Exo’s 2013 winter track “The First Snow” has gained renewed popularity a decade later, climbing up the music charts in South Korea.
Making history a decade later: The song, from the boy band’s special winter album “Miracle in December,” is making history 10 years after its release. On Tuesday, “The First Snow” reportedly claimed the top spot on Melon’s Top 100 chart, marking Exo’s achievement alongside Seventeen as the only boy groups to reach No. 1 on the chart this year. Exo further made history by securing the No. 1 position on Melon 24Hits, Daily Chart and Hanteo’s Real-Time Digital Streaming Chart. Additionally, the song, known for capturing nostalgic feelings of past love, also reached No. 1 on iTunes charts in 20 countries.
“[Exo members] congratulated together after ‘The First Snow’ topped the chart 10 years after its release,” Exo’s leader Suho said in a press release on Thursday. “We were surprised at first, but now all the members are enjoying the situation. It’s all down to EXO-L, we thank you, and we love you all. I hope you have a warm [holiday season], listening to ‘The First Snow’ and [Exo] will return with even better music and stages next year.”
Why did it go viral?: A dance challenge by Hwang Sehun sparked the song’s resurgence on social media, according to allkpop. Hwang uploaded a video of himself dancing to “The First Snow” amid gently falling snowflakes in South Korea.
The dance quickly gained popularity, with K-pop idols, dancers, fans and international artists and TikTok personalities joining in. Some of the participants included Itzy’s Yuna, Aespa’s Karina and Giselle, Enhypen’s Sunoo and Jungwon, Ateez and NCT Dream, boosting the challenge’s reach to over 106,000 uses on TikTok.
Exo’s Sehun and Lay also participated, garnering over 20 million views and support from their fans.
