"Call Me Baby" is a song recorded by South Korean–Chinese boy bandExo, as the lead single of their second studio albumExodus. It was released on March 27, 2015, throughSM Entertainment, in bothKorean andChinese.
The song peaked at number two on South Korea'sGaon Digital Chart, andBillboard'sWorld Digital Songs chart in the United States. Its entry at number 98 on theCanadian Hot 100, made Exo the only K-pop act other thanPsy to rank on the charts in that territory at the time. "Call Me Baby" ended 2015 as the seventh best-performing song overall in South Korea, andBillboard ranked it as the ninth best K-pop song of the year.
By September 2016, "Call Me Baby" had sold over 1.2 million copies domestically. In 2019,Billboard included it on its list of the 100 greatest K-pop songs of the 2010s, at number 12.
To promote the release ofExodus, a series of videos referred to as "Pathcode", featuring one Exo member each and are set in various locations, were released onYouTube. The first letters of these locations' names—Colorado,Arizona,London,Lyon,Marseille,Edinburgh,Barcelona,Almaty,Berlin andYunnan—would spell "Call Me Baby", the title of the album's lead single.[2] It was released digitally on March 27, 2015, three days ahead of the album.[3] Exo began performing the song on South Korean music TV shows on April 2, 2015.[4] After the press conference for the album's release, memberTao was absent from promotional activities and would later withdraw from the group,[5] making "Call Me Baby" the last Exo single he participated in.
The Korean and Chinese music videos for "Call Me Baby" were released on March 30, 2015. The videos mainly feature Exo's performances of the song at a warehouse setting and against a white backdrop, and were filmed in aone shot style. The Korean version later became the third most-watched K-pop music video onYouTube in 2015.[6] On September 23, 2018, the Korean music video surpassed 200 million views on YouTube, becoming their second music video to do so.[7]
Writing forBillboard, Jeff Benjamin commented that while "Call Me Baby" "sounds wholly inspired by the late '90s/early '00s sound", Exo "is not only bringing in the nostalgic feel, but doing it at a 200 percent intensity."[8] The song reached number two on both South Korea'sGaon Digital Chart and theBillboardWorld Digital Songs chart.[9][10] It also entered theCanadian Hot 100 at number 98, making Exo the second South Korean artist, afterPsy, to appear on the chart.[11] "Call Me Baby" went on to win first place 18 times in total on South Korean music TV shows for the entire month, and the all-time second highest number of wins.[citation needed]Billboard ranked the song at number 9 on their list of top 20 K-pop songs of 2015.[12]
Billboard ranked "Call Me Baby" number 9 in their list of the 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2015[13] and number 12 on their list of The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s, calling it a "sartorially adventurous in letting each member’s personality shine through".[14]SBS PopAsia also included it in their lists of the best K-pop songs from 2014 to 2016.[15][16]
^Benjamin, Jeff (April 1, 2015)."The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2015".Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.Archived from the original on February 26, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2017.
^Benjamin, Jeff (April 1, 2015)."The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2015".Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.Archived from the original on February 26, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2017.
^4월 첫째 주 인기가요 차트 [Inkigayo chart for the first week of April] (in Korean). Seoul Broadcasting System. April 9, 2015.Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. RetrievedMay 17, 2019.
^4월 둘째 주 인기가요 차트 [Inkigayo chart for the second week of April] (in Korean). Seoul Broadcasting System. April 28, 2015.Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. RetrievedMay 17, 2019.
^4월 셋째 주 인기가요 차트 [Inkigayo chart for the third week of April] (in Korean). Seoul Broadcasting System. April 28, 2015.Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. RetrievedMay 17, 2019.
^Ji-won, Jeong (April 9, 2015).엑소 '엠카운트다운' 1위, 컴백 일주일 트로피만 3개 [EXO's 'M Countdown' 1st place, only 3 trophies for a week of comeback].X Sports News (in Korean).Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. RetrievedNovember 9, 2020 – via Naver.
^Yu-jin, Jung (April 17, 2015).엑소 천하는 계속된다..음악방송 1위 싹쓸이 '9관왕' [EXO's world continues... Music Broadcasting No. 1 sweeping '9 crowns'].Osen (in Korean).Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. RetrievedNovember 9, 2020 – via Naver.
^Jo, Seul-gi (April 30, 2015).'엠카운트다운' 엑소, 3주 연속 1위 트리플크라운, 15관왕 '달성' ['M Countdown' EXO, 3 weeks in a row, Triple Crown, 15 crowns 'Achievement'].Ten Asia (in Korean).Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. RetrievedNovember 9, 2020 – via Naver.
^Kim, So-yeon (April 10, 2015).엑소, '뮤직뱅크'에서도 1위.."우린 하나다" 소감 [Exo, 1st place in 'Music Bank'.. "We are one" impression].Star News (in Korean).Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. RetrievedApril 14, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Kim, So-yeon (April 10, 2015).엑소, '뮤직뱅크'에서도 1위.."우린 하나다" 소감 [Exo, 1st place in 'Music Bank'.. "We are one" impression].Star News (in Korean).Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. RetrievedApril 14, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Jeong, Hee-seo (April 24, 2015).엑소, '뮤뱅'도 3주 연속 1위…트로피 13개 '신기록' [Exo, 'Music Bank' also ranked first for 3 weeks in a row... 13 trophies 'new record'].X-ports News (in Korean).Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. RetrievedApril 14, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Heo, Seol-hee (May 1, 2015).'뮤직뱅크' 엑소 1위, 17개 트로피 싹쓸이 '경이로운 기록' ['Music Bank' Exo 1st place, Sweep 17 Trophies 'A wonderful record'].My Daily (in Korean).Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. RetrievedApril 14, 2022 – viaNaver.
