The monster newbies of EXO are continuing to pile on to the group’s endless list of accomplishments as one of the nation’s most popular boy bands and have become the first in 12 years to enter into the elite “1 million club,” selling more than a million copies of “XOXO (Kiss & Hug),” its debut album.

According to a statement released by SM Entertainment, as of Friday EXO had sold approximately 471,570 copies of “XOXO (Kiss & Hug),” which was released in June, and around 536,007 copies of the group’s “XOXO (Kiss & Hug) Repackage” album released two months later, making them the first K-pop act to sell a million albums since Kim Gun-mo and G.O.D. in 2001.

EXO recently released the group’s first holiday EP titled “Miracles of December” on Dec. 9, and in less than three weeks the five-track album has already sold more than 43,000 copies. The 12 members of EXO, who are split into the subunits of EXO-K (Korean) and EXO-M (Mandarin), made a powerful debut in 2011 with the group’s first single “Mama” and has since exploded onto the K-pop scene, garnering one of the largest fan bases among idol groups.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)