Tag: NCT Dream

NCT DREAM is nominated for Best Sub-Unit and Best Male Group in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Glitch Mode is nominated for Best Concept and Best Music Video, while Beatbox is nominated for Best Pop Song, Best Male Group (Choreography). Definitely an all-rounder group. Supper NCT DREAM, their songs, and all your other favourite artists, songs and performances by clicking here to vote today.

NCT DREAM officially makes their comeback today with a special Winter mini-album, titled Candy. The same-titled single (the focus of this review) leads the mini-album. The single is also a remake of H.O.T’s Candy, which was released way back in 1996. This is the group’s first comeback since their Glitch Mode and Beatbox comebacks from earlier in the year.

Given that Candy (NCT DREAM’s version) is a re-recording of the original (cue the comparison), the newer version is fairly same as the older version. The melodies haven’t changed and NCT Dream retains the upbeatness of the original song. However, there are some distinct differences with the newer version that I actually liked more so than in the original. The main difference I could hear instantly is how much more modern the instrumental is. While it is similar enough for listeners to gain a bit of familiarity and nostalgia from NCT DREAM’s version, I enjoyed the extra intensity that the producers had put into NCT DREAM’s version. This definitely helps modernise the 1996 hit to current times and gives Candy a lot more oomph, which in turn makes way for some awesome execution from NCT DREAM. Talking about execution, I also find NCT DREAM’s vocals and raps to be a lot more polished than the original. I guess we can attribute that to advances in technology since 1996 – a lot has happened since then. The second verse gets an extra (super intense) rap sequence and I liked that NCT DREAM did not opt for as much overlap between vocals and raps as H.O.T had incorporated. They do bring that overlap into play later on in the song, but it is a lot cleaner and more refined than the original. Maybe it is a generational thing as I didn’t grow up during that era (I was born a few months after the song’s original release) and I am used to the modern style of KPOP, but I definitely prefer NCT DREAM’s version of Candy by a long mile.

When you think of H.O.T’s Candy, the group’s terrible outfits come to mind. Or at least, I thought they were terrible. It is the main thing that I still cannot wrap my head around until this day – how the colourful overalls and massive oven mitts got approved. I guess it was to fit the more vibrant and upbeat style of Candy, but boy do they look awful. I am glad that NCT DREAM’s stylist did not opt for the same style choices. However, H.O.T’s outfits were iconic in the end, and so NCT DREAM’s outfits were influenced by the look from 1996. Jeno’s massive trapper hat looks like it could have been lifted from that era. But as it is just an influence and their outfits do look fairly tame, I am fine with that. Other than that relief, the music video’s candy manufacturing set reminded me of Glitch Mode‘s technology set. And per usual, I really liked the colours. Some parts however were cringy to me.

At the time of writing, there was no official stage for NCT DREAM’s version of Candy. They are however confirmed to perform the single at the 2022 KBS Music Festival, which is being held today. But from what I can see, the choreography retains some of the key moves from the original version, but also intensifies the moves to match the intensified music we get in the newer version.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

After a mini-break from tiredness and feeling unwell, I am back to finally review the new releases that started off this week. First up is Glitch Mode, the title of both the lead single and second studio album from NCT DREAM. Without a doubt. 2021 was an extremely big year for the NCT subunit, who returned with their Hot Sauce and Hello Future hits (along with participating in NCT 2021 promotions). It is definitely going to take a lot of work to replicate or even exceed the success of their 2021 promotions. But it appears that NCT DREAM is already outshining their last comeback, with reports that Glitch Mode has already outperformed their personal records for best first day sales and pre-ordered album sales.

I found Glitch Mode to be an alright song. Not too bad, but not that great either. I found the instrumental of Glitch Mode to be lacking substance and oomph. Described as a hip hop dance song, there were some good moments within the instrumental, such as the retro arcade accompaniment they had in the pre-chorus section and the awesome/powerful sounding rock-based dynamic dance break (which was the highlight of Glitch Mode for me). However, the rest of the instrumental felt mediocre and boring. Had there been that substance and oomph as mentioned, Glitch Mode‘s instrumental could have been more fulfilling. But sadly, the version we got was not the case. This issue then flows onto other elements of the song, such as the rapping, which needed that oomph to be more powerful sounding. The vocals, on the other hand, faired a bit better. But they too could also have been enhanced by what I mentioned already. As for the chorus, I don’t mind it as much. Sure, the shouty nature is becoming a cliché for them. But in the first half of the chorus, I thought it was fine. I just wished they changed it up in the second half of the chorus to be a bit more melodic and vocally driven. That would have made Glitch Mode more interesting. Overall, Glitch Mode wasn’t as exciting as I hoped it would been, but it was a fair comeback nonetheless.

Compared to the song component of the comeback, the music video receives a better review from me. I liked that despite the group went with a video game store concept for this comeback, they managed to incorporate the ‘glitch mode’ that they sing/rap about in the song when you are in front of the person you like. It adds an extra level of depth to a pretty random setting that I didn’t think was possible for this video. The icy end to this video was also bit random, but I guess we can say it is a ‘glitch’. I also liked how their outfits complimented the colours of the scene, which helped make the video look visually appeal.

I quite liked the glitchy party of the choreography, which really shows off their dance skills. They made it look so clean. It is quite clever and probably needed a lot of hard work to get it right, but it pays off. On a side note, Chenle is unfortunately unable to fully participating in the comeback due to an injury. A performance of Glitch Mode released today saw him edited/incorporated into the choreography poorly. I wish that if he is part of the stage performances, that they better incorporated him into the routine (like Felix in MANIAC).

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.3/10

Also making their comeback on Monday is NCT Dream (apologies for the long delays in getting this review out). The NCT subunit unveiled their latest title track, Hello Future, and the group’s first ever repackaged album which shares the same name as title track. Hello Future follows the release of Hot Sauce (both title track and name of the group’s first ever mini-album). The full-length album featuring both Hello Future and Hot Sauce will be reviewed tomorrow as part of the Album Review focus this weekend. In preparation for that, I will need to write my full review for Hello Future, so here are my thoughts on their new song.

Hello Future finds that middle ground between their very youthful tracks that they began their careers with and their more mature sound that they have opted for in their more recent releases. How so? Well, the pop instrumentation that sits in the background gives off a refreshing and pleasant vibe that feels like a throwback to those early days. And it feels like a great Summer track, overall. Hello Future may not start off in this manner (thanks to that deep gurgling-like effect), but it does give off such impressions when we get to the chorus. It actually took me a few repeats to warm up to the opening verse because of that gurgling-like effect in the background, but getting through it to reach the chorus was definitely worthwhile (more on this in second). In addition to the youthful reminder via the instrumentals, the groups vocals in both rapping and singing brings forward that matureness. Compared to their early releases, NCT Dream’s voices (particular the rappers) have gotten pretty deep, which I assume is the reason why NCT Dream ended up going down the mature route of KPOP releases. For Hello Future, I liked how they capitalised on this unavoidable change. The singing vocals brought this insane level of smoothness to the song and kept the song grounded in a positive manner. The melodies we hear in the chorus are so captivating and stunning, and this is all thanks to the vocalists in NCT Dream. For the rappers of the group, their sequences provided some interesting contrast that made the song memorable and well-balanced. In particular, the sequences we get after the second chorus have the song some nice brief punches of intensity, which acted as a superb offset to the song’s pleasantness. But while Hello Future is an awesome song already, I do feel that the song had opportunities to be more dynamic, especially when it came to the ad-libs at the end of the song. It felt pretty safe and ‘in the box’. What they needed was to venture out of the confines of said box to ensure this song hit a home run. But as of now, it was still a very enjoyable song from the group.

To me, the group are portrayed as hippies in this music video. From their outfits, to the ‘natural’ accessories, to the peace signs we see on their posters and signs, everything felt very influenced by the hippies we associate from the 60s. Note that everything has been modernise to fit this era. I doubt hoodies and sweatpants were the 60s hippies go to attire. But I think this was a smart concept for the group to follow through with. The song’s message was ‘overcoming struggles to grow together with love and trust’ (taken from Soompi) which is a very hippie type of messaging. And they did so by crashing a very competitive Soccer game, bringing the two teams together to join them in their pursuit for love and trust.

I really enjoyed the choreography for this comeback. It might not be their best work out there, but I feel like it was a good fit for the song. I liked the incorporation of – what I like to call – the royal hello (cupped hand and a slight turn of the wrist). I also liked their ending sequence, which brought a rush of intensity to end of the song with. This is a nice example of contrast, as I note their choreography beforehand was quite slow and mellow looking. But this intense rush at the end reminded us that the performance was a NCT performance nonetheless.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.6/10

It is a new week and a new lineup of comebacks! First up this week is NCT Dream, who makes their grand return with their very first studio album since debut five years ago. The group has defintiely gone a long way away from their Chewing Gum days. Also based on a food item, this comeback’s title is Hot Sauce, which is the shared name of both the studio album and title track. Their first studio album also marks the return of Mark, who previously graduated from the group back in 2018 as he no longer fitted the age criteria for the group. But in 2020, it was confirmed after the unit’s last comeback (Ridin’ and Reload) that NCT Dream would abolish the graduation system and that the group’s lineup will become fixed with the re-addition of Mark. It also appears that NCT Dream’s comeback is hugely anticipated, with the group already selling more than 1.7 million preordered albums.

After all, we have been deprived of some form of NCT Dream for over a year. And with the re-addition of Mark, it will be interesting to see what direction NCT Dream would take. And based on what I am hearing, it seems like they went with a more trendy number as their main title track. The song taps into the hip-hop genre and it also features Latin influences. While this combines very typical music trends in the wide-ranging genre of KPOP nowadays, the resulting song is actually quite refreshing to me. What makes Hot Sauce really unique is that descending background vocals everytime the chorus comes into play. It adds a unique tinge of colour and texture to the song, but also keeps the instrumentation interesting. The energy that comes from Hot Sauce packs a punch and is quite intense. Just take the instrumental sequence in which they use for the dance break that they peak with as an example. This intensity also compliments NCT Dream’s more recently noticeable asset, their deep and raspy voices (hence my comment about their Chewing Gum days before). The member’s deep vocals have been around since Boom, but I felt Hot Sauce really utilises this asset very well and brings out the raspy side of Jeno and Jisung in their rap sequences. In addition to intensity from the hip-hop and dance side of the song, the Latin influences were also very memorable. I really liked the acoustic guitar that was prevalent during the verses and pre-chorus. It too kept the instrumental mix interesting and gives Hot Sauce some extra ‘spice’ without it just relying on EDM and synths. If I was to pick one thing that I wasn’t necessarily a fan of, that would be the shouty vocals in the chorus. It was a good way to captialise on the energy that was coming off the song, but it overwhelmed me unfortuately. But overall, Hot Sauce delivers a flavour-bomb. Just sometimes, there is that one distinct flavour coming from the mouthful that I am not entirely keen on. But maybe if I keep on tasting, I might grow to like it.

When I first watched the music video earlier today, I thought we were teetering on the edge of a Ko Ko Bop situation. But now that I have rewatched the music video, it appears to be more innocent than what I thought. Essentially, the lyrics say that the members’ charms are addictive as hot sauce. And the video shows the members becoming addicted to the hot sauce (i.e. Haechan and Jaemin’s eyes bulging after consuming some hot sauce, Chenle watching the hot sauce on his phone, the members helping out with the supply chain for the hot sauce, even being part of the commericals for the hot sauce). They even go out of their way to stop Mark from having some straight up, knowing how addictive it could be. In addition to the storyline, the music video also features cool effects that felt appropriate for the concept.

Based on what I can see in the music video, the choreography looks very intense and powerful, which is fitting for the song. I can’t wait to see the entire routine in full, especially when it comes to the dance break! I really like the ‘mixing bowl’ move for some reason. It looks cool, when it doesn’t really sound as cool.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

The returning group of the day is NCT Dream, who returns with the highly anticipated, Ridin’. Technically, this is the comeback where the members would ‘graduate’ from the group, as they have reached the adult age in South Korea. However, it was announced two weeks ago that NCT Dream, after promotions for Ridin’, would abolish the graduation system and become a fixed lineup group. In more exciting news, Mark (who graduated from the group at the end of 2018) would return to be part of the lineup, where small units of the members (if not all the members) would promote under the name of NCT Dream. Definitely exciting news to all NCTzens who support the ‘young’ subunit. But we will have to get through the Ridin’ promotions before we get to that stage, so let’s have a dive into the new song.

Ever since the release of Boom last year, it was obvious that the group would never set foot into their more youthful title tracks. And that game changer song really set them up for future releases, as evident by the quality and style of Ridin’. The intensity that you can feel from the song really rivals the intensity that we got from Boom. The instrumental is described to be an urban trap song. I like how the song plays with the heavy bass synths, mimicking the sound when a motorcycle revs. Given their teasers and music video, I thought this was rather ingenious. Apart from this revving-like synth, I was surprised that the instrumental had a subtle smoothness to it. The vocal work was also surprisingly very smooth. Glad the deep revving-like synth and the rapping gave that rough touch to an extent. But all the members sound very on point. The song had a very catchy melody and ‘Ridin’ and Rollin’‘ hook as well. That kick at the end that Jeno and Jaemin brings in bridge definitely gives the song that impact and climax that boldens the song’s already strong appeal. I do wish they would have gone with something a little bolder so it could have a chance to rival Boom, which I think is still the superior song after writing this review.

To think that this is the group that kicked off their careers with Chewing Gum. They have definitely grown up. The music video seems to throwback to their Go days, where the subunit took on a rebellious phase as part of their growth. When you look at their releases throughout the years, it felt like they moved too soon into that concept at the time, especially since they followed up with We Go Up and Candlelight. The release of Boom really consolidated that image of the group maturing. And hence, the progression into this Ridin’ concept felt natural and the right step forward. Needless to say, the group looks really cool. I thought the set was rather nice, looking like a legit alleyway that leads to a hidden underground garage and mechanic (but obviously a lot cooler than that description!), like in those movies with illegal car racing events. A great music video, in my opinion.

The choreography for this comeback equally looks as cool as the music video. There seems to be some movies where the members mimic the action of revving a motorcycle and show off some other edgy movies. My favourite has to be the smooth move they pull off in the second half of the chorus, contrasting with the intensity and supposed roughness of the song.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

After Mark left the group as he was ‘of age’ at the end of 2018, NCT Dream disappeared from the radar. SM Entertainment primarily focused on NCT 127 for the first half of 2019, which was disappointing for fans of the younger subunit.  But that was changed last month when NCT Dream (excluding Haechan) collaborated with HRVY for the SM Station release, Don’t Need Your Love (which I have continued to enjoy since reviewing it). And today, the young subunit (including Haechan) made their official comeback with Boom, their first since We Go Up and Candlelight (Both releases still featured Mark as a member).

The teasers for Boom were very suspenseful, which lead me to have high expectations for this track. And boy, does NCT Dream fulfil these expectations. The last time we got an edgy sound from NCT Dream to this extent was through their Go promotions. But I wasn’t much of a fan of that song. Boom, on the other hand, sounds more refined and stylish. The vocals and rapping give me flashback to their We Go Up hip-hop style, which I thought was very nice. I thought the chorus was very cool with the ‘Boom Boom Boom‘ repetition. I just wanted more too the song in terms of instrumentation. Here, everything was very subtle in nature. With a title Boom, you would expect that things would become explosive. But everything felt like it was toned down. A better way of describing it was that the song was kept in ‘low bass’ gear. But other than that, Boom was a pretty cool track and sone I can absolutely see dominate my phone while I am out and about.

The music video went straight for that edgy vibe, shifting away from that carefree vibe we got from We Go Up or anything youthful the subunit used to release. Visually, I thought the video was quite good. The members looked nice. The sets really felt appropriate, even though they don’t necessarily go with one another. It seems like the majority of the music video was shot with Haechan still busy with his NCT 127 promotions overseas, which was fair. He did join in towards the end of the music video, which is a good thing (rather than omitting him entirely). But why didn’t SM Entertainment wait that extra week or until schedules clear up to allow Haechan to film alongside the rest of the group. I thought his absence was meant to be part of the plotline but rewatching the video, it didn’t really seem so. They just added him randomly to the group/choreography shots at the end.

The choreography here is awesome. The chorus, in particular, looked very cool, matching the sleek and stylish atmosphere present in the song. I did think the choreography was slow at first. But I think after watching the performance a few times, the slowness felt intentional. But I really liked how they kicked the intensity up a notch for the end, bring the performance to an explosive energised end.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10