, which is the ability to control light, and the fact that the room they are in is kind of disheveled could be after D.O. used his power of force.
We also see scenes such as Chanyeol (a member of EXO-K) looking at a drawing of a unicorn and comparing it to a hieroglyph of a unicorn on a piece of rock, which is thought to be something to do with the fact that he is searching for Lay (an EXO-M member). Lay's symbol is a unicorn, which represents his power of healing. I think the rocks are clues that may have been left on Earth or on Planet Exo from ancient times. (You will see these symbols all over the place in EXO content because, as we saw introduced in their "Mama" MVs, each member has a symbol that represents them. Their symbols are often used kind of like a call beacon. When one member is looking for another member, or they want to send a member a message, you will see a version of their symbol appear. It's a way to know who the message is coming from and it's designed to make everyone aware that it's something important that you need to pay attention to.) Think of the message on those rocks like Egyptian hieroglyphs. (In one of EXO's concert VCRs -- videos that are played during their concerts -- we see that SM connects EXO's storyline to ancient Egypt, and they show us that EXO was actually mentioned in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Therefore, the EXO members either traveled back in time or they have been on Earth many times throughout history. As you may know, there are real life theories that the Egyptian pyramids were created by aliens, which is an example of how SM connected EXO's story to real things.)
In the "What Is Love" storyline I think EXO are looking for clues that someone has left from the past. Just like in real life history, often ancient civilizations have left us clues to tell their story in order to make sure whatever happened to them doesn't get repeated. Therefore, I think someone has left EXO clues, just in case sometime in the future the Red Force was able to gain power once again. Hence, why in EXO's next pre-debut song "History" they talk about not wanting to allow whatever happened previously to repeat itself.
And because it is thought that the EXO members can travel between time periods and dimensions, this could also mean that the clues could have possibly been left for them by their future selves. The future EXO members have traveled back in time to leave a message for the present-day EXO members in order to help them figure out how to stop the Red Force and prevent whatever happened in the future from taking place, etc. (Which we have now seen is possible from the events that take place within EXO's new "Let Me In" MV storyline, which was just released a few months ago. Yet another example of how we have to take what we know from the very beginning, and connect it to their most recent piece of the story.)
The clues I think are something they need in order to find the Tree of Life and to do whatever needs to be done in order to create peace in the world once again, and free humanity and EXO from the control of the Red Force. Which will allow the Tree of Life to be whole once again and be at peace, no longer being used as a potential weapon by the Red Force, etc.
In reality, I think the Red Force could be thought of as a symbol of all the things society is dealing with in the world and all the bad things that need to be fixed, such as war, hate, destruction of the environment, greed for money, corruption, etc.
I interpret SM's wide-reaching message within their SM Cultured Universe and EXO's storyline as the dream of world peace. Therefore, I'm not sure we will ever see an official end to EXO's storyline or the SM Culture Universe story because World Peace is such a lofty goal that will never be accomplished fully. So, in other words, EXO's story may be an open ended one that never gets solved.
I think the whole point of SM creating the SM Culture Universe storyline is because it's supposed to be a social commentary on what real life society needs to learn and do in order to create a better world. Think of everything in the SM Universe, and EXO's storyline, as a metaphor for what is happening all around us every day and what we have gone through in the past and will go through in the future if we don't learn from our mistakes, etc.
In the MV for "What Is Love," we see clips from some of EXO's pre-debut teaser videos. All the clips in the MV are special clips that were originally released one at a time on their own to introduce EXO to the world, before the group's official debut. Before EXO debuted, SM released 23 teaser videos over a 3-month period and the videos showcased the members and their talents, such as Kai's special dance clips and Tao's martial arts skills, as well as told a story about EXO who are on a quest to find each other and to find clues to locate the Tree of Life, etc. Kai was the member that was featured in the most teasers -- somewhere around 10 videos. The "What is Love" MV takes clips from those teaser videos and puts them together to make the MV.
Months and years later, we have also discovered that the teasers also were teasers to EXO's discography of songs. At the time, when the teasers were released, we had no idea the significance of the songs that you hear in the teasers. But now, over the years, we have discovered that the majority of the songs that were featured in EXO's pre-debut teasers were also meant to be teasers to songs that would be released as some of the main tracks of EXO's albums.
All the teasers are still on SM's UA-cam channel if you want to check them out. If you watch the teasers, you will see how planned out everything EXO is involved in actually is. Most of the songs that they released even years after debut were songs that were teased to in their pre-debut teaser videos. That just goes to show you why we say that everything EXO does comes back to their storyline. :D Absolutely everything has been planned out down to the most minute detail for years in advance and for years to come.
EXO and JAYTV....I'm here
MAMA is one of my fav exo title tracks. I started listening to exo from 2015 onwards and Suho has been my bias since but had Luhan be still in Exo......hmmm who knows. He always had some of my favourite parts in exo songs
Exo M songs hit different
Subunits? Nope!! They are vocal lineups that vary depending on the language and the song: two performers, three, four, etc.
We Are ONE! This is how they introduce themselves since their debut.
If you want to know anything about EXO read Milinda Wilson’s comments. She’s brilliant.
Honestly, I don’t think you have to avoid Kris,like don't pressure yourself, thinking if you mistakenly address his parts or not.Like, We like it or not, he was part of EXO for two years, and because of him, we should not refrain ourselves from enjoying EXO M's stuffs.
the one that went crazy with the screaming session on exo k mama was kai
the one with the dragon and fire in the exo m video of mama isnt chanyeol. its the other person that we don't acknowledge he had power of flight/dragon. each of the k members and m members have an opposite or similar. for example. suho is water whereas xiumin is frost. baek is light whereas lay is healing. etc. they have some sort of relation between the m and k side. because this is the M video the big clips of anyone using powers are all M members. the K members will only have small snipets in it.
Thank you for reviewing both versions
Thank you 🙏💙
more EXO plzzz 🔥🔥
There are two pre-debuts, please don't forget to react to History. Yes, MAMA is their debut song. What is Love and History are the Pre-debut songs.
It is easer to recognize Luhan, coz we was signing his aSs off back then in every song. Also he has softer features, deer eyes. You were right about Tao. Just to have in mind, to avoid him, Kris is the one who do the rap parts, deeper voice and raspy, tall guy, he was taller than Chanyeol, his power is flying if I remember correctly, so he is the one jumping from a building in the video. Yixing is also easer to recognize bc he has a softer voice, dimples and soft eyes, a strong accent when singing in Korean. I don’t know if this works bc I’ve known them for more than 10 years and I know every single feature, so maybe you’ll need more details to recognize them. By the way every ex member, except Kris, do not have any problem, so feel free to check up Luhan if you’re interested, cause in this songs he sounded amazing. He is an amazing singer and I think you’ll like him. Him and Tao still get along and do stuff together. Luhan just did a LIVE a few weeks ago and played and old EXO song and a Kyungsoo song too. He said he is no longer afraid of SM ( he win the lawsuit against Sooman ). I would recommend that you listen to Tao but I think you are not much into rap, he sings and raps but I think you would like Luhan more ( Tao just got married). Furthermore, Luhan released a song in November with lyrics in Chinese and Korean. Anyways, thank you for the video. I would recommend Wolf, both the Chinese and Korean versions. My favorite version is the Chinese one. I would also recommend Overdose, both versions. 😂❤❤❤❤
27:30 it was Kai in the rock part
Yes, I like EXO-K version better too...
Wooowww so big streaming to EXO's old stuffs 🎉 Thank you ❤
Please also react to their vocal powerhouses - OPEN ARMS covered by D.O., Baekhyun, Chen, and Luhan
ua-cam.com/video/JKr9GU9emfg/v-deo.htmlsi=KwgaFU-MuVvvbSG-
What is Love (EXO M) : Chen and Luhan
18:56 EXO's superpower :
EXO-K
Kai -Teleportation
Sehun -Wind
Kyungsoo -Earth/Force
Baekhyun -Light
Suho -Water
Chanyeol -Flame
EXO-M
Tao -Time Control
Luhan -Telekinesis
Chen -Lightning / Thunder
Lay -Healing
Xiumin -Frost
Kris -Flight
HISTORY was also pre debut song of EXO, please also react it 🥳
Thankyou so much 😍
Exo! Yesss I love them so so much!
And I just realized it would be a crime if I didn't mention K.Will to you. I know how much you appreciate vocalist so... For me HI IS THE VOCALIST. His nickname is "Bryan Brother Night" or "The Prince of OST". His voice Live is out of this world. I'm gonna leave you a Link so you can check it out wen ever you have time... I think you won't be disappointed.
m.ua-cam.com/video/Vjm5b-yHcoM/v-deo.html
If its RNB i can deny D.O and BAEKHYUN eat T.T
And if it come to BALAD the man called CHEN done.. you done
Flight is Kr!s power (that dragon with fire)
Disclaimer: Sorry if I had to mention this
It’s Kai who goes wild not Sehun. Kai is also a sub-rapper
Please react to Baekhyun and Chen “ i really didn’t know” thanks
Korean language flows better in my opinion, and most people prefer Korean versions ... I can totally understand you prefering the Korean version
next time can you maybe react to Korean version first and after that the mandarin version?
That was Kai
will there ever be a billlie marathon? would love to see it!
Is it too much to ask for a debut teasers reaction?
Peter Pan, Baby Dont Cry , Thunder and Dont Go are the most OT12 side track that stole Exo-L heart in early days until now.. also Check out" Promise (2014) " that was the song created by exo some members for Exo-L after some members left the group😊
Ex members power - Kris ( can fly ) , Lu Han ( telekinesis ) and Tao ( can control time )