Miracles in December

"Miracles in December"
Miracles in December
	Covers for the Korean version (left) and Chinese version (right)
EP by Exo
Released	December 9, 2013
Recorded	2013
Genre	Christmas; R&B; ballad;
Language	Korean; Mandarin;
Label	SM Entertainment
Producer	Lee Soo-man (exec.);
Exo chronology
Singles from Miracles in December
	"Miracles in December"; Released: December 5, 2013; "Christmas Day"; Released: December 15, 2013; "The First Snow"; Released: December 23, 2013;

Miracles in December (Korean: 12월의 기적; Chinese: 十二月的奇迹) is the overall second EP by South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo. It was released by SM Entertainment on December 9, 2013.[1] Presented as a special winter album,[2] Miracles in December is a follow-up to the group's first studio album XOXO, which was released in June 2013. Like all of the group's music, the EP has Korean and Chinese versions. The EP is also the group's second release as well as first EP to be promoted extensively being as a combined group. Its singles were "Miracles in December" and "Christmas Day".

"Miracles in December" attracts many positive reviews and commercial success.[3]

The Korean version was ranked number two in Gaon Singles Chart and at number three in Korea K-Pop Hot 100, as to the Mandarin version, it was ranked number nine in Baidu Weekly Music Chart and led Gaon International Singles chart.

"Miracles in December" was chosen as the title track and first single of the extended play, and along with "Christmas Day" was presented live on several local musical performances and concerts during the promotional cycle.

Background and recording

In early November 2013, Exo's management agency, SM Entertainment, announced Exo would be holding a joint concert, titled "Christmas Wonderland", with f(x) from December 24 to 25.[4] On December 3, a 2-minute medley clip for the Korean and Mandarin-language versions of the Miracles in December EP were released. On December 4, the music videos for "Miracles in December" were unveiled on YouTube.[5]

Released in two languages, Exo-K, Exo's Korean-language sub-group, recorded the EP's tracks in Korean while Exo-M, the Mandarin-language sub-group, performed the same songs in Mandarin. A pop ballad with classical piano accompaniment, the lead single "Miracles in December", was written by Andreas Stone Johansson and Rick Hanley. However, the song was only performed by four Exo members: Baekhyun, D.O., and Chen recorded the song in Korean, while Baekhyun, Chen, and Luhan recorded it in Mandarin. Special performances by all four (Baekhyun, D.O., Chen, and Luhan) members, with Lay miming the piano, were often performed on made-for-TV live music programs such as Inkigayo and Music Bank.

Composition and background

"Miracles in December" according to the description of the album on the site of Korean music Naver Music is a song genre pop-ballad that uses the piano and strings in your arrangement.[6] The song was composed and arranged by composers veterans such as Andreas Johansson Stone and Rick Hanley in collaboration with the production team of SM Entertainment. The voices in the Korean version are provided by Chen, Baekhyun and D.O., while the mandarin version belongs to the first two, and Luhan.

The song talks about a man who recalls with nostalgia the relationship with his former girlfriend and his desire to return to it, but cannot do so because of the shame and guilt.[7] Yoon So Ra and Liu Yuan wrote the letters of the Korean and Chinese version respectively.[6]

Release and promotion

The music videos for "Miracles in December" (one Korean, one Mandarin) were directed by Jo So-hyun, and were filmed in November in Paju, Gyeonggi-do and a studio in Ilsan, near Seoul.[7]

On December 2, 2013 a few teasers for the Korean and Chinese version of the music video was released on official YouTube channel of SM Town, causing a lot of interest from fans.[8] This, however, many thought that the group was promoting as a new sub-unit, which led to SM to clarify the rumors. A representative of the agency said that "it is true Baekhyun, D.O. and Chen to sing the single main... That does not mean that they are officially a sub-unit... We are planning to implement other members also to climb on stage for various performances». And continued: «We are preparing several performances because this album is a special album of winter and is full of gratitude to the fans and it is not correct to call this a new sub-unit activity.»[9]

On December 4, 2013 both versions of the videos were announced, at 8:00pm (KST) and were released on video-sharing websites.[5] The music video was directed by Jo Soo-hyun, and was filmed in November in Paju, Gyeonggi in a study in Ilsan.[7]

On December 5, Exo held their debut performances from the album with "Miracles in December" on Mnet's M Countdown stage.;[10] and the song was made available for download as digital single.[11]

On December 9, 2013 the EP Miracles in December was released.

On December 19 The group staged the Korean version of "Christmas Day" (Simplified Chinese: 耶诞节) on M Countdown. Performances featured all twelve members of Exo with accompanying choreography produced by Tony Testa and Greg Hwang.

The EP finished at numbers 1 and 2 both weekly[12] and monthly[13] on the Gaon Albums Chart, for the Korean and Mandarin versions, respectively. The "Miracles in December" single (Korean version) reached number 2 on Gaon's Weekly Digital Singles Chart[14] and number 3 on Billboard's Korea K-Pop Hot 100.[15] The Mandarin version of the song was number 47 on the Gaon chart,[14] but topped the Gaon International Singles Chart.[16] It also went to number 7 on China's Baidu charts. "Christmas Day"'s Korean edition reached number 5[14] and 38[17] on the Gaon and K-Pop Hot 100 weekly charts, respectively, and the Mandarin edition reached number 10 on Baidu's charts.

Live performances

In December, Exo began their promotions running Korean version live on several local music programs, including M Countdown 5, Music Bank 6, Show! Music Core 7 and Inkigayo 8. In the following week's promotions, SM informed that Luhan and Lay also participate in presentations, as well as promised the fans.[18] Baekhyun, Chen and D.O. appeared on the stage of SBS MTV's The Show on December 17, 2013 and Show Champion on December 18, 2013. The song was also included in the set-list of the winter festival of the group with his classmates seal f(x) SM Town Week: Christmas Wonderland on 23 and 24 December 2013.[19] The Chinese version of "Miracles in December" was acted in the MTV The Show on December 24, 2013 with D.O., Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen and Lay members.

Critical reception

K-pop critic "Seoulbeats" gave a positive review of the song saying that "[it's] really worth all the hype that it's receiving." Analysis indicated that "Miracles in December" just grows and grows throughout its duration and commended the harmonization as "a thing of beauty".[20]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Naver.

Korean version
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Miracles in December" (Korean: 12월의 기적; RR: Sibiwolui Gijeok; lit. Miracle of December) sung by Baekhyun, Chen, D.O.))	Sarah Yoon	Andreas Stone Johansson Ricky Hanley (TG Publishing)	Don Spike	4:34
2.	"Christmas Day" (sung by: Suho, Xiumin, Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen, Lay, D.O.)	Misfit	Gabriela Soza Samantha Powell Philip Hochstrate	Gabriela Soza Samantha Powell Philip Hochstrate	3:46
3.	"The Star" (sung by Suho, Kris, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, Sehun)	Soulfulmonster	Im Kwang-wook (Devine Channel) Martin Mulholland Nermin Harambašić	Im Kwang-wook (Devine Channel)	4:07
4.	"My Turn to Cry" (sung by Baekhyun, Chen, D.O.)	Young-hu Kim	Alex Cantrall Phillip Anthony White Jeff Hoeppner	Alex Cantrall Phillip Anthony White Jeff Hoeppner	4:07
5.	"The First Snow" (Korean: 첫 눈; RR: Cheot Nun; lit. First Snow) sung by EXO-K)	Kenzie	Kim Jung-bae Kenzie	Kenzie	3:27
6.	"Miracles in December – Classical Orchestra Version" (Korean: 12월의 기적; RR: Sibiweolwi Gijeok; lit. Miracle of December)		lit. 'Andreas Stone Johansson' or 'sv' or 'Andreas Johansson (låtskrivare)' Ricky Hanley (TG Publishing)	Don Spike	4:33
Total length:					24:33

Chinese version
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"十二月的奇迹 (Miracles in December)" (Traditional Chinese: 十二月的奇蹟; Shíèryuè de Qíjì, sung by Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen) (Trans.: Miracle(s) of December)	Liu Yuan	Andreas Stone Johansson Ricky Hanley (TG Publishing)	Don Spike	4:33
2.	"圣诞节 (Christmas Day)" (Traditional Chinese: 聖誕節; Shèngdànjié, sung by Suho, Xiumin, Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen, Lay, D.O.) (Trans.: Christmas)	Liu Yuan	Gabriela Soza Philip Hochstrate Samantha Powell	Gabriela Soza Philip Hochstrate Samantha Powell	3:46
3.	"The Star (星)" (sung by Xiumin, Luhan, Baekhyun, Kris, D.O., Chen, Lay, Tao) (Trans.: Star)	T-Crash	Im Kwang-wook (Devine Channel) Martin Mulholland Nermin Harambašić	Im Kwang-wook (Devine Channel)	4:07
4.	"爱离开 (My Turn to Cry)" (Traditional Chinese: 愛離開; Ài Líkāi, sung by Luhan, Baekhyun, Chen) (Trans.: Love Has Left)	Wang Yajun	Alex Cantrall Jeff Hoeppner Philip Anthony White	Alex Cantrall Jeff Hoeppner Philip Anthony White	4:07
5.	"初雪 (The First Snow)" (Chūxuě, sung by Exo-M (Trans.: First Snow)	Kenzie	Kim Jung-bae Kenzie	Kenzie	3:27
6.	"十二月的奇迹 (Miracles in December) – Classical Orchestra Version" (Shíèryuè de Qíjì) (Trans.: Miracle(s) of December)		Andreas Stone Johansson Ricky Hanley (TG Publishing)	Don Spike	4:33
Total length:					24:33

Charts

Korean and Chinese versions

Chart	Peak position
Chart	Miracles in December (Kor ver.)	Miracles in December (Chn ver.)
South Korea Gaon Weekly Albums Chart	1	2
South Korea Gaon Monthly Albums Chart	1	2
South Korea Gaon 2013 Yearly Albums Chart	4	10
South Korea Gaon 2014 Yearly Albums Chart	34	66
Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart	7	20
Japan Oricon Monthly Albums Chart	24	48

Combined version

Chart	Peak position
Billboard World Albums Chart	1

Awards and nominations

Award	Nominated work	Category	Result
Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards	Miracles in December	Artist of the Year (Album) - 4th Quarter	Won

Music program awards

Song	Program	Date
"Miracles in December"	Show! Music Core (MBC)	December 14, 2013
	Show! Music Core (MBC)	December 21, 2013
	Inkigayo (SBS)	December 15, 2013
	Inkigayo (SBS)	December 22, 2013
	Show Champion (MBC Music)	December 18, 2013
	M Countdown (Mnet)	December 19, 2013
		December 26, 2013
		January 2, 2014
	Music Bank (KBS)	December 20, 2013

Sales and shipments

Album sales

Chart	Sales
Japan (Oricon)	11,734 (Chinese version)
Japan (Oricon)	24,530 (Korean version)
South Korea (Gaon)	204,438+ (Chinese version)
South Korea (Gaon)	352,189+ (Korean version)

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Worldwide	December 9, 2013 (2013-12-09)	CD Digital download	S.M. Entertainment
South Korea	December 9, 2013 (2013-12-09)	CD Digital download	S.M. Entertainment KT Music
Taiwan	December 17, 2013 (2013-12-17)[21]	CD	Avex Taiwan
Thailand	December 20, 2013 (2013-12-20)	CD	S.M. True

gollark: Apparently Intel has yet ANOTHER side channel issue!

gollark: It would probably be a waste of storage.

gollark: I would be surprised if Chrome actually did cache entire *videos* you watch, especially ones on YouTube since they use media source extensions instead of the native `<video>` thing directly.

gollark: <@701616503065280522> Maybe you should just do software RAID.

gollark: <@301477111229841410> Do you need to *entirely* reboot or just restart some service or other?

References

"EXO reveals romantic and bittersweet MV teaser for Miracles in December". Allkpop. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
"EXO to comeback with special winter album". Mwave. November 29, 2013. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
"EXO's new songs hits number one on nine online music charts". Naver (in Korean). December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
"SM to hold its own music festival with SMTOWN Week". Mwave. November 8, 2013. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
"EXO's MV for 'Miracles in [December]' to be released today". Yahoo! omg! Philippines. December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
"Winter Special Album 'December Miracles (Miracles in December)'". Naver (in Korean). December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
"EXO Giving Fans "Miracles in December" with New Music Video (Korean and Chinese)". Soompi. August 4, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
"EXO reveals romantic and bittersweet MV teaser for 'Miracles In December'!". Allkpop. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
"SM Entertainment clears up confusion, explains that EXO are not performing 'Miracles in December' as a unit group". Allkpop. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
"EXO to comeback with a winter special album". E Daily (in Korean). November 29, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
"Miracles in December - Korean EP by Exo". iTunes. December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
"2013년 51주차 Album Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
"Gaon Album Chart 2013년 12월". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
"2013년 50주차 Digital Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
"Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Week of December 28, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
"2013년 50주차 Digital Chart (국외)". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
"Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Week of December 21, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
"EXO's D.O, Baekhyun, and Chen to be joined by Luhan and Lay for performances this week". Allkpop. December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
"f(x) and EXO light up their 'Christmas Wonderland' at joint concert during 'SMTOWN WEEK'". Allkpop. December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
Lindsay (December 14, 2013). "EXO's Holiday EP Is A Miracle In December". Seoulbeats.com. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
"Exo @ Avex Taiwan Shop". Avex Taiwan (in Chinese). Retrieved December 4, 2013.

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[teaser-1] "EXO reveals romantic and bittersweet MV teaser for Miracles in December". Allkpop. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.

[special-2] "EXO to comeback with special winter album". Mwave. November 29, 2013. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.

[naver_2-3] "EXO's new songs hits number one on nine online music charts". Naver (in Korean). December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.

[smtownweek-4] "SM to hold its own music festival with SMTOWN Week". Mwave. November 8, 2013. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2013.

[mv-5] "EXO's MV for 'Miracles in [December]' to be released today". Yahoo! omg! Philippines. December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.

[naver-6] "Winter Special Album 'December Miracles (Miracles in December)'". Naver (in Korean). December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.

[MV_release-7] "EXO Giving Fans "Miracles in December" with New Music Video (Korean and Chinese)". Soompi. August 4, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.

[8] "EXO reveals romantic and bittersweet MV teaser for 'Miracles In December'!". Allkpop. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.

[9] "SM Entertainment clears up confusion, explains that EXO are not performing 'Miracles in December' as a unit group". Allkpop. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.

[mnetcb-10] "EXO to comeback with a winter special album". E Daily (in Korean). November 29, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.

[itunes_korean-11] "Miracles in December - Korean EP by Exo". iTunes. December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.

[gaon-ep-wk-12] "2013년 51주차 Album Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[gaon-ep-mo-13] "Gaon Album Chart 2013년 12월". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[gaon-dec-wk-14] "2013년 50주차 Digital Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[bb-dec-wk-15] "Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Week of December 28, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[gaon-wk-intl-16] "2013년 50주차 Digital Chart (국외)". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[bb-cday-wk-17] "Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Week of December 21, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[18] "EXO's D.O, Baekhyun, and Chen to be joined by Luhan and Lay for performances this week". Allkpop. December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.

[19] "f(x) and EXO light up their 'Christmas Wonderland' at joint concert during 'SMTOWN WEEK'". Allkpop. December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.

[20] Lindsay (December 14, 2013). "EXO's Holiday EP Is A Miracle In December". Seoulbeats.com. Retrieved December 2, 2013.

[taiwan-21] "Exo @ Avex Taiwan Shop". Avex Taiwan (in Chinese). Retrieved December 4, 2013.