What Is EXO-KASE? Kai and Sehun's New Duo, Waking Up The City and the December 1 Release
EXO-KASE is a new unit of EXO members Kai and Sehun, announced by SM Entertainment on November 11. Their first mini album, Waking Up The City, comes out on Tuesday, December 1, at 6 p.m. KST (6 p.m. in Japan) with seven tracks, including the title track and one solo song from each member, and the title track's music video arrives at the same time. SM calls the pair a "visual performance unit," and the official Korean name, 엑소-카이세훈 (EXO-KaiSehun), shows where KASE comes from: KAi and SEhun.
What Is EXO-KASE?
EXO-KASE is a two-member unit of EXO's Kai and Sehun. Plans for the unit were first confirmed in early November, and SM Entertainment revealed the name and the debut album on November 11. The Korean name on the official launch film, 엑소-카이세훈 (EXO-KaiSehun), explains the spelling: KA from Kai, SE from Sehun.
SM describes EXO-KASE as a "visual performance unit," built around two contrasting images: Kai's intense, heated charisma and Sehun's cool, chic presence. It is the latest in a line of EXO units that includes EXO-CBX and EXO-SC, and it comes in a busy year for the group, which toured as EXO PLANET #6 - EXhOrizon and closed the run with encore concerts in Seoul in early November. Fellow member D.O. is releasing new music at the same time; our guide to Doh Kyung-soo's Darling and DAY OFF tour covers his side of the calendar.
Waking Up The City: Release Time and Tracks
EXO-KASE's first mini album, Waking Up The City, comes out on Tuesday, December 1, at 6 p.m. KST, with the title track's music video at the same hour. It has seven tracks: the title track, a solo song from each member and four more. Preorders are open at online and offline music stores.
Here is what 6 p.m. KST on December 1 means where you are:
| Where you are | Waking Up The City release time |
|---|---|
| Korea (KST) | Tue, Dec 1, 6 p.m. |
| Japan | Tue, Dec 1, 6 p.m. |
| Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila | Tue, Dec 1, 5 p.m. |
| Bangkok, Jakarta | Tue, Dec 1, 4 p.m. |
| London | Tue, Dec 1, 9 a.m. |
| New York | Tue, Dec 1, 4 a.m. |
| Los Angeles | Tue, Dec 1, 1 a.m. |
Teasers will roll out on EXO's official channels between now and release day. Our K-pop comeback calendar moves on to December at the start of the month, with Waking Up The City and the other confirmed releases.
Inside the Launch Film
The 58-second launch film, "It's Time To Wake Up," went up on EXO's official YouTube channel on November 11. It opens on a city skyline at night, then follows Kai and Sehun separately through dark rooms lit by window blinds, a white corridor of lamp posts and a city of bokeh lights.
In the last third the mood turns warm. A shutter rolls up onto a field of golden grass, the two members finally meet under a red sunset, and the film closes on the album title. It is a fairly literal reading of the name Waking Up The City: two people moving from a sleeping city at night to daylight, and from apart to together. You can watch it on EXO's YouTube channel.
Kai and Sehun: Two 94-Liners, One Unit
Kai and Sehun are both born in 1994, Kai in January and Sehun in April, and EXO fans have long called them the "94-liners." Both debuted with EXO in 2012, Kai as the group's main dancer and Sehun as its youngest member.
For Sehun, this is a second unit after EXO-SC, his hip-hop duo with Chanyeol. For Kai, who has released solo music since his 2020 solo debut with "Mmmh," it is his first EXO unit. The pair gave fans a preview at EXO's encore concerts in Seoul in early November, where they performed part of the title track's choreography and Sehun asked fans to tell them what they thought.
Sori's Note
What I like about the launch film is how long it keeps them apart. For most of its 58 seconds, Kai and Sehun are in separate rooms, separate lights, separate cities almost. When they finally share the frame, it is in the warmest scene of the film, and it lands.
A "visual performance unit" lives or dies on the stage, and two dancers born months apart, who have shared one for 14 years, is a good place to start.
