"Growl" (; ) 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.
Release and promotion 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".
Music videos 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.
Reception Music charts "Growl" reached number 2 on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, as well as number 3 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 and World Digital Songs charts. Billboard listed "Growl" as the fifth best-selling K-pop song in America during 2013. The song also won first place 14 times in total on South Korean music TV shows.
Describing it as "the crown jewel in EXO's fantastic 2013", Billboard picked "Growl" as the best K-pop song of 2013. 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.
Public reception 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.
+ "Growl" on critic lists Publication Year List Rank Billboard 2013 The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2013 1 2018 The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time 58 2019 The 100 Greatest K-pop Songs of the 2010s 50 British GQ Best K-pop songs of the decade No order Dazed 2013 Top 10 K-pop Songs of 2013 2 The Dong-a Ilbo 2016 Best Male Idol Songs in the Past 20 Years 3 The Forty-Five 2023 The 45 best K-pop songs of all-time (Rhian Daly) 29 Melon 2021 Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time 2 Munhwa Ilbo 2019 10 best K-pop songs of the decade (Kim In-goo) No order Rolling Stone 2023 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music 34 SBS PopAsia 2013 Top 100 Asian pop songs of 2013 1
Accolades +Awards and nominations for "Growl" Organization Year Award Result Golden Disc Awards 2014Digital Bonsang Hito Music Awards Best J-pop & K-pop Song KBS Song Festival 2013 Song of the Year Korean Music AwardsSong of the Year Best Dance & Electronic Song Melon Music Awards2013 Song of the Year Music Video Award Mnet Asian Music Awards 2013 Best Dance Performance – Male Group Seoul Music Awards2014 Best Song World Music Awards World's Best Song
+Music program awards (14 total) Program Date Music Bank August 16, 2013 August 23, 2013Inkigayo August 18, 2013 August 25, 2013 September 1, 2013 Show Champion August 21, 2013 August 28, 2013September 4, 2013 M Countdown August 22, 2013 August 29, 2013 September 5, 2013 Show! Music Core August 24, 2013 August 31, 2013 September 7, 2013
Cover On November 10, 2025, SM Jazz Trio of SM Classics, released a jazz cover of "Growl" for their debut studio album, Pink Note.
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2013) Peakposition South Korea (Gaon) 2 South Korea (K-pop Hot 100) 3 US World Digital Songs (Billboard) 3
Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position South Korea (Gaon) 56 South Korea (K-pop Hot 100) 19 US World Digital Songs (Billboard) 14
Sales RegionSales South Korea (digital)Cumulative sales for "Growl":
2,023,254
Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Studio SM Blue Cup Studio – recording, mixing In Grid Studio – recording Sound Pool Studios – recording Sonic Korea – mastering
Personnel
SM Entertainment – executive producer Kim Young-min – executive supervisor Lee Soo-man – producer Exo – vocals Baekhyun – background vocals Chanyeol – background vocals Chen – background vocals D.O. – background vocals Suho – background vocals Tao – background vocals Seo Ji-eum – Korean lyrics Wang Yajun – Mandarin lyrics Hyuk Shin – composition, arranger, vocal directing DK – composition Jordan Kyle – composition, arranger John Major – composition, arranger Jarah Gibson – composition Kim Jin-hwan – vocal directing Jeong Eul-seok – recording, mixing Jeong Eun-kyung – recording Kim Ji-eun – recording Jeong Ho-jin – recording Lee Yoon-ji – bass Cheon Hoon – mastering
Release history + Release history for "Growl" Region Date Format Label Various August 5, 2013
References
External links