Released October 31, 2016 Genre EDMR&BK-pop | Recorded 2016 Length 17:24 | |
Studio SM Studios, Seoul, South Korea | ||
Hey Mama! is the debut extended play by EXO-CBX, the first official sub-unit of the South Korean boy group EXO. It was released on October 31, 2016 by S.M. Entertainment under distribution by KT Music. The EP features five tracks in total with a variety of genres.
Contents
Background and release
On October 24, 2016, S.M. Entertainment announced that Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin would debut as EXO's first official sub-unit EXO-CBX with an extended play titled Hey Mama!. On October 25, a teaser for the music video of the title track "Hey Mama!" was revealed. On October 27, a highlight medley, featuring previews of the album's tracks, premiered on Apple Music's Beats 1. The album and the title track's music video were released on October 31. On November 7, 2016, S.M Entertainment released the music video for the second single "The One" in their official YouTube account.
Single
The main track is titled "Hey Mama!" ("Mama" referring to an attractive woman) and talks about enjoying parties to make it a special day. The song reached the top of six South Korean real-time music charts shortly after its release, with the other songs following behind. It also reached number one on the iTunes charts in 7 countries, including South Korea, Peru, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Brunei, as well as number two in Taiwan and Indonesia. "Hey Mama!" was choreographed by Kyle Hanagami, who had previously choreographed for Girls' Generation, After School, Red Velvet, and Black Pink. Its music video garnered 2 million views on YouTube within 9 hours after being released.
Promotions
A promotional event for Hey Mama! was held at 8PM (KST) on October 31 on a special stage located at the east side of Samseong-dong COEX in Seoul. The event was live streamed on EXO's V App channel. EXO-CBX made their debut performance on M! Countdown on November 3, later on KBS's Music Bank and MBC's Show! Music Core.
Critical reception
Hey Mama! debuted atop the Billboard World Albums Chart and the South Korean Gaon weekly album chart.
Commercial performance
The album sold 276,000 copies in 2016.Hey Mama! became the highest selling album by a sub-unit in 2016 in Gaon Chart with 275,191 copies and in Hanteo with 202,281 copies sold.