How many members are in EXO now?

REVERXE (January 2026) was recorded by six members — Suho, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun and Lay, though Lay missed promotions. Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin of EXO-CBX did not take part amid an ongoing contract dispute.

Why are Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin not in recent EXO comebacks?

The three, who form the sub-unit EXO-CBX, are in a long-running contract dispute with SM Entertainment and operate under their own label INB100, so they did not participate in the REVERXE comeback.

Is EXO still active as a group?

Yes. After a gap of more than two years, EXO returned with the album REVERXE in January 2026, though as a legacy act its full-group activity is now less frequent and shaped by solo careers and the CBX dispute.

Why did EXO's original Chinese members leave?

Kris, Luhan and Tao each filed lawsuits to end their SM contracts in 2014 and 2015; Kris and Luhan settled and left in 2016, and Tao formally left in 2018.

active

엑소

EXO

Members

Fandom

EXO-L

AgencySM EntertainmentDebutApr 2012GenreK-pop, R&B, Pop

The third-gen superpower group whose 'Growl' era rewrote what a K-pop blockbuster looked like.

Third-gen titans
Superpower lore
Vocal-heavy
Legacy act
EXO-L-coded

LINEUP

Members

Xiumin

Lead vocalist

Suho

Leader

Lay

Main dancer

Baekhyun

Main vocalist

Chen

Main vocalist

Chanyeol

Lead rapper

D.O.

Main vocalist

Kai

Main dancer

Sehun

Lead dancer

EXO members: positions, birthdays and ages
Member	Position	Birthday	Age	Height	Born in
Xiumin	Lead vocalist · Sub-rapper	Mar 26, 1990	36	173 cm	South Korea
Suho	Leader · Lead vocalist	May 22, 1991	35	173 cm	South Korea
Lay	Main dancer · Vocalist	Oct 7, 1991	35	177 cm	China
Baekhyun	Main vocalist · Center	May 6, 1992	34	174 cm	South Korea
Chen	Main vocalist · CBX vocalist	Sep 21, 1992	34	173 cm	South Korea
Chanyeol	Lead rapper · Vocalist	Nov 27, 1992	33	185 cm	South Korea
D.O.	Main vocalist · Actor	Jan 12, 1993	33	173 cm	South Korea
Kai	Main dancer · Soloist	Jan 14, 1994	32	182 cm	South Korea
Sehun	Lead dancer · Sub-rapper	Apr 12, 1994	32	183 cm	South Korea

MILESTONES

Records & firsts

First Korean act in twelve years to sell a million copies of an album

XOXO and its repackage, 2013 — the first since g.o.d in 2001.

Highest-charting male Korean group on the Billboard 200 at the time

Overdose, number 129, 2014.

Fastest concert sell-out by a Korean artist

The Lost Planet tour, 1.47 seconds, 2014.

Japan's best-selling K-pop artist of 2014

The same year Overdose topped Korea's annual sales.

Performed at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics closing ceremony

February 25, 2018, representing K-pop with CL.

DID YOU KNOW

Trivia & lore

The name EXO comes from "exoplanet", settled after several lineup changes in December 2011.
EXO debuted as twelve, split into EXO-K and EXO-M to sing the same songs in Korean and Mandarin.
Kris, Luhan and Tao left in 2014–2015 through lawsuits against SM.
EXO-CBX (Chen, Baekhyun, Xiumin) moved its solo work to Baekhyun's label INB100 in 2024 while still contracted to SM for the group.
Overdose was delayed from April 21, 2014 after the Sewol ferry disaster.

DISCOGRAPHY

Signature tracks

Ko Ko Bop — The War

2017 · Call Me Baby & nine-member peak

Call Me Baby — EXODUS

2015 · Call Me Baby & nine-member peak

Growl — XOXO

2013 · Growl & the breakthrough

Crown — REVERXE

2026 · REVERXE comeback

Obsession — Obsession

2019 · Enlistment & solo years

TIMELINE

The journey

ORIGIN

Two-subgroup launch

2011 — 2012

SM built EXO as a twelve-member act split into EXO-K and EXO-M, promoting the same songs in Korean and Mandarin to work the Korean and Chinese markets at once. The name, from "exoplanet", set up the idea of members arriving from another world.

Lineup: Debuted as twelve members across EXO-K and EXO-M, April 2012

BREAKTHROUGH

Growl & the breakthrough

2013 — 2014

XOXO and its repackage single Growl made EXO the first Korean act in twelve years to sell a million copies of an album. Overdose followed as 2014's best-selling release in Korea, even as the first lineup departures began.

Anchor track: Growl

Lineup: Kris and Luhan filed to leave in 2014; Tao followed in 2015, reducing the group toward nine

GLOBAL

Call Me Baby & nine-member peak

2015 — 2018

As a nine-member group, EXO dominated Korean music with EXODUS, The War and singles like Call Me Baby, Monster and Ko Ko Bop, becoming one of the best-selling K-pop acts of the decade. The group performed at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics closing ceremony.

Anchor track: Call Me Baby

HIATUS

Enlistment & solo years

2019 — 2024

Don't Mess Up My Tempo and Obsession preceded a long stretch where members staggered through military service and solo or sub-unit work, slowing full-group activity. EXO became a legacy act sustained by individual careers and the occasional reunion release.

Anchor track: Obsession

Lineup: Members cycled through mandatory military service across 2019-2024

RETURN

REVERXE

2025

After two and a half years without a group album, EXO returned on January 19, 2026 with the eighth studio album REVERXE, led by "Crown". Only Suho, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun and Lay took part — the EXO-CBX trio sat out over an unresolved contract dispute, and Lay missed promotions.

Anchor track: Crown

Lineup: Recorded as six; Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin did not take part

FAQ