EXID. Pronounced "ee-ex-i-d". They are under AB Entertainment.
EXID (; : 이엑스아이디), short for "Exceed In Dreaming", is a formed in 2012. The group consists of five-members: , , , and . They made their debut as a six-member group in February 2012, with the single "Whoz That Girl". Their first was released in August 2012 to limited success. The group unexpectedly gained success after their 2014 single "", which did not chart well upon initial release reached number one on the four months later, when a fan-recording of one of EXID's performances of the song became a . EXID released their second EP in April 2015, to commercial success. Their first studio album, entitled , was released in June 2016.
2011: Pre-debut[]
In May 2011, producer and AB Entertainment scouted several trainees from to form a new girl group. Trainee Yuji was the first to join when a JYP girl group failed to debut. Yuji contacted the trainees Hani, Haeryeong, and Junghwa to audition for AB, and all three were subsequently accepted into the agency. The group added a fifth member when Shinsadong Tiger discovered , an underground rapper and songwriter who performed under the name Elly. Dami, who was already an AB trainee, was the sixth and last member added to the group. Originally named "WT", an acronym for "Who's That", the group changed their name to EXID a few months before their debut. In December 2011, LE was featured in 's single "Whenever You Play That Song", which appeared on Korean music charts. EXID was scheduled to debut in January 2012, but their debut was delayed to February when LE sustained a leg injury during rehearsals. On February 3, AB Entertainment announced that EXID would debut with the single "Whoz That Girl". Video teasers featuring the members doing solo performances were subsequently released online.
2012: Debut, lineup changes, and Hippity Hop[]
EXID released their first single "Whoz That Girl" from the digital single album Holla, on February 16, 2012. They made their debut performance on , and then performed on and . Their debut song "Whoz That Girl" peaked at #36 on the and ultimately sold 840,000 digital copies.
In April 2012, AB Entertainment officially announced members Yuji, Dami, and Haeryeong's departure. said in a statement that Yuji and Dami had left the group to focus on their studies, while Haeryeong had left to pursue an acting career. They were replaced by Solji, a former member of vocal duo 2NB, and Hyelin, who was originally considered for EXID's original lineup before she was dropped. With the new members, EXID returned in August 2012 with their second single "I Feel Good" from their first EP .Hippity Hop debuted at #13 on the , selling 1,500 copies. EXID released the digital single "", in October. The title track is an alternate version of LE's self-written song "Phone Call", which was recorded in their debut EP. "Every Night" debuted at #43 on the Gaon Singles Chart, selling 105,000 digital copies.
On October 11, EXID released the song "Hey Boy" as part of the soundtrack release for 's sitcom The Thousandth Man. The song is the female version of 's song "Hey Girl". Producer rearranged the song into a "reggae style" to create a different approach from B1A4's original version. It was revealed on November 30 that EXID, along with and , would release a collaboration album, in addition to doing a special year of end show. The concert, entitled "The Bugs Show Vol. 1", was held on December 22 at the V-Hall in the of . On December 6, EXID won the rookie award at the 20th Korea Culture & Entertainment Awards.
2013–14: Dasoni sub-unit, "Up & Down", and rise in popularity[]Current members[] (솔지) was born Heo Solji (허솔지) on January 10, 1989 (age 27). She was formerly a member of the vocal duo 2NB with 's Gabin, and released solo singles in 2008. Solji was EXID's vocal trainer before becoming a member, and was the first winner of in 2015. (엘리) was born Ahn Hyo-jin (안효진) on December 10, 1991 (age 25). She is a former member of the underground rap team Jiggy Fellaz under the name Elly. She was featured a duet with singer before EXID's debut. LE has collaborated with a many artists, including and . In 2013, she auditioned for the rap competition show . She had composed and written for many idols besides EXID. (하니) was born Ahn Hee-yeon (안희연) on May 1, 1992 (age 24). She was a trainee for a year while a freshman in high school. Hani has appeared in several episodes of the variety shows and Match Made in Heaven Returns, and was a fixed cast member of the variety show . She also became a host of the KBS2 fashion show A Style for You and appeared in the music video for 's number one single "Fire". She was the first runner up on . (혜린) was born Seo Hyelin (서혜린) on August 23, 1993 (age 23). In 2011, she participated in , making it through the auditions to "SuperWeek".She competed in . (정화) was born Park Jung-hwa (박정화) on May 8, 1995 (age 21), and is a former trainee. Before becoming a member of EXID, she appeared in the music videos for "" by the and "Whenever You Play That Song" by Huh Gak and LE. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of MBC Every1's Match Made in Heaven Returns.Past members[]Yuji (유지) was born Jung Yu-ji (정유지) on January 2, 1991 (age 25). She was previously a trainee under , and prepared to debut in a group with Sistar's Hyorin, Secret's Jieun and EXID's Hani. However, the group never debuted, and all four girls eventually withdrew from JYP Entertainment. Yuji left EXID shortly after their debut, and joined girl group a year later along with the other two former members. During her debut with the new group, she changed her stage name to Uji.Dami (다미) was born as Kang Hye-yeon (강혜연) on December 8, 1990 (age 26). Shortly after debuting with EXID, she left the group. She then joined and changed her stage name from Dami to her birth name, Hyeyeon. (해령) was born as Na Hae-ryeong (나해령) on November 11, 1994 (age 22) and was previously a trainee under . Shortly after the group's debut, Haeryeong left to pursue an acting career before joining .
