Journey Through EXID History
There is a shorten version of this article in the video below.
Producer Shinsadong Tiger and AB Entertainmment scouted several trainees from JYP Entertainment to form a new girl group. Yuji was first to join when a JYPE girl group failed to debut. Yuji got in touch with fellow trainees Junghwa, Hani, and Haeryeong to audition for AB, all three made it into the agency. Shinsadong Tiger added LE to the lineup when he discovered her as an underground rapper under the name Elly. The final member to join was Dami, who was already an AB trainee.
EXID changed their name a few months before their debut from “WT” which stood for “Who’s That”. They were supposed to debut in January 2012, but due to a leg injury LE sustained whilst rehearsing, it was pushed back to February. AB Entertainment announced on February 3rd, that EXID would debut with the single “Whoz That Girl” from the album Holla, on February 16th, 2012. They made their debut performance on M! Countdown and performed on Music Core and Inkigayo. The song peaked at number 36 on Gaon Singles Chart , selling 840,00 copies.
Click here to watch “Who That Girl“
In April 2012, it was officially announced that Yuji and Dami left to focus on their studies whilst Haeryeong left to pursue an acting career. They were replaced by Solji, a vocal trainer and former member of the ballad duo group, 2NB and Hyelin, who was considered for EXID’s original lineup before being dropped.
EXID made their comeback in August 2012 with the single “I Feel Good” from their first EP Hippity Hop, which debuted at number 13 on Gaon Albums Chart, selling 1,500 copies. In October, they released “Every Night“, peaking at number 43, selling 105,000 copies.
Click here to watch “I Feel Good“
Click here to watch “Every Night“
On October 11, EXID released the female version of B1A4’s song “Hey Girl” which was apart of the soundtrack of MBC’s sitcom The Thousandth Man. On November 30 EXID along with D-Unit and Big Star, were releasing a collaboration album. Shortly after the subunit Dasoni (Solji and Hani) was announced and they released the single “Goodbye” on the 15 of February. An exclusive contract was signed with Yedang Entertainment in June 2014.
On August 24, EXID had their comeback showcase, performing “Up & Down”. The song was officially released on August 27 but failed to make it into the top 100 of the Gaeon Chart. But that soon changed in early October when a fancam of Hani performing the song went viral on all Korean social networks. The video to date has been viewed 26 million times. This lead the song to climb into the top 10 on the real-time charts, topping the charts. With this new found success, EXID was invited back to promote the single on various music programs long after promotions ended. Ultimately winning their first music show award and two others. EXID had stayed in the spotlight when member Solji became the first winner of MBC’s singing competition program King of Mask Singer in February of 2015.
Click here to watch “Up & Down“
In April the music video for “Ah Yeah” was released from their second EP, winning first on SBS’ Inkigayo and Show Champion twice on both programs. May 2015 they EXID made their American debut, performing at the Korean Music Festival in Los Angeles, CA. On November 7 at the MelOn Music Award’s EXID took home the MBC Music Star Award. On the 17th the music video for “Hot Pink” was released, winning more first places on music shows.
Click here to watch “Ah Yeah“
Click here to watch “Hot Pink“
EXID signed with China’s entertainment company Banana Project on January 11, 2016. On March 2, EXID’s label Yedang Entertainment changed its name to Banana Culture making a joint venture company. The group released their first studio album “Street,” most of which LE had written and composed. The album peaked at number 2 on the Gaon Album Chart. In December, EXID released their first Chinese single, “Cream,” peaking at number 6 on Billboard China V Chart. The following day December 21, it was announced that Solji was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism and would be going on a hiatus. EXID continued promoting as a 4 piece group, releasing their second Chinese single “Up & Down” on January 10, 2017. Although the music video was released on YouTube, it was also taken down due to some Chinese fans finding their dancing to be inappropriate whilst some argued that it was fine.
Click here to watch “Cream“
Click here to watch “L.I.E“
EXID made their comeback with their third EP Eclipse, their title song being “Night Rather Than Day”. The EP debuted at number 4 on Billboard World Album chart, becoming their first top five album. EXID launched ‘EXID Asia Tour 2017’ promoting in different countries during the summer. The group released their fourth mini album Full Moon on November 7 making this the return of Solji but only vocally as she participated in the recording process only. The single “DDD” received first on The Show.
Click here to watch “DDD“
EXID returned with the single Lady in April whilst Solji continued to recover from surgery. May 11, Banana Culture announced that EXID would be launching their Japanese official website and their debut showcase in Tokyo. It was also announced on September 8 that Solji would be returning to the group. To further promotions in Japan, EXID released the Japanese version of “Up & Down”.
Click here to watch “Night Rather Than Day“
EXID made a full-member comeback with the single “I Love You” releasing a music video along with it. The single entered at number 5 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales.
Click here to watch “I Love You“
EXID had their second Japan tour in February of 2019, which was named ‘2019 EXID Valentine Japan Live Tour’. They performed their new Japanese single “Trouble” off of their soon to be released Japanese album scheduled for April 2019.
For more information on EXID check out their profile.
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