Yuji contacted the trainees Hani, Haeryung, and Jeonghwa to audition for AB, and all three were subsequently accepted into the agency.

The group added a fifth member when Shinsadong Tiger discovered Elly, an underground rapper and songwriter.

[7] In December 2011, Elly was featured in Huh Gak's single "Whenever You Play That Song", which appeared on Korean music charts.

[12][13] Their debut song "Whoz That Girl" peaked at number 36 on the Gaon Singles Chart and ultimately sold 840,000 digital copies.

The title track is an alternate version of Elly's self-written song "Phone Call", which was recorded in their debut EP.

Producer Shinsadong Tiger rearranged the song into a "reggae style" to create a different approach from B1A4's original version.

[20] It was revealed on November 30 that EXID, along with Big Star and D-Unit, would release a collaboration album, in addition to doing a special year of end show.

[26] In June 2014, EXID was announced to have signed an exclusive contract with Yedang Entertainment, and were preparing a comeback in collaboration with producer Shinsadong Tiger.

[citation needed] In May 2015, the group made their first American performance at the Korean Music Festival in Los Angeles, California.

[citation needed] EXID featured in their own season of the MBC Every 1 reality show Showtime in July 2015.

[42] On January 11, 2016, EXID signed with China's entertainment company Banana Project in a bid to extend its popularity outside Korea.

[43] This sparked discussions regarding EXID's future activities in South Korea; however, CEO of Banana Culture Music Wang Sicong assured fans that the next album his company invested on EXID would be released simultaneously in China and South Korea.

On December 20, 2016, EXID released their first Chinese single, "Cream" on QQ Music and YinYueTai-which peaked at number six on the Billboard China V Chart.

[52] However, a day later, Banana Culture announced that Solji had been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and that she would halt all her activities for the awards season of 2016–17, while the remaining four members continue on.

Some Chinese fans found EXID's dancing in the 'Forbidden City' to be inappropriate whilst some thought that it was completely normal.

[61] On May 12, Banana Culture Entertainment has announced that EXID would embark on a promotional Asian tour during the summer.

[62] Solji gave a surprise appearance at the encore of the Seoul concert before resuming her treatment; neither the audience nor the rest of the group knew of her visit.

This time, Solji only participated in the recording process but was absent from the promotions and the title track's music video.

[66] EXID returned with a single album Lady on April 2, 2018, only promoting as four, however, due to Solji still recovering from surgery.

[80] Solji continued to successfully defend herself over all contestants in the next 8 episodes since her initial victory in King of Mask Singer,[81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88] before ending her streak as the winner of 82nd to 86th generation on October 21.

On November 11, EXID made a full-member comeback with the single album I Love You, while releasing the music video with the same title.

[100][101] It also peaked at number 10 on Billboard Japan's Top Albums Sales, with 4,831 physical copies sold in its first week.

[108] On January 15, 2020, Hyelin also left Banana Culture,[109] followed by Solji on February 5,[110] and finally Elly on March 25.

[112] On July 14, 2022, it was announced that EXID will return to hold the 'EXID 2022 Japan-Final-Live Tour' in September, which was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but had to be postponed due to COVID-19.