NCT DREAM’s Candy (the mini-album) was one of the last major releases of 2022. Featuring the remake of H.O.T’s Candy as the title track, Candy also featured 5 additional side tracks for the festive season. For me, this mini-album never had a dull moment and rounded out their super successful and massive year which featured the releases of Glitch Mode and Beatbox. Due to my personal lag with publishing album reviews in 2022, I ended up posting a singular album review for the entire album featuring both title tracks.

As a quick side note, despite how I started off this review above, this is not the final album review for a 2022 release which I will be posting. The final three album reviews for 2022 releases will be posted next weekend and into next week. This will mean that I will be starting album reviews for 2023 releases some time later this month.

1. Candy (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Candy. (9/10)

2. Graduation – Graduation sparked concerns of the group disbanding, as the song is all about graduating to the next stage of one’s life. And I can completely understand where the concerns were coming when I read the English translation of the lyrics. However, there is no disbandment news in sight and I think NCT DREAM was gearing up for a comeback later this year. Anyhow, Graduation is a beautiful song of lovely vocals and nice rapping to express the message aforementioned. I liked how it wasn’t strictly a ballad (instead, it falls into the R&B genre), with the rapping taking over a decent portion of the song. But it doesn’t undermine the vocals, which each member contributed towards. Even some of the rappers dabbled with falsettos in the song. Overall, Graduation is the song that sticks in your mind thanks to its message and is hard to get out thanks to its execution. (10/10)

3. Tangerine Love (Favorite) – Tangerine Love (Favorite) returns to upbeat and funky vibes with its retro synthpop sound. I really like the super catchy chorus in this song, and the rapping was definitely a highlight. But again, the vocals excelled, with Haechan to member that we need to commend thanks to his high note. The synthesizer at the end was a really cool touch. (9/10)

4. Take My Breath (입김) – The choruses for Take My Breath were super striking thanks to the pounding effect of the instrumental. Similarly, I thought the way the rapping started off the song and how cool the rapping was throughout the song was another striking element of the song. Other than that, the other parts of Take My Breath made for a standard yet pleasant pop track. (8/10)

5. Moon (문) – We arrive at the ballad of this mini-album. Given that this is a Christmas theme album, this ballad is the first song to truly elicit the dreamy side of the festive scene through its instrumentation. The piano melody makes for a stunning background, while the vocals are both superb and captivating (as expected). The harmonies are amazing, as are the ad-libs. (8/10)

6. Walk With You (발자국) – We end the special mini-album on a very upbeat note. I liked the textures in this dance track and the brightness that the members bring to the song. I like how the production stayed fun and enjoyable. NCT DREAM nails the song with their usual high-quality delivery in both the vocal/rapping styles. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.7/10