"Lightsaber" is a song by South Korean–Chinese boy band
Exo
Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...
for their collaboration with ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
.'' The Korean-language version was released on November 11, 2015, by their label
SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...
, and was later announced as a bonus track for the group's fourth
EP ''
Sing for You''. It was released in both Korean and Chinese versions on December 10, 2015 alongside the EP. The single was later released in Japanese on December 17, 2015, by
Avex Trax.
Background and release
On November 4, 2015, EXO was announced to be releasing "Lightsaber", a promotional song for the movie ''
Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' in South Korea, as part of the collaboration project between
S.M. Entertainment
SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...
and
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
. A teaser video for the song was released on November 8, followed by its music video and digital release on November 11.
"Lightsaber" was later announced to be included in ''Sing for You'' as a bonus track on December 7. The song talks about a guy being the girl's "lifesaver" and'' ''her "lightsaber" and brings her out of her darkness.
Music video
The music video of "Lightsaber" includes only three members of the group
Baekhyun
Byun Baek-hyun (; born May 6, 1992), better known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. Baekhyun began training under SM Entertainment in 2011. A few months later, he made his debut in 2012 as a member of the ...
,
Kai and
Sehun
Se-hun, also spelled Se-hoon or Sei-hoon, is a Korean masculine given name. Its meaning depends on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 15 hanja with the reading "se" and 12 hanja with the reading " hun" on the South Korean ...
, the members are seen to be in a ''Star Wars''-inspired world where clubs are "Jedi Only" and they carry lightsabers.
Live performance
EXO performed the song for the first time at the 17th
Mnet Asian Music Awards
The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...
. The group later performed the song during their concerts.
Reception
The song peaked at number 9 on
Gaon's digital chart, number 84 on
Billboard Japan Hot 100
The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...
, and at number 3 on ''Billboard'' World Digital Songs chart.
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Sales
References
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Exo songs
2015 songs
2015 singles
Korean-language songs
Chinese-language songs
Japanese-language songs
SM Entertainment singles
Avex Trax singles