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In January 2011, producer Lee Soo-man of S.M. Entertainment announced his plans to debut a new boy band in March or April 2011.[12] Temporarily named M1, the group appeared to have consisted of only seven members when a photo of them in a dance studio was leaked online.[13] In May 2011, Lee spoke about the group in a Hallyu business seminar held in Stanford University. In the presentation, he explained his strategy of separating the group into two subgroups, M1 and M2, and have them promote the same music in South Korea and China, performing the songs in both Korean and Mandarin.[14] Lee planned to launch the group in May 2011, but their debut was delayed due to member changes and other planning. News concerning the group did not surface until October 2011, when Lee briefly discussed about the group's concept plans again in an interview with The Chosun Ilbo.[15] Once the members and plans were finalized, the group began to prepare for their official debut.
In December 2011, the group finalized their name to EXO, with the names EXO-K for the South Korean subgroup and EXO-M for the Chinese subgroup. Their name was taken from the word exoplanet.[16] The twelve members were introduced individually through 23 different trailers released from December 2011 to February 2012.[16][17] Kai, Lu Han, Tao, and Chen were the first four members introduced, and they debuted their first televised performance at SBS's annual Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011.[18]
EXO-K and EXO-M's prologue single "What Is Love" was released on January 30, 2012, in mainland China and South Korea.[19] The single peaked at number 88 on South Korea's Gaon Single Chart. On March 9, the group released their second prologue single "History",[20] which was written and produced by Thomas Troelsen and Remee. The single peaked at number 68 on the Gaon Single Chart and number six on China's Sina Music Chart.[21]
A concert for the group was held in Seoul's Olympic Stadium on March 31.[22]
In December 2011, the group finalized their name to EXO, with the names EXO-K for the South Korean subgroup and EXO-M for the Chinese subgroup. Their name was taken from the word exoplanet.[16] The twelve members were introduced individually through 23 different trailers released from December 2011 to February 2012.[16][17] Kai, Lu Han, Tao, and Chen were the first four members introduced, and they debuted their first televised performance at SBS's annual Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011.[18]
EXO-K and EXO-M's prologue single "What Is Love" was released on January 30, 2012, in mainland China and South Korea.[19] The single peaked at number 88 on South Korea's Gaon Single Chart. On March 9, the group released their second prologue single "History",[20] which was written and produced by Thomas Troelsen and Remee. The single peaked at number 68 on the Gaon Single Chart and number six on China's Sina Music Chart.[21]
A concert for the group was held in Seoul's Olympic Stadium on March 31.[22]