SM Entertainment, the talent agency known for creating popular K-pop acts like Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, f(x), and EXO, have recently revealed their newest K-pop group, NCT. Named after the Hallyu localization project Neo Culture Technology, which is a term created by SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo Man , the new K-pop group is unique because it has an “unlimited number of members.” As a result, NCT does not exactly perform as one, but in multiple sub-units.
There are nine members total in NCT consisting of Taeil, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, WinWin, Mark, and Haechan. The first sub-unit is known as NCT U, which made their debut back in April and consist of Taeil, Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, and Mark, NCT U is similar in both looks and skills in comparison to past SM Entertainment K-pop boy groups. Yet, they emphasize rap. So far, they have released two singles, “The 7th Sense” and “Without You.”
Right now, however, there is a lot of chatter about the second NCT subunit which made their debut just this month, NCT 127. Consisting of Taeil, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun, WinWin, Mark, and Haechan, NCT 127 made their debut with “Fire Truck.” Apparently, the song is so popular and unique, many K-pop fans have questions for the music video as well as for the group itself especially when it comes to their future. Ergo, NCT 127 recently had an interview, answering such questions and revealing their future goals. Not only that, SM Entertainment came out and provided the meaning behind their music video for “Fire Truck” too.
NCT 127 had an interview with Korean news outlet My Daily,in which they revealed their goals for the remainder of the year, as reported by Soompi. First, they participated in small chatter on their debut as well as revealing unique tidbits to entice their fans. For example, Haechan revealed that he changed his name from Donghyuk (from his SM Rookie days) to what it is now because of Lee Soo Man.
“Lee Soo Man gave me this name with the meaning of becoming a new person.”
Other small tidbits of information that fans found appealing or admiring during the interview include the fact that WinWin is getting plenty of help from the other NCT members in speaking Korean since he is from China (Sidenote: Only five members of NCT are native to South Korea), Mark commenting on “feeling like the maknae,” and vocalists Jaehyun and Taeil rapping for the first time. Also, Taeil debunked the rumor that he has an intelligence quotient of 150.
Ultimately, NCT 127 revealed their goals for the remainder of 2016 which happens to not be anything big in the scope of K-pop but a great starting point for NCT 127. All they want to do is get first place on music competition variety shows and win rookie awards.
Given the fact NCT 127’s music video for their song “Fire Truck” is gaining plenty of traction, it probably won’t be long until they win their first trophy. However, we can probably claim the major reason why “Fire Truck” is so popular is because the music video itself is so unique. According to AllKpop , SM Entertainment actually stepped forward and revealed the meaning behind it , something that has been an enigma among K-pop fans since it made its debut on July 6. From what the entertainment agency says, the seven members of NCT 127 are the little girl’s guardian angels and “turn off” the girl’s troubles with their fire hose (spraying her). SM Entertainment also clarified the fire hose concept was subliminal for combating the summer heat.
At this moment, “Fire Truck” has almost 2.5 million views on YouTube. This is extremely good given the fact NCT 127 just made their debut two days ago.
[Image via SM Entertainment Promotions for NCT 127 Debut]