CBX's first Japanese studio album, Magic, was released on May 9. On April 10, the group released their second Korean mini album Blooming Days. The tour had eight shows with four cities in Japan, including: Yokohama, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Osaka. In January 2018, via an online program on LINE, they announced that they have prepared for their first Japan arena tour called "Magical Circus" in May and June. They released their debut Japanese mini album, Girls, on May 24.Ģ018–present: First Japan arena tour, Blooming Days and Magic On May 10, through EXO's official Japanese Twitter account, SM announced that the sub-unit was going to have a Japanese debut during late May. On December 25, "Crush U" music video was released. They performed the song on November 18 at the N-Pop Showcase concert, part of the 2016 Blade & Soul world championship tournament. Later in November, Exo-CBX recorded a remake of the original soundtrack "Crush U" for the game Blade & Soul. Hey Mama! topped the Billboard World Albums chart and South Korean's Gaon album chart. On November 6, the "Reservoir Idols" video was officially released as a music video for "The One", one of the tracks from the album. The group made their debut performance on M Countdown on November 3. On October 31, Exo-CBX released their debut extended play Hey Mama!, which contains five tracks with a variety of genres including electronic dance, R&B ballad and retro pop, along with the music video for the title track. On October 24, the unit's name was announced to be Exo-CBX (shortened from ChenBaekXi), after the first letter of the members' stage names. On October 23, they performed "For You" for the first time as a unit at the 2016 Busan One Asia Festival.
This was confirmed by SM Entertainment on October 5. As a result, it was speculated that they would form Exo's first sub-unit.
They then released an original soundtrack titled "For You" for the SBS television drama series Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo on August 23, 2016. On July 29, 2016, Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin appeared in a video titled "Reservoir Idols" during Exo's concert tour Exo Planet 3 – The Exo'rdium. The VCR and the music video got small differences with the typography and animation used in both videos.Exo-CBX at Busan One Asia Festival on October 23, 2016 In the video, features the guest appearance EXO's member and leader, Suho. The music video for the "second single" was released November 7, 2016. The visual was featured as a VCR in EXO's third tour, The Exo'dium on July 29 under the title of "Reservoir Idols". Also, the delightful narration of members doubles the fun of listening. ‘The One’ is a two-step garage song featuring synthesizer, bass, and brass sounds, and the sensuous lyrics describe a man’s heart who could not help but surrender to the charms coming through all five senses of a woman he loves. On November 7, the "Reservoir Idols" video was officially released as a music video for "The One", one of the tracks from the album. As a result, it was speculated that they would form EXO's first sub-unit. On July 29, 2016, Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin appeared in a video titled "Reservoir Idols" during EXO's concert tour Exo Planet 3 – The Exo'rdium.