"Growl" (Korean: 으르렁; RR: Eureureong; Chinese: 咆哮; pinyin: Páoxiào) is a song recorded by South Korean–Chinese boy band Exo, released on August 5, 2013, for the repackaged edition of their first studio album XOXO. It was released in both Korean and Chinese versions by their label SM Entertainment. The song is known as Exo's breakthrough single, with over two million downloads in South Korea.
Composed by Hyuk Shin, DK, Jordan Kyle, John Major and Jarah Gibson, "Growl" is described as a dance-pop song with contemporary R&B and funk influences. After its release was announced, a video filming the group practicing the song's choreography was leaked online on July 27. Exo began performing the song on South Korean music TV shows on August 1 before it was officially released together with the album on August 5, 2013. They also performed the song on several Chinese TV shows.
The song was performed during the closing ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, along with their 2017 song "Power".[2]
The Korean and Chinese music videos for "Growl" were released on August 1, 2013, four days ahead of the song itself. They exclusively feature Exo's performance of the song at a dimly lit warehouse and utilized the one shot style, appearing to have been filmed in a single take. Another set of music videos for the song, filmed at a different location, were released on August 20, 2013. On May 29, 2019, the Korean music video surpassed 200 million views on YouTube, becoming their fourth music video to do so.[3]
Describing it as "the crown jewel in EXO's fantastic 2013", Billboard picked "Growl" as the best K-pop song of 2013.[8] It was named Song of the Year at the 2013 Melon Music Awards and KBS Song Festival. The song is Exo's best-selling single to date, having accumulated over two million downloads.
In July 2017, defectors from North Korea stated Exo has some popularity in North Korea, although people have to listen to them in secret and don't know what the members look like, and Growl in particular is used as a confession song amongst youth to confess to one's crush due to the lyrics.[9][10]
^KBS 가요대축제, 엑소 올해의 노래 선정 '으르렁'. The Economic Daily (in Korean). December 28, 2013. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019 – via MK.
^"Genre field result" (in Korean). Korean Music Awards. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
^8월 3주 순위 [Music Bank ranking for the third week of August]. KBS Music Bank (in Korean). August 18, 2013. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
^8월 4주 순위 [Music Bank ranking for the fourth week of August]. KBS Music Bank (in Korean). August 26, 2013. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
^"[포토] 엑소 디오-시우민-타오 '1위, 너무 기뻐!'" [[Photo] EXO D.O.-Xiumin-Tao '1st place, I'm so happy!']. Financial News (in Korean). Naver. September 4, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
^"[사진]'엠카1위' EXO,'트리플 크라운 달성!'" [[Photo] 'No. 1 on M Countdown' Exo, 'Achieve triple crown!']. Osen (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.