EXO award show fancams that defined a generation of K-pop fandom
Fancams have reshaped the way K-pop audiences engage with stage performances. When a fan pulls out a phone during a live broadcast and follows one member through every beat of a choreography, the resulting clip often travels further than the official broadcast itself. EXO sits at the centre of this phenomenon. From their 2013 debut at music festivals to their 2023 reunion stage at Dream Concert, the group's award show appearances have generated hundreds of thousands of fan-shot clips. Many of those clips have built entire fan accounts, sparked trending hashtags, and influenced how broadcast networks frame their stage coverage.
Australian EXO-L fans experience these performances on a different schedule. Korea Standard Time runs six to seven hours behind Australian Eastern Standard Time, depending on daylight saving, which means most major broadcasts like MAMA in Hong Kong or the Seoul Music Awards air in the early hours of a Melbourne or Sydney morning. Local fan groups have adapted by hosting after-parties in Korean BBQ restaurants in Cabramatta, Melbourne CBD, or Haymarket in Sydney, where members gather at 6 am to watch a delayed stream. This shared ritual has turned isolated screen time into a community event.
The following guide walks through the most notable fancam moments that have shaped EXO's award show legacy. It covers the early viral clips that introduced the group to international audiences, the solo and unit stages that broke YouTube records, and the broadcasts that changed how networks treat the camera work itself. The aim is to highlight moments that still circulate in fan edit culture today, while giving newer EXO-L a starting point for archival viewing.
For readers streaming from Brisbane, Adelaide, or Perth, this guide also explains where to find broadcast footage and how to access official uploads that sometimes slip through YouTube region locks. The Australian Classification Board does not rate most K-pop content, which means award show uploads are usually unblocked on local platforms like SBS On Demand, while censored clips occasionally appear in the YouTube AU library.
| Award Show | Network | Notable EXO Year | Signature Fancam Moment | Most-Filmed Member |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAMA | CJ E&M | 2013, 2015, 2017 | Growl finale with extended stage walk | Baekhyun |
| Seoul Music Awards | Seoul Broadcasting System | 2014, 2016 | Overdose unit performance | Kai |
| MBC Music Festival | MBC | 2015 | Call Me Baby formation change | Sehun |
| Golden Disc Awards | Ilgan Sports | 2016 | For Life acoustic stage | D.O. |
| Asia Artist Awards | Asia Artist Awards Committee | 2018 | Tempo choreography with fan chant | Chanyeol |
Early viral clips that put EXO on the fancam map
The first wave of EXO fancams came from the group's debut-era performances at smaller year-end festivals. In late 2012, before the official debut, the pre-debut showcase at the Korea Brand and Entertainment Expo produced a handful of clips that circulated on Daum and Nate. Once "MAMA" dropped in April 2012, broadcast stages at MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo became testing grounds. Fans noticed that EXO's choreography carried a heavier cinematic edge than contemporary boy groups, with sharp formation breaks and individual spotlight moments built into every routine. That structure made it easy for handheld cameras to track one member without losing the surrounding context.
Korean entertainment outlets at the time often featured full-group stage cuts in their broadcast packages. The decision to upload member-focused fancams to YouTube shifted how Korean networks approached camera operators. By the 2013 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, broadcast crews had begun incorporating close-up cuts during the bridge of each song, partly in response to fan demand. EXO's "Growl" performance at the same festival became a reference point, with one viral fancam of Baekhyun reaching over two million views within its first week.
Solo and unit stages that broke streaming records
Award shows in Korea traditionally allow groups to perform unit or solo stages during the final segment of the ceremony. EXO has used these slots to showcase individual charisma. The 2015 MAMA ceremony in Hong Kong marked a turning point, with Baekhyun's vocal-focused run during the "December, 2014" stage becoming one of the most re-edited fan clips in K-pop history. The footage circulated alongside official concert uploads and sparked a wave of reaction videos on YouTube AU and US-based creator channels.
Kai's solo stage at the 2016 MBC Entertainment Awards produced another landmark clip. The dance-heavy performance blended house music with sharp isolations, and the camera work caught angles that broadcast cameras had not previously prioritised. Australian streaming services that license Korean content occasionally carry these award broadcasts, though SBS On Demand remains the most reliable legal source for award show reruns in the country. Local fans in Sydney and Melbourne who missed the live broadcast have used SBS's catch-up service to watch the full performances before diving into fan-shot versions.
How multi-cam culture took over Korean awards
The rise of multi-cam editing, where fans splice together multiple angles from a single stage, grew out of EXO's award show presence. By the time the group performed "Monster" at the 2016 Melon Music Awards, fan editors in Korea and across the diaspora were producing side-by-side comparison videos that paired each member's fancam with a synced official shot. These edits required hours of footage, but the resulting clips routinely topped trending lists on Twitter in Korea and on Tumblr in Western markets.
The technique spread quickly to other groups, but EXO-L remains recognised as a pioneer of the format. Korean networks took notice, and by the 2017 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, broadcast cameras added side-stage angles specifically because fan accounts had been requesting them. The legal framework around filming at award venues is strict. Korean broadcasting unions require accreditation for any equipment beyond a smartphone, which is why most viral fancams come from audience seats rather than press pits. Australian copyright law, governed by the Copyright Act 1968, treats fan-shot concert footage differently from professional broadcasts, which is why most fan edits remain on fan accounts rather than official channels.
Fan-favourite moments from year-end broadcasts
Several individual performances have earned a permanent place in EXO-L playlists. The 2015 SBS Gayo Daejeon featured a special collaboration stage with label-mates Red Velvet, which produced a memorable Baekhyun-Irene interaction clip that still circulates in fan edits. D.O.'s vocal-focused performance at the 2016 Golden Disc Awards highlighted his lower register and remains one of the most rewatched fancams on Korean streaming platforms. Seoul Music Awards ceremonies have repeatedly featured the group in unit configurations, including a 2019 stage where Chen and Chanyeol performed a rock arrangement that drew coverage from local Australian K-pop fan accounts based in Perth.
Australian fans often share recommendations on community pages like the EXO-L Sydney and EXO-L Melbourne Facebook groups. Members regularly post links to archived fancams and discuss which angle best captures a member's stage presence. These discussions sometimes spill into broader community spaces, with local venues like Melbourne's Federation Square hosting K-pop dance workshops that reference these same performances as teaching material.
Where to find these fancams from Australia
The Australian internet infrastructure has made it easier than ever to access Korean broadcast archives. Most major fancams live on YouTube, with regional restrictions rarely applied to fan accounts. Triple J Unearthed has occasionally featured K-pop covers inspired by these moments, and ARIA Charts inclusion of Korean releases since 2022 means more local attention to the broader K-pop machine. Fans in Perth, Adelaide, and Hobart often rely on Reddit threads to find archived footage, while Brisbane-based accounts lean on Discord servers for real-time discussion during live broadcasts.
Spotify Australia has also begun featuring curated K-pop playlists that include EXO tracks from award performances, though the songs are typically the studio versions rather than live recordings. Apple Music AU offers slightly better access to live album recordings from Korean distributors. For fans looking to build their own archive, fan-shot clips remain the most authentic record of these award show moments, with many older videos available through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.
Share the fancam moment that shaped your fandom journey. Drop a comment below with your favourite EXO award show clip, and explore our photo gallery for high-resolution screenshots from the broadcasts covered above. New fan accounts are always welcome in the comment section, and our editors regularly round up the best fan edits for the weekly newsletter.