''Don't Fight the Feeling'' is the seventh EP by South Korean–Chinese boy band

Exo Exo (; 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 Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...

. It was released by

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

on June 7, 2021, and marketed as a "special album" and a gift for fans. The album marks the group's first new material since their 2019 studio album ''

Obsession Obsession may refer to: Psychology * Celebrity worship syndrome, obsessive addictive disorder to a celebrity's personal and professional life * Obsession (psychology), a persistent attachment to an object or idea * Fixation (psychology), persist ...

'', and features the return of members

Xiumin Kim Min-seok (; born March 26, 1990), better known by his stage name Xiumin (; ), is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, its sub-group Exo-M and leader of its sub-unit Exo-CBX. He debuted as ...

Lay Lay or LAY may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada * Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France * Lay, Iran, a village * Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community * Lay Dam, Alaba ...

, and

D.O. Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become lice ...

since ''

Don't Mess Up My Tempo ''Don't Mess Up My Tempo'' (stylized in all caps) is the fifth studio album by South Korean boy band Exo. It was released on November 2, 2018, by SM Entertainment. Member Lay is featured in the Chinese version of lead track, "Tempo", marking his ...

'' (2018). ''Don't Fight the Feeling'' topped the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

and has sold over one million copies, the sixth among Exo's albums to have reached this milestone.

Background and release

In mid-2020, two Exo members– Chen and

Suho Kim Jun-myeon (; born May 22, 1991), better known by his stage name Suho (), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is the leader of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo and its sub-unit Exo-K. He debuted as a soloist on March 30, ...

–went on hiatus to enlist for their mandatory military service. A few months later, two previously enlisted members–

and

–who had been inactive since the group's fifth studio album ''

'' (2018), were discharged and resumed activities with the group. On April 8, 2021, nine years since Exo's debut date, the group uploaded a video in which active members–Xiumin,

Chanyeol Park Chan-yeol (; born November 27, 1992), better known mononymously as Chanyeol, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, actor and model. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo, its sub-group Exo-K and sub ...

Baekhyun Byun Baek-hyun (; born May 6, 1992), known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo, its subgroup Exo-K and its subunit Exo-CBX. In 2019, Baekhyun became a leader of ...

, Kai, and Sehun–commemorated the anniversary and revealed that they have been preparing for their next release. On May 10, Exo announced the release of a "special album" titled ''Don't Fight the Feeling''. Beginning on May 24, futuristic promotional images and videos for the EP were gradually released. On May 26,

, who had also been inactive since ''Don't Mess Up My Tempo'', was announced to have participated on the project. Lay did not meet up with the members at any point working on the album as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On June 7, ''Don't Fight the Feeling'' and the music video for the title track were released simultaneously. ''Don't Fight the Feeling'' contains five tracks including the title track, which was described as a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song with a "cheerful rhythm".Exo Lysn app post (May 24, 2021). Retrieved May 31, 2021. Physically, the EP was released in four editions, including two photobook editions, a jewel case edition, and an Expansion edition. The Expansion edition itself has six versions, each featuring one of the participating members–minus Lay–on the cover. Exo-dftf

Commercial performance

Prior to its release, ''Don't Fight the Feeling'' received 1.2 million pre-orders within a 27-day period, breaking Exo's previous personal record of 1.1 million with ''

'' (2018). On June 14, eight days after being released, the album was announced to have sold over one million copies, surpassing ''Don't Mess Up My Tempo''–which took ten days to do so–to become Exo's fastest-selling album. This is the group's sixth album to have crossed the one million sales mark. ''Don't Fight the Feeling'' debuted at number one on the

. In Japan, it peaked at number three on the

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon A ...

, and at number six on the ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine '' Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence fr ...

'' Hot Albums chart. In the US, the album debuted at number eight on the ''Billboard'' World Albums chart.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Critical reception

Accolades

Release history

References

{{Exo 2021 EPs Exo EPs Korean-language EPs SM Entertainment EPs Albums produced by Lee Soo-man Contemporary R&B EPs