EXO - History

Ever thought of making history from a dream? If yes, I congrats you *applause* having a dream is one good step in making something happen. In this song, EXO expresses their desire to make history through unity & harmony amongst ourselves. This whole article will be based on what I interpret from the lyrics, EXO’s concept & the MV so please do not take anything to heart if offended. In reviewing/explaining this song, I will be relating EXO’s debut concept, “What Is Love” (see previous post) & “History”. It may sound a little bizarre but I find it more understandable & logic when you see it as a whole & not individually. Again, same as before, I will combine both EXO-M & EXO-K in this article since the songs are the same, minus the language and members(of course!) but they ALL make appearances in each other’s MV :P Here is a list of the members’ name according to their appearance (in case some of you are still confuse) :

Kris (EXO-M)

Chen (EXO-M)

Chanyeol (EXO-K)

Suho (EXO-K)

D.O (EXO-K)

Kai (EXO-K)

Tao (EXO-M)

Lay (EXO-M)

Baekhyun (EXO-K)

Luhan (EXO-M)

Sehun (EXO-K)

Xiumin (EXO-M)

We’ll start with the song first. The song has a fast upbeat which is mellowed down with slower-tempo singing, giving a good combination/balance. Some parts are heavy on the beats while some barely have a beat sounding, creating movement in the whole song. Hence, listeners won’t be bored from continuous repetition of the same melody/tempo. The arrangement of the chorus, verse, raps and other parts have been heard in other groups (from what I’ve listened to anyway) and this naturally gives EXO chance of making their own trademark in song-wise. So if you were to hear a similar beat or tempo, you know its EXO. In an industry filled with numerous groups that just keep coming in, you need a solid hold of the sound you produce & avoid being blended into the crowd. Personally, I’m not an avid fan of techno sounds, which is why you won’t find much upbeat-tech-ish songs in my playlist (especially those on daily repeat). “History” though has earned its place in my list. The background music blends the techno-beats together, harmonizing it on a whole new level. When you’ve watched the MV/perf/dance, you will sort of unconsciously move to the beat, possibly mimicking the dance moves in your head. That’s how ‘moving’ the song is to me. Thumbs up to the producers/composers!!

Although titled “History”, the lyrics doesn’t exactly tell us to make history by achieving major success (war/fights/conquer/evolution) but rather it’s up to you to make your own history without having any regrets. Phrases such as “Black and white....north & south.....despair of the sun, split in half” indicate separation & isolation of the world where no harmony or teamwork reside. Being humans, we are not perfect & will commit mistakes, sometimes even repeatedly but everytime we fall, we rise again, even stronger. That is how EXO sings to you, in the process of making history. “The day we give birth to a dream, we rise up again” & “I’m filled with errors but as I learn, I can get stronger” are 2 examples of the reference. But just having a dream is not enough. Unity & harmony is required when you live in a society. Together we rise, individually we fall. “The day we realize that the sun is one that is big and great”. There’s a mention of “..an Eden’s morning”. From what I know, Eden can be referred to the Garden of Eden (a garden of God/in heaven) so I’m guessing the reference to “Eden’s morning” means a blissful environment, of peace & beauty. Overall, the song talks about rising again & moving forward, leaving any form of regret or hesitation behind. In relating to the EXO’s concept, I found some sentences/phrases in parallel to EXO’s image. EXO’s appearance/debut resolves around the eclipse of the sun, where ‘2 suns’ come together as one. The line “the sun broke into two and lost its power” refers to EXO being powerless, like what is shown in the “What Is Love” MV where each member lives normally (as human beings) & in search of their power. The MV ends with the eclipse of the sun, signalling a beginning. If the “sun” were to unite, the “magic....will play again”. There’s also a possible reference to the relationship between EXO and their fans/listeners in the line “I need you and you want me, in this planet called Earth”. EXO need fans/listeners to survive in the kpop industry and in return, we fans want them as idols & performers/singers right here on Earth (the members are supposedly from a planet called EXO). This may seem a bit farfetched but never underestimate SM’s capability of linking every detail. Have a look at the lyrics below & try to come up with your own story ^^ EXO-M’s version has just about the same meaning :

EXO-K : http://infotaip.blogspot.com/2012/03/exo-k-history-english-translation.html

EXO-M : http://lybio.net/exo-m-history-english-translation/pop-music/

And now, we have some to the MV. First up, I do not see the MV having a plot, in correlation to the lyrics. It’s basically shots of the choreography & members singing their own respective parts. Nothing big. There are only 2 scenes (drastic change from “What Is Love” :P ) in the MV. 

All 12 members

EXO-K

EXO-M

In both MVs, all 12 members appear based on the song version. For example, the Korean version has EXO-K members singing & solo/dance shots but there inserts of EXO-M in between, including the dance scenes where all 12 members dance together. This can be confusing for a newbie to recognize who is who, especially in the dance scenes but after numerous views, you’ll get the hang of it (LoL). The sets are SM’s well-known-but-overly-used artificial indoor rooms/spaces. But the desert-plain-sandy set was kinda cool with the wind-blowing & snowflakes(?!) effect.

MV (Korean version) : 

MV (Mandarin version) : 

SM has also released a dance version MV for both groups where fans are able to watch & admire the savvy-smooth-yet-sharp choreography. Trust me, you will not get bored of the dance because the variety of dance moves/sets in this song is complicated enough to digest in one view. I myself watched it more than 5 times each to carefully see each move/coordination. From what I can see in the arrangement of positions, Kai/Sehun/D.O are the main dancers for EXO-K while Lay/Tao/Luhan/Xiumin for EXO-M. I have to admit, Kris looks a little awkward in his movement (his long limbs does not exactly help) but he’s trying :) check out their dance moves below :

EXO-K : 

EXO-M : 

At this point, I may have made history for writing such a long article so far on my blog. When I’m in the mood, I tend to have better ideas & write more. Sorry if some parts were confusing. I’ll continue to repair the errors as I go. I also like taking screencaps of the MV which is why I always provide extra shots at the end of a post. Sharing these shots is better than keeping them to myself ^^ to those who are not on facebook but are following my posts, you can follow me on twitter (@hikari_sshi) to get updates & let me know if you have a request for your favourite song/MV to be reviewed. I won’t guarantee doing it but I can consider (I won’t eat you........unless I’m SUPER hungry :D). So, have fun with EXO’s second release “History” and maybe go make your own history too. Video start-to!!!!

PS: Screencaps~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~