With Covid-19, murder hornets, and natural disasters galore, it's practically been a guarantee for most people that the year 2020 might belong in the history books, but not in our scrapbooks.
Fortunately, just when NCT's fans, proudly known as NCTzens, needed them most, NCT returned. Brand new music and two new members increase this K-Pop group's number to twenty-three.
Background
If you're new to NCT or the K-Pop scene in general, here is a little background on this group. NCT, short for Neo Culture Technology, is a boy group based in South Korea that started in 2016.
Though the group is based in South Korea with mostly Korean songs, half of the members are actually of Chinese, Japanese, or Thai descent. Nationalities further include American, Canadian, and even Taiwanese-German.
NCT is also divided into four subgroups, including NCT 127, NCT Dream, NCT U, and WayV. NCT 127 is named after the longitude coordinate of Seoul, South Korea, and consists mainly of the older members.
There's NCT Dream, the subgroup for the younger members. NCT U is a more fluid group, meaning that the members vary according to whose voices and styles best fit each song.
Lastly, WayV is the Chinese subgroup that mainly promotes in China. Both the subgroups' descriptions and the number of members shock many people at first. However, NCT would not be the same without this inclusive concept.
Promotions
On September 21, SM Entertainment, NCT's company, released a timeline on social media detailing the promotions for the group's latest album, NCT 2020: Resonance Pt. 1.
The first publicity came in the form of a nearly three-minute video called YearParty. It showcased all the members, rookie and senior alike.
There is only one word that could do this teaser video justice. That word is - visuals. Ending with NCT's official leader, Lee Taeyong, these twenty-three young men parade across the screen and into every NCTzen's heart.
Shortly after YearParty, SM released another teaser called The Past & Future. The name reflects the two different versions of the album. Like the previous one, this teaser video showed fans just a sample of what was to come in the actual music video.
Channeling somewhat of a sci-fi aesthetic, NCT demonstrated once again just how literally they are becoming the future of K-Pop.
In both videos, fans were thrilled to see members of all of NCT's sub-units together at last. In fact, the creation of NCT 2020 with two new members, Osaki Shotaro and Jung Sungchan, is the biggest development of the NCT brand itself since WayV formed with three of its own new members in January 2019.
Many fans had hoped to see an NCT 2019 last year since two years ago; we saw NCT 2018 with eighteen members and the song/music video Black on Black. However, with all the promotions and the long-awaited album, I am sure many NCTzens would agree that NCT 2020 was worth the wait.
After seeing the two teasers, my expectations were high for music videos. Of course, these teaser videos were only the beginning. Once again, NCT did not disappoint.
Video and Album Releases
Besides receiving a sneak peek images of all twenty-three members on social media, fans also enjoyed the two-track videos Deja Vu and Misfit, leading up to the full-length music video and album release.
First, Deja Vu gave fans not only a song that is nothing short of bop, but also the return of Mark Lee in NCT Dream after he had aged out in 2019. However, as the lyrics declare, Dream is truly Mark's team regardless of age.
The group confirmed it in this video when each member wore a jacket with the number 7 signifying the number of Dream members with Mark's return.
Only a day later, SM Entertainment released the second track video, Misfit, with the sub-unit NCT U. In this song, several members from the other three units proved that they all belong in the rap line with steady flows and overflowing charisma. NCTzens were also thrilled to hear Sungchan's first official rap as part of the group.
Similarly, the teaser for NCT U's music video Make a Wish (Birthday Song) gave fans an early glimpse of Shotaro's charm and a catchy whistling tune that is guaranteed to get stuck in any NCTzen's head.
Fortunately, fans didn't have to wait much longer for the full-length video. On October 12, SM Entertainment released both the music video and the album. It introduces twelve unique tracks, including an English version of Make a Wish.
With flashy lights, colors, and choreography, the video made the boys truly look like the kings of K-Pop. As for the album, fans could not have been happier to hear such diverse songs with members from all the sub-units in addition to the two new members.
NCT 2020: Resonance Pt.1
Even though it's only October, many NCTzens feel it's safe to say that 2020 cannot get much better! New music, members, and interactions among all twenty-three members are much more than the average NCTzen could have hoped for.
Of course, with this album's title, NCT 2020: Resonance Pt. 1, it has left many fans with the question: is there a part 2?
For now, NCTzens will simply have to enjoy all this new content and wait and see.
