For those of you NCTzens, you are definitely familiar with this SM Entertainment project. Yes, NCT LAB, which many fans have been waiting for, has finally released its single track 10th on December 6, 2023. For those of you who don't know what NCT LAB is, don't worry. Let's take a closer look at SM Entertainment's proud project, come on!
What is NCT LAB?
One of the three big Kpop agencies in Korea, namely SM Entertainment, released its project under the name NCT LAB which is part of SM Station. The focus of NCT LAB is aimed at NCT Idols , where later all NCT members will release new singles with solo formations or joint units from members of NCT 127, NCT Dream and WayV. NCT members will write their own lyrics, and even become composers for their own singles .
SM Entertainment, when released on January 27 2022, gave a statement,
"NCT LAB has been reorganized into NCT's own music archiving channel, apart from SM STATION which has been around for a long time. In addition to releasing music and music videos, NCT LAB also plans to release a compilation album, and fans are expected to be able to enjoy NCT LAB in a more diverse,"
Single Track Released by NCT LAB
Since 2022, NCT LAB has released a series of NCT single tracks starting with the Mark Lee project entitled "Child". December 6 2023, at 18.00 KST (16.00 WIB) NCT LAB released its 10th single entitled "Marine Turtle" with four combined members, namely Kun and Xiaojun from WayV and Chenle and Renjun from NCT Dream. As promised, NCT LAB is complete with 10 single tracks from its release in February 2022 until the end of 2023 . What are the 9 single tracks released by NCT LAB? Here are the songs!
1. Mark Lee – Child
NCT LAB's single release begins with "Child" by Mark Lee which was released on February 4 2023. This hip hop genre song with synth bass and electric guitar tells the story of the anxiety and lack of self-confidence that young people naturally feel when they want to stay away from many people and their surrounding environment. Mark, as the writer of this song, himself expresses his heart, which is not known to many people, as seen on the screen.
Amazingly, this single immediately topped the music charts in Korea and even ranked first on Spotify and Bugs, ranked second on Melon Real Time and 12th on Mel0n Top100. In fact, this single also ranked first on iTunes in various countries.
2. Haechan, Doyoung, Mark & Shotaro – coNEXTion (Age of Light)
The second single released by NCT LAB is a song sung by Haechan, Doyoung and Mark with the title coNEXTion (Age of Light). This 7 minute 32 second song is equipped with a performance video with Shotaro NCT as the dancer . This single conNEXTtion was released on March 20 2022 and it turns out that this song is a project initiated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism together with the Korea Creative Content Agency (KCCA) entitled "Age of Light " .
3. Kun, Taeil & Yangyang – Rain Day
The third single released by NCT LAB is "Rain Day" which is sung gracefully through the vocal harmony of Kun, Taeil and Yangyang. This single was released on July 19 2022 with a medium tempo R&B genre with soft bass. This song tells about the longing to get back a long lost love by looking back at the beautiful past. In the music video, the three of them are seen enjoying the summer by the lake with flashbacks of beautiful memories together.
Kun, who is the leader of the NCT unit WayV, directly took part in writing the song lyrics, composing and arranging the song. Meanwhile, Yangyang is fully focused on his role as a rapper by displaying his charm. Taeil and Yangyang's harmonization is no less beautiful in forming this song as a whole.
4. Jaehyun – Forever Only
For fans of Jamal aka Jaehyun NCT, you will definitely be familiar with this single . "Forever Only", which was released on August 18 2022, is a big step for Jaehyun because it is his first solo single since he debuted in 2016. The R&B genre , with its distinctive guitar riffs and vocals, is able to thrill fans. The message conveyed through this song is quite emotional, because it means hope that someone will remain by their side even though the world is slowly starting to leave them.
With just a plain white t-shirt and black trousers and set in a room with a wooden floor, this song was able to rank 120 on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart and rank 14 on Billboard Digital Sales. Not only because the concept is beautiful and pure, Jaehyun displays his skills by taking part in writing the lyrics himself. Truly talented, handsome and extraordinary.
5. Ten – Birthday
SM Entertainment wouldn't be great if it missed this Ace , Ten NCT. NCT LAB released the 5th single entitled "Birthday" by Ten on October 26 2022. The genre used is R&B Dance with drum and marimba instruments. Feeling very sensual and romantic, this song tells the story of the happiness experienced with your lover to the point that it feels beautiful like a happy birthday. Not only with his sensual and stunning dance charm, Ten's distinctive soft voice was able to lead this song to the top of Top Song on iTunes in 13 countries.
6. Mark – Golden Hour
Returning to the NCT LAB project, Mark is here with his single entitled "Golden Hour". This song, which was released on April 7 2022, has a picture of a sunny side up egg on the cover because it has a unique history. One time, when NCT was filming content, Mark was seen trying to fry eggs. Because it failed, this was actually considered funny by netizens and they were excited about it. To the point that one of the OPs uploaded a video clip of the failed cooking and tagged Chef Gordon Ramsay on his social media X.
NCTzen account @NE0TOUCH post on social media X:
"@Gordon Ramsay, my boyfriend was making eggs… What do you think?"
This inspired Mark during the process of creating his song lyrics until he mentioned Gordon Ramsay's name in his lyrics. On one occasion when he was on a concert tour, he also thanked the OP when he found out that the OP was attending his concert.
7. Jaehyun – Horizon
The member with the nickname " Valentine Boy " has released another single in the NCT LAB project entitled "Horizon". This song, written by Jaehyun himself, was released on August 8 2023 with a romantic summer concept. His inspiration came when he was on a plane and saw the view when it took off. He even had to come all the way to Italy to shoot his video clip.
8. Taeil & Haechan – NYCT
The duo of melodious voices, namely Taeil and Haechan, took part in the NCT LAB project through their song entitled NYCT (New York City ). Both of them took part in writing the lyrics and composing the song, considering that this is an NCT LAB project. This R&B genre song accompanied by piano and guitar gives a romantic impression. A romantic feel is also created through the visual video clip of them as if they were walking around New York with NCTzen. This single was released on September 7 2023 with extraordinary harmonization by the two of them.
9. Kun – Phantom Remix
This genius member from NCT certainly played no less role in enlivening the NCT LAB project. With his expertise in song composing , this time Kun took part by releasing a completely remixed WayV song. Released on November 15 2023, this song was initially released on the SoundCloud platform . This remixed Phantom song gives a heroic, majestic and powerful impression. His skill in composing songs is no longer in doubt, considering that Kun is the member who remixed the intro and outro of NCT Nation.
10. Kun, Xiaojun, Renjun, Chenle – Marine Turtle
The 10th single of the NCT LAB project was enlivened by members of the Chinese line NCT with golden voices, namely Kun, Xiaojun, Renjun and Chenle. This single was released on December 6 2023 with a beachside background. This song has a very deep meaning, those who have successfully faced and gone through difficult times have finally found their way back home, which is described as being like a baby turtle. On this occasion, Chenle successfully debuted as a composer and Mark participated as a lyricist for the Korean version.
The NCT LAB project is indeed a project that is highly anticipated because the units are uncertain which makes this project unique in every single one. From a total of 20 NCT members with 10 NCT LAB singles released, let's continue to wait for NCT LAB's comeback until all members get their share, Sijeuni~
