NCT U (Korean: 엔씨티유; Japanese: エヌシーティー) is the first sub-unit from the South Korean boy band NCT. They debuted on 9 April 2016 with the double digital single "The 7th Sense" and "Without You" under the label SM Entertainment. The member line of NCT U is rotational, changing with each release and concept. The group's original members were Taeyong, Ten, Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Mark. NCT U is most known for their experimental nature, with their singles inspired by various genres such as trap and electro pop.[1]
NCT U 엔씨티 유 | |
|---|---|
.png) NCT U at SBS Radio on 24 November 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Seoul, South Korea |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2016-present |
| Labels | SM Entertainment |
| Spinoff of | NCT |
History
NCT U's debut was confirmed in early April 2016 after SM Entertainment CEO Lee Soo-man announced plans in January 2016 to create a boy group with core principles of localization and flexibility in its lineup.[2] The group made their first broadcast appearance on 9 April 2016 in a Naver broadcast with Super Junior's Heechul,[3] where he introduced the initial group lineup of Taeyong, Ten, Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Mark.[4]
The group made their Chinese & Korean debut with two digital singles: "The 7th Sense" (released 9 April 2016) and "Without You" (released 10 April 2016).[5][6] The singles would peak at #2 and #3 respectively on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales charts on 30 April 2016.[7]
In 2018, NCT released NCT 2018 Empathy, featuring two new songs by NCT U: "Boss" and "Baby Don't Stop".[8] The member lineup for this release consisted of Taeyong, Ten, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Mark, Winwin, Jungwoo, and Lucas. "Baby Don't Stop" and "Boss" would peak at #2 and 3 respectively on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales charts on 31 March 2018.[9]
NCT's second studio album NCT 2020 Resonance featured multiple new NCT U songs, including "Make A Wish" (also called "Birthday Song"), "From Home", and "Work It". In contrast to the smaller member lineups on the singles of 2016 and 2018, this release featured all 23 members of NCT.[10] NCT U would also receive their first award as a group on episode 375 of Show Champion for "Make A Wish".[11]
On 14 December 2021, NCT U released the title track for NCT's 2021 album Universe, "Universe (Let's Play Ball)". This release's lineup included members Doyoung, Jungwoo, Mark, Xiaojun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Yangyang, and Shotaro.[12]
Upon the release of NCT's album Golden Age on 28 August 2023, NCT U's "Baggy Jeans" hit #1 on Billboard's Hot Trending Songs chart the week of its release.[13] This release marked the first reunion of NCT U's original lineup - Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, and Mark - since their 2016 debut.[14] On 6 December 2023, "Marine Turtle" was released with a new member lineup of Renjun, Chenle, Xiaojun, and Kun.[15]
Discography
Singles
| Title | Year | Recorded by | Peak chart positions | Sales[A] | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [16] | KOR Billb. [B][17] | JPN Hot [18] | US World [19] | WW [20] | ||||||
| "The 7th Sense" (일곱 번째 감각) | 2016 | Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, Mark | 111 | — | — | 2 | — |
| NCT 2018 Empathy | |
| "Without You" | Taeil, Doyoung, Jaehyun (Korean ver.) with Kun (Chinese ver.) | 126 | — | — | 3 | — |
| |||
| "Boss" | 2018 | Taeyong, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Mark, Winwin, Lucas, Jungwoo | 97 | 80 | — | 3 | — | — | ||
| "Baby Don't Stop" | Taeyong, Ten | —[C] | — | — | 2 | — | ||||
| "Yestoday" | Taeyong, Doyoung, Lucas, Mark | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Make a Wish" | 2020 | Taeyong, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Lucas, Xiaojun, Jaemin, Shotaro | 14 | 15 | 59 | 11 | 128 | NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1 | ||
| "From Home" | Taeil, Yuta, Kun, Doyoung, Renjun, Haechan, Chenle | 92 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "90's Love" | Ten, Winwin, Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Yangyang, Sungchan | 84 | 65 | — | 15 | — | NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 2 | |||
| "Work It" | Johnny, Yuta, Ten, Jungwoo, Hendery, Jaemin, Jisung | 123 | — | — | 23 | — | ||||
| "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" | 2021 | Doyoung, Jungwoo, Mark, Xiaojun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Yangyang, Shotaro | 86 | 96 | 61 | 14 | 147 | Universe | ||
| "Baggy Jeans" | 2023 | Taeyong, Doyoung, Ten, Jaehyun, Mark | 49 | — | — | — | — | Golden Age | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||||||||
SM Station singles
| Title | Year | Recorded by | Peak chart positions | Album | SM Station project | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Down. [24] | US World [19] | |||||
| "Timeless" | 2018 | Taeil, Doyoung, Jaehyun | — | — | NCT 2018 Empathy | SM Station Season 2 |
| "Coming Home" | 2019 | Taeil, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Haechan | — | 7 | Non-album singles | SM Station X 4 LOVEs for Winter |
| "Conextion (Age of Light)" | 2022 | Doyoung, Mark, Haechan | — | — | NCT Lab | |
| "Rain Day" | Taeil, Kun, Yangyang | 80 | — | |||
| "N.Y.C.T" | 2023 | Taeil, Haechan | 49 | — | ||
| "Marine Turtle" | Kun, Xiaojun, Renjun, Chenle | TBA | TBA | |||
Soundtrack appearances
| Title | Year | Member(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Stay in My Life" | 2017 | Taeil, Taeyong, Doyoung | School 2017 OST |
| "Radio Romance" | 2018 | Taeil, Doyoung | Radio Romance OST |
| "New Dream" | Taeil, Jaehyun | Dokgo Rewind OST | |
| "Best Day Ever" | Haechan, Chenle, Jisung | SM Station Season 3, Trolls: The Beat Goes On! Korean OST | |
| "New Love" | 2019 | Doyoung, Jaehyun | Best Mistake (일진에게 찍혔을 때) OST |
| "Baby Only You" | Doyoung, Mark | The Tale of Nokdu OST |
Collaborations
| Title | Year | Recorded by | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Down. [25] | ||||
| "Maniac" (prod. Ryan S. Jhun) | 2021 | Doyoung, Haechan | 52 | Maxis by Ryan Jhun Pt. 1 |
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [26] | KOR Billb. [B][17] | |||
| "Misfit" | 2020 | 130 | 88 | NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1 |
| "Volcano" | 168 | — | ||
| "Dancing in the Rain" | 188 | — | ||
| "Faded in My Last Song" | 186 | — | ||