#or shotaro in t7s

[neocatharsis]

Get A Guitar 🎸 Baggy 〰️ Jeans 〰️ 👖🔥 (With. #SHOTARO #WONBIN)

[dojae-huh]

Do you think when it comes to foreign members sm treat them equally with k members??

Yes.

Naturally, there are ought to be xenophobic staff members, who are probably mean and microagressive in daily life, however, the company itself gives the same opportunities.

Don't listen to the buzz fans produce. Look at the history and the facts.

Yuta was the first Japanese trainee. He was debuted as a Rookie earlier and he was pushed alongside Jaehyun and Taeyong. He was a pannelist on a TV show, he was a guest MC, he had cameos prior to debut. Here he is in an EXO's MV together with Jae. Yuta is allowed to make his own image (the hairstyles, the rock vibe of recent). And let's not pretend it was Yuta's idea to launch himself in Japan with "the Japanese with most IG subscribers". Or that he personally contacted all Japanese magazines to get a pictorial.

Shotaro was debuted after a few months in the company and got a lot of brand deals, magazine covers, was established as a dancer (ConNextion), films a lot of pre-debut promotional material for the Japanese market (the roadshow with Yuta, what is NCT with Sungchan).

Ten debuted in t7s, got 2 solo songs before Taeyong, is in SuperM. Is getting a solo album ahead of all 127 vocalists this year. Together with Jisung he attended tap-dance classes in SM.

Xiaojun is pushed as a vocalist a lot. A song with SM's DJ, covers, guesting on Korean TV shows where he sings live, KunXiao duo, now he is a music show MC. He also acted in a Chinese tv-series.

WinWin never put much effort in learning Korean or hip-hop based idol dances, and yet noone mistreated him for it.

LSM first took Lay who was exiled for bad behaviour from SM back and later gave Lay a whole company in China. NingNing gets a lot of spotlight in aespa's MVs.

Chenle, Renjun, Kun - all were hosts of a Chinese language radio show. Yuta got a radio show in Japanese as well. Renjun will soon have more covers on YT than Doyoung put out.

It's Koreans who hate on foreign members, and Korean TV companies that don't have enough opportunities to offer (although it seems to change).

Yuta doesn't get many lines because he is not the strongest vocalist in 127. On the other hand, Renjun gets a lot of highlight moments in Dream songs because he is a lead vocal.

"Zoo" got its own stage for SMtown. And 3 out of 5 unit members are non-Koreans (Giselle is half-Korean, half-Japanese, but Korean public doesn't accept her easily).

It's an idol's responsibility to have NingNing's (and Xiaojun's) attitude and better oneself constantly to trample all "company's attempts" at getting in their way.

Ask yourself, why both Hendery and Xiaojun are Chinese, and yet it is the "more hateful" mainlander who is on Korean TV.

[djxiao]

My children sungchan and shotaro did so well 🥺

seriously! their first concert and they’re already killing it!!

[neocrush]

— the girl groups enhypen’s gfs are in !

genre: fluff (angst on jungwon’s part) + established relationship (eventually lol)

pairings: idol!enhypen x fem!idol!reader

note: idk how to title this pls i thought of it while showering

tagging: @jeminiepabo @strwberrydinosaur

you just finished performing and your members were in need of water bottles

you just finished performing and your members were in need of water bottles

you just finished performing and your members were in need of water bottles

but fucking mnet didn’t provide any inside of your dressing room??

but fucking mnet didn’t provide any inside of your dressing room??

but fucking mnet didn’t provide any inside of your dressing room??

so yves told you to ask for some from the artist in the dressing room next to yours

you knocked on the door without looking at the sign that showed who was in there

you asked for some water bottles and heeseung went “i’ll go get it!” and ran off to go get get them

jungwon just chuckled and went “hyung’s a really huge fan of your group, he kept on singing star on the way here”

you nodded at the younger one, impressed at the fact that you were popular among idols

the tall boy came back with a whole box full of water bottles

“there’s 12 of you here right now so i figured why not get a whole box” he chuckled nervously

you giggled and smiled at the nervous boy

“thank you heeseung-ssi, i’ll take this to my members” you took the box in your hands but was taken aback on how heavy it was

“don’t worry i’ll carry it for you”

long after that you started hanging out and boom you became his gf

you couldn’t resist the charms of lee heeseung

once it was revealed that you were a couple, orbits and engenes went INSANE (in a good way ofc)

“wait so y/n DOESNT hate men????”

★ jay - aespa

OMG OMG LEMME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS BBY

you both met at school after you both debuted

everyone was gossiping around about how you were in the same class with the enhas

so like... monster rookies class

usually idols aren’t seated together but the teacher seated you and jay next to each other

causing a bunch of “oooohhhs” from your classmates

there were times were you and the enhas would leave school early due to practice or schedules

and on the way to the school gate, jay would always spark up a conversation with you

you assumed he was just very friendly

long story short he had a massive crush on you

so a few months into your friendship (which the both of you were very open about with your fans), he confesses

you were like “WAIT SO IT WASNT ONE SIDED THE WHOLE TIME”

y’all were just really blind lol pls read between the lines

anyways on to ur lovely bf !!

he’s so bold and brave around you but so shy around your members and seniors

we all know how he really respects nct (along with other sm artists) bc he covered the 7th sense with sunghoon on iland

so one day you were like “oh btw i showed taeyong sunbae you and hoon’s t7s cover”

he was like 😟 to 😧 to 😯

got all shy and was like “oh what did he say..”

you don’t know why he was acting as if he didn’t body that whole performance ????

anyway you told him that taeyong said that he and hoon did really well and that he liked how jay did his part

hid his face on the crook of your neck

“baby we should come say hi to them next time you go to sm”

“NO i will make a fool out of myself”

speaks english and japanese with giselle a lot when he isn’t occupied with you

sometimes you’d even have to ask nct’s shotaro to translate

your seniors (especially exo’s kai) adore him so so much pls protect the boy at all costs

★ jake - everglow

he was an active viewer of produce 48 and (like me) was really attached to the yuehua trainees

especially you

so when you got eliminated just before the last episode, he was devastated to say the least

he awaited your debut and when the time came he supported everglow !!!!

LOVED BON BON CHOCOLAT SO MUCH

does the killing part choreo in his room when no one’s watching lol

dies everytime you do the little “everglow” in songs

right so when he debuted in enha, he looked forward to meeting you as an idol and not a fan

when you shared a dressing room at kcontact, he couldn’t help but introduce himself to you

he mentioned he was a big fan and your heart warmed

cute boy is a fan of you? omg heart go brr brr

your members tease you and you just shake it off

that day when you got back to the dorms, you watched a bunch of enhypen videos bc you were interested in jake

you weren’t aware of how popular you were among people - let alone idols so you were surprised

you fell in love with his personality and started saying hi to him whenever you meet backstage at music shows

not long after, you develop feelings for him

you thought it was just a puppy crush but as you saw him even more, it got serious

you never actually confessed but aisha accidentally spilled the beans when he was passing by

“cmon y/n just tell him you like him because he clearly feels the same !!”

“you like me?”

“AISHA”

“that’s my queue to leave”

so she leaves you two to pour your hearts out to each other

you two become a couple and forevergenes (such a cute name omg) LOVE you two

you’re both the puppies of your group so that makes your relationship 103892x cuter

you met his parents and they adore you and even asked for your autograph

“jake used to talk about how great you are after every produce 48 episode”

“okayyyy i think that’s enough embarassing me mom”

his parents love you like their own daughter but does layla love you?

you were so nervous to meet her and was actually scared she might not like you - knowing how important layla is to jake

at first layla ignored you and jake was like “she’ll come around”

you were convinced she just doesn’t like you, until this one time you were cuddling with jake on the couch and layla comes in

you expected her to snuggle up with jake but she came to you :D

now layla is super fond of you and mrs sim would even send you pictures and videos of layla getting excited whenever you were on tv 🥺

★ sunghoon - itzy

you and the girls were at isac

the six of you were just waving at your fans and making heart signs with your hearts

on your left you saw yeji making hearts with ryujin so you wanted to do that with another member too

you felt a presence next to you and assumed it was someone from your group

spoiler alert: it wasn’t

sunghoon and sunoo were waving at engenes who just happened to be seated next to midzys

so you turned to who you thought was an itzy member, making half a heart with your hand

until you realized it wasn’t 💀

you bowed and apologized when you both looked at each other, you were scared you crossed a boundary

you bowed and apologized to the engenes who were there too

sunghoon and sunoo reassured you it was all good

after that, sunghoon couldn’t help but keep his eyes on you the entire event

when the day was coming to an end, he pulled some strings and ended up having some alone time with you ...in stray kids’ dressing room

don’t ask

ofc skz already left so it was just you two there

fast forward, you both hit it off and he became your bf <3

midzys and engenes love you both sm and love bragging about you two to other fandoms

you two were even named the king and queen of 4th gen kpop

oh also

you already know where this is going

“SUNGHOON HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW NOT SHY’S PROPER TITLE IT’S YOUR GIRLFRIEND’S SONG” - jay

brags about how he can do the shoulder dance in wannabe

ofc it’s bc you personally taught him

sends you pics of jyp as reaction pics

so you send pics of bang pdnim to him

every once in a while he reminds you of that video of jay why pee trying to hit a high note

“lmao that’s your boss”

PLS you always get super embarrassed so ofc you bring up that vid of hitman bang

“rAp dAncE-“

★ sunoo - stayc

you were his seatmate at school predebut

you came from the same town, same school, same neighborhood, etc

the two of you were extremely close and both shared the same dream

when highup entertainment accepted you, the both of you were over the moon

he was so happy for you

but sad too bc that meant you had to move to seoul :(

you promised him to do your best and that you hoped to see him again but as an idol

and hopefully when he’s an idol too

well what you hoped for came true !!

although you couldn’t see him much as a trainee - which made you quite sad - you got to follow his journey on i-land

you even asked your fellow trainees to vote for him

anyways now that you both debuted, you became close again and became really open with your fans on how close you were

you recommended his songs to swiths and he did the same to engenes

he even memorized the choreo to so bad and asap and lemme tell you this

he BEGGED you to teach him those choreos

“sunoo you can watch the practice on youtube”

“but i want to learn it from you”

he never really realized his feelings until he saw you getting shipped with his other members

you were both on weekly idol and the hosts really seemed to like how you and jake looked next to each other and they just teased you both the whole episode

that made sunoo feel uneasy and he thought it was only bc he was an overprotective best friend

turns out he had feelings for you (wow shocker)

so one day he asks you to come to hybe

after slightly getting lost, you meet up with him in a practice room

he confesses bc he felt like not telling you about his feelings would put a wall between you two

you appreciate his honesty and tell him you’ve felt the same way every since you were classmates

he scolds himself for not seeing it all those years but you just laugh it off bc you were pretty good at hiding your crush

you both agree to secretly date, until you both announce it on your five month anniversary

fans were really shocked at first... but they support you !!!!

engenes will not hesitate to come at anyone who talks bad about you and swiths feels the same way about jungwon

he gushes about you every single time you’re brought up

and you can’t help but love your adorable boyfriend

★ jungwon - iz*one

okay so

he was just an average high schooler when you were introduced on produce 48

his deskmate was watching your audition video and it was the part where you were doing this freestyle

he was SO amazed and he secretly followed your journey on produce 48

always made sure to vote on time and watch the episodes live

once the debut evaluation came around, he asked everyone he knew to vote for you and even bought tickets to see the show live

almost cried when he saw that you were center

ACTUALLY CRIED when you got into the top 13 😭

fast forward to him debuting in enha

he wasn’t able to catch up on you since he was busy with trainee life, then i-land, then debut preparations

but somehow in the middle of promotions he ran into you and BOOM love at first sight

fast forward to you finally dating, he couldn’t believe he was dating the y/n of iz*one

wizones make those “ladies and gentlemen, y/n’s man” edits and engenes make those “ladies and gentlemen, jungwon’s woman” edits

both fandoms love you two so dearly that the only hate you two got were from the delusional ones (who clearly aren’t actual fans)

when your last concert came around, he couldn’t bare seeing you cry when you said “this has been iz*one’s y/n, thank you everyone!”

he got flashbacks from when you cried during the final episode of produce 48 and he’s just.. sobbing bc he couldn’t be there to hold you

so the next day he rushed to your dorms with snacks and emotional support bc you were emotionally exhausted from accepting the fact that your journey with iz*one is finally ending

you felt extremely lucky to be in his arms and he felt extremely lucky too that he’s able to make you feel a little better

★ riki - weeekly

you were both on weekly weeekly idol together

and both you and riki being main dancers, you were asked to do random dance together

a few popular songs played and the both of you did the choreos

until after school started playing and the boy did the chorus’ choreo and you were like “woah???”

bc he was so INTO ITTTT

the song was basically made for him to cover it

and the mcs saw your reaction so they asked him to do it once again but this time with the whole group

after filming, he came up to you and was like “i’m a huge fan of yours” and you’re just like ):&/£]>\**_£]

“woah really???? i rooted for you on i-land”

and his face just lights up bc his huge crush on you developed even more

you became besties since then but he didn’t ask you out until your birthday

he took you out to a puppy café, knowing you were obsessed with dogs

you’d ask him to show you pictures and videos of bisco

“i better meet bisco once we go to japan together”

melted at the thought of traveling to his hometown with you

anyways

once you left the café, he kissed you in front of your dorms

and somehow he became your boyfriend <3

riki as a bf isn’t really a very public person

he’s the “this is our relationship, not the public’s” type of person

he doesn’t wanna risk companies wanting to exploit your relationship

although he doesn’t talk about you two much, he loves to brag about you when given the chance

whenever variety show hosts would fawn over you he’d just look them in the eyes dead and go “she’s mine”

[kwangyadetective]

⚙️: Stage 0 - The 7th Sense First Impression

My first interpretation of NCT’s NCT 2021 YearDream Stage 0 - The 7th Sense

Remember that this is just one interpretation of many of this video. I will also change my thoughts over time depending on the new info I get. I’m not using the time traveling concept yet until further confirmation of them time traveling for this video in particular.

First of all,

FINALLY WE HAVE A LITTLE SNIPPET OF HOW SUNGCHAN AND SHOTARO JOINS.

I remember mentioning somewhere that we didn’t even get a content or video before they were introduced and how they got into the lore, they just poofs and here they are with them until now. I see that I think there’s going to be more, like NCTmentary. I noticed that ever since LSM officially introduced SMCU to the public, the number of people interested in the lore increased like DRASTICALLY! So here’s SM helping us to understand :) Not many people were interested back then (and it was difficult to understand too), but NCT’s story started even before they debuted and it has always been about dreaming. Seems like this video is before the Resonance 2020 Year Party video.

In the video, we saw Taeyong, Sungchan, and Shotaro. Taeyong does has an important role throughout their story. Many people have agreed that he was the boy in the Origin video, well he was the first one to be shown in the following video. There were some snippets of that Origin video and some from NCTmentary videos in here, on the TV screen too. Taeyong is somehow seen to be communicating with Shotaro and Sungchan? He OR someone else said the words,

“This time, two”

since Taeyong is an important character, he was believed by NCT-NIRVANA to open or share the dream world to others. This seems to make sense since he is (again, agreed by many) the boy in the Origin video. Its like he was informed (or he predicted it himself) that there are two new members joining and he was there to share the dream to them and let them join the whole crew. Even if thats not his true role, it is obvious that his important role is leader-like, just like his real position. He greets and empathize with the new members that join.

TVs, whether in contents or MVs, mean that someone is watching a dream happening. Perhaps Taeyong is showing Sungchan and Shotaro the origin of all, intro to the newbies.

The color tone of the room they are in seem leaning towards Cool, then seeing this door? opening to a room with red lighting, Red has always been believed as the color that represents them being in the Dream world. Nearly everyone agrees with this. They are entering the dream world. They may not be seen sleeping, but red lighting has always imply that they are in the dream world, so for now, this is how I interpreted it. Even in some MVs, they don’t really show them closing their eyes but instead with Red lighting.

Then we have Sungchan somehow mimicking what Taeyong did; blowing the whistle. I may not remember much (for now) knowledge of them using a whistle. There are many whistle sounds in The 7th Sense, which is fitting for the video. Well there was in Make A Wish and Favorite, but T7S’s was more subtle. Unfortunately I don’t know what it means so I’m not ready to interpret this :” I wanted to say its the same whistle we always heard throughout NCT contents but actually it sounds different. But the point of the video is clear. Also I think its a bit early to theorize their roles, like why Sungchan is the one interacting with Taeyong and Shotaro opening the ‘dream world door’.

This me writing about the video BEFORE I read any thoughts from other people. So we’ll see how this goes...

[yutaslaugh]

shotaro absolutely RUINED t7s at the beyond live to me, i get that he was nervous and all but damn, dat boy has a horrible voice and cant rap at all, they should have got yangyang to do tys part, he nailed lightbulb.

GJALKSDJF BYE 😭i don't even remember this (i was probs tunnel visoning yuta and ignoring songs he wasn't in). i feel bad bc he's so new and just started training. they probably just wanted different people to fill in for taeyong in each song

[soolaris]

Taeyong x mark

Taeyong x yuta

Yuta x mr taeil

Ten x mark

127 x ten ft yangyang

Xiaojun x doyoung, mr taeil, yuta, jaehyun, jaemin x jeno

jaemin x jeno

T7S x wayv

Yuta x taeyong x mark x Johnny x mr taeil

Shotaro x ten

[dojae-huh]

I didn't knw t7 unit is this much loved and everyone is happy that they back after the origin....well yes they are the founding fathers though. ...but what made me wonder is doten dynamics and how almost every fans are very busy on searching their interactions....I mean seems like they were waiting for this moment and very happy about doten and started to shipping through their tom and jerry dynamic...I didnt knw doten were this much popular ..not really anything happend but just some audio clips but fans are making festivals with that saying the bestfriends is back with their old self now they want to see their more interactions...jae can understand this matter well..but tae ....if doten take the tom and herry dynamic how can tae bicker and annoys dy....are they going to fight????...well I can assure one thin that baggy Jean's is also a team for teasing dy...it started...even mark is confident in being part of that club...

They are the beginning... perhaps, just Haechan's akgaes don't like the unit as Hyuk was on a demo version of the song but didn't make the final cut.

First of all, there is pride in NCT debuting with such a song. Secondly, the unit consists of many popular ships/friendships. Many miss Ten with 127 neos, the unit brings back the memories of Rookies times, Empathy era and such. Thirdly, expectation. Fans have been waiting for the unit's comeback for quite some time. The guys did a unit anniversary live, which made people hope. It's been 7,5 years.

Indeed, DoTen were the original Tom&Jerry. Taeyong back then behaved more like tsundere, DoTen provided a lot of memorable "confrontations". The fandom also has a liking to same-liners. Fans always wish for the interaction/a formed unit of 00-line (Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, YangYang (ex-member - Shotaro)), 95-line (JohnTaeYu), 96-line (KunDoTen) and even 97-line (JaeWin).

The 95-line vlive and A cup of Coffee part 2 are very popular. DoTen provide entertainment.

Taeyong, heh. Was his comment about Doyoung being more cheerful thanks to Ten a voice of jealousy?

TaeTen will just annoy Do joining forces.

[dojae-huh]

hi huh 🫶 so many good news happened in just a span of one day yesterday, the reaction on X is chaotic so your blog is my safe space!

i love jaehyun's new song! it showed a new color of his vocals, and his lyricism (though i'm not really fluent in korean, i can't say much about it) and the chance for him to be creative and do what he wants. it was nice and refreshing 💛

do the ever supportive "co-worker", posting about every neo solo on his ig each time. it's endearing 🫶 has become a thing for jaedo, they really do have a special connection hehe

nct 2023 announced a few hours after jaehyun's solo, which i would admit a very bad move on sm's part. though i'm excited really, with the return of t7s unit and the upcoming nct concert. but i do notice one thing - where is nct japan unit??

i did my basic google search, lastart will be around 5 eps and this week is the 3rd eps. So 2 weeks more and we have the final lineup for nct's last unit. and it's just right before the nct concert and album release, so i was expecting them to be included in 😔 i feel very bad for these trainees, all these fans doomsaying and planning to boycott any nct activities is just evil they're innocent :( the fandom, at least on twitter is a whole mess, i can only hope that nct 2023 is as successful as the other nct albums. i feel it's safe to hide behind ask and say about this, and i love reading your replies so i hope you don't mind my thought dump haha

i'm also curious about your thoughts on riize? i've been actively following them and they're really good!! all the boys seem promising and i'm shaking with anticipation for new content haha. they just had their first ig live last night, it's cute how shotaro was suspected as the leader since he's leading the group greeting!

link for group greeting -> https:// twitter.com /riizepics/status/1688883426659872768?s=46&t=m039VaKV8OZmu71_7XkSMQ

hope u have a good day and thank u for readinggg 🫶

Hi,

X is like a busy market where everyone hurry, shout and shove others with their elbows, meanwhile small blogs are like bars with regulars.

I can't say much about Jae's lyrics as well. As English is not my native language, I can't even feel how off the English parts are.

Many pop songs don't have intricately crafted lyrics, they just rely on words of association, a few sentences that vaguely paint a scene or describe a feeling, therefore, Jae shouldn't be much worse than the average male singer nowadays, me thinks. He does try to be poetic, describe love taking certain moments in daily life, states of "being/existing" as a starting point (spending time alone in a room, longing; daily life on the road; yearning after parting), which is nice.

NCT2023 album will be released in less than three weeks, there is little time for promotion. If the shops are ready for pre-order, it is time to make the fans know. It's inevitable that announcements overlap, NCTLab is a side project, like SM Classics, not a solo album. Sm moving to NCT2023 doesn't mean the promotion of "Horizon" has stopped. "Forever only" was included in several articles with best songs, there was a remix.

The MV has Mnet 2023.08.03 stamp at the very beginning. Seems like the MV was originally scheduled to be released earlier, on the 3d and not on the 8th?

Fans are quick to say SM does something intentionally to undermine their artists, when oftentimes it's circumstances and SM's lack of staff to properly manage everything. Which should be fixed, for sure.

Let's appreciate that Jae's MV was shot in Italy, has the boyfriend vibe that will give the song a bigger chance to take off, and not in a studio with a few hung lights like Moon Sujin&Taeil's The Moon.

The last unit is scheduled (tentatively) to release the first solo at the end of 2023. The unit need to train together, shoot some promotional content (like NCT LIfe). Quite possible they will start with a showcase in Japan to launch them. It is Riize' time now.

NCT2023 will have merch. And you can't make one for NCT Japan while the members are still unknown. Plus, the fans will hate the new unit for "riding on the coattails". They haven't earned the NCTnation concert yet.

It's OK. SungTaro were accused of every possible evil as well. A couple of years later the same fandom was crying over their departure.

Every NCT album was planned to be boycotted. Didn't happen.

Riize group greeting

I've checked Riize IG and the first track video, I will observe their debut. I have a feeling they will become like WayV for me: I'll tune in only for the albums and won't follow closely. The concept isn't for me. I have no interest in bands and the garage group aesthetics. Seunghan and Shotaro are the only attracting factors, the new members didn't pick my interest. I might as well just subscribe to a Seunghan stan acc to not lose the sight of him.

[dojae-huh]

I dont understand why doyoung is pushing himself with woo when I kinda feels like woo is not into him...ofcourse woo can make people laugh and do likes that very much that is also why he likes johnny...but that doesn't mean he have better chemistry with woo even than tae? Why he only care about the promotion and things??

Were you in the fandom when Jungwoo was introduced with U and then added to 127? (2018)

Jungwoo clung to Doyoung like a bur. Literally sometimes.

Back in 2018 Doyoung took special care of Jungwoo as the new member (similar how he did with Shotaro). He was the welcoming party, the moral support, he showed the ropes and was with Woo for "first times" like flying in an airplane or living abroad in a hotel. Do was in Woo's shoes, when he himself joined 127 with a delay (he got hate from knets as well). Doyoung was a prime target of "confident gay" game as well.

So Doyoung took care of Woo and showed publicly his acceptance of him (and he is one of t7s members, the beginning). Lucas, Shotaro, WinWin, Xiaojun, Rookies2022 - Doyoung takes care of all new NCT members.

After getting a jealous boyfriend and seeing how Woo assimilated well and developed friendships, Doyoung was gradually distancing himself from Woo, however after the Neo City tour Woo went on a half year hiatus. After he came back, Doyoung renewed his shaperoning. SM also started to push Woo a lot and sent him on programmes and for photoshoots with Do and Jae.

By this point I think Doyoung simply acts out of habit (the way he always insists on his love for Jeno). Jungwoo has other connections fans can like him for (with Mark, Sungchan, MC co-hosts), he is pretty popular, so technically Do can let go of Sabujaks. Still, most duos are long-lived in 127, and Jungwoo is not as confident as he pretends to be (which he hides really well, we get to know about from TMIs and messages from managers and the members).

Before Doyoung helped with variety and modelling. What is happening now is Jungwoo is established as a singer with Do's help. Hyuk might be paired with Woo in the songs, but on the side he is working with Taeil because it's time for him to work on his dream of becoming a songwriter. Plus Woo chose Hyuk as the member who he would be having troubles with if Hyuk was born as his kid. Hyuk annoys even the master of annoyance Woo. Meanwhile Doyoung can match anyone's voice.

Taeyong is a super popular member. As a duo TaeDo are strong and do get content for two on the regular basis. It looks like it is Doyoung who is refusing collabs with Taeyong (Tae wanted him for his soundcloud, he urges Do to write lyrics). He wants Tae to make friends elsewhere.

DoWoo work together well. Yes, they pull in different directions, but most people don't notice it. They don't have chemistry and easy rapport, but as two individuals they work well because they have same goals (popularity) and view on things (it's OK to be fake). Woo can get away with lots of things (like calling Doyoung a "fool"), but ultimately he listens to Doyoung.

Best chemistry combos: JaeDo, TaeDo, 2Dongs.

Middle range: DoWoo, JohnDo, DoYu

Not so good: DoIl, DoMark.

JohnDo had a cold war, Yuta developed his career in Japan, Hyuk is too busy and has Sun&Moon. JaeDo were under the ban.

DoIl are great in physical games, but they have different pace for anything else. Mark is busy, Mark has problems with Do bossing him. He doesn't need to be advertised, he is super popular as it is (and MarkHyuk is the original forever canon ship).

[dojae-huh]

NCT2023 schedule is out. Seems like we'll have 5 promo videos with mixed neos (4members x 5days = 20), and Buggy Jeans with t7s will be the A-track for music show promotion (everyone on this blog rejoiced).

Fans have begun to talk about NCT U teams again. Prepare yourself.

I think I understood the design. t7s - carry U and introduce those members, that need to be introduced. Taeil, WinWin, Lucas, Jungwoo, Shotaro, Sungchan. WayV debuted in 2019, Dream became a fixed unit in 2020. And in 2023 there is a reload, only ts7, the second circle.

The author of the table manipulated the data, chose only "title tracks". As if other NCT songs with full MVs weren't promoted on music shows and year end shows.

[dojae-huh]

Ten,taeyong, doyoung, mark and jaehyun are and will always the most prominent and most important members... haechan does have something important in the lore, and has been in the lore as much as taeyong.

I think taeil is important coz he is the oldest in nct and sm really thinks of pushing the oldest the most...

Some NCT members were found and added last minute, some had to wait and stay in competition with other trainees (we don't know who didn't debut because of Shotaro coming like a wrecking ball). t7s were selected as the most promising and the most hard-working (who in t7s is not an over-achiever?), it's logical to rely on them more. For example, Taeyong said he'd like to be in the creative team, while Chenle isn't interested in studying the lore at all.

However, there is also a business side of things, like WinWin for reaching Chinese market and Johnny for appealing to the USA. And who can really tell at the beginning what member will gain the most popularity?

So I agree with you, but only in part. All neos play roles, whether it's "truly important" is for fans to interpret, really. Originally Xiaojun had the most prominent role with his ability to see the second world, the mechanical wings, etc. Now it's YangYang who flies to Kwangya and Hendery who is starring in an MV that seemingly is very important to the lore.

[dojae-huh]

Resonance

For Lee Soo-Man the k-pop genre is a combination of a song and a dance, a performance. The visual part is as important as the music. 

Resonance is a show off piece, a statement. It’s not about individual members or units, it’s about Neo Culture Technology. 

The video starts with Mark (the official centre, the loudest voice, the perfect English, both 127 and Dream (and SuperM)) with an already iconic call-out. On the sides of Mark are Taeyong and Jaehyun (the visuals, the representatives, most popular, t7s) and Xiaojun with Lucas (WayV which is finally can be called as NCT officially). The scene switches to Jisung (the youngest member, the future, Dream unit, and he is injured, can’t dance).

I really like the distorted sound. It’s jarring and is very unusual, daring. Unconventional. 

A quick pan over all the members, everyone gets a close up shot. Some for a longer, some for a shorter time, some twice, but noone is forgotten (so do not even). Johnny gets the least amount of time, but there will be plenty of his blond locks later on. 

Personally, I think the last Kun+Johnny shot should be a tad longer, the brain hardly has time to process and recognise. That’s on the editor. Other then that, this montage should be uneven to match the bit and to not be a boring sequence.

Taeyong with this silver hairstyle really looks like a mini dragon. Bless.

It’s n-th time these Genie outfits were redone in another colour, but I don’t mind because this green gold is magnifecent. You don’t see it on stage everyday.

The fabrics (several!) are more expensive looking than that silky one that was used for the music show performances. The different textures make the costumes look even nicer. Different clothing items reflect light differently, making the picture more complicated, rich. Jaehyun’s, Taeyong’s and Xiaojun’s belts, Lucas’ braids, Jaemin’s sleeve threads, etc. catch attention and redirect focus to different members.

And look at the blue. The stage is very simplistic in design. However the vibrant colour fills the emptiness. There is no need for details or patterns. The colour does the job of making the overall picture look appealing.

The Neos are still in the music box though, lol. Wakey-Wakey and Superhuman.

Lucas’ wine hair is out of place. I suppose it looked better before the colour manipulation. 

Jaehyun said no to waxing, enjoy my happy trail. 

Those golden beads in Jae’s hair. Me likey.

By the way, I really like Shotaro’s adlib “queen”. It’s so squeeky in a good sense? Lol. It’s positive in sound, merry. 

There are many captivating hand movements. I’d say Jaemin’s gesture (right hand thrown up during his rap) is the most well captured. The camera work is on point and enhances the choreo.

Beautiful transition with the help of Doyoung’s hand. It also reminds of other NCT MVs, like Boss.

The black outfits of Raise the roof. They wary in taste and how well they fit a certain member. The dance is quick though, so these things are not noticeable in motion. This black collection is not impressive to me, but acceptable.

The OT23 didn’t have much time for practice. The dance is not polished. It is as noticeable as with BoB. Some members go to their positions slowly/hesitantly (Jaemin almost collided with Taeyong, WinWin with ?), breaking the choreo. But again, I’m very quick to react to movement, few people notice irregularities as well as me.

Oh, look, Taeil is in the central three (Jaemin is centre). But his fans didn’t notice him, I see complains in the comments.

90′s love boys. Sick white outfits. 

Vision of super? (Sungchan’s collar). Accidently or not, a nice detail. Haechan’s shirt says “23″.

I would laugh at the bling-bling crosses, but Korea likes crosses, so I’ll pass. 

I like Jeno’s move (the turn in waist to the side and back with lifted arms). Suits his (powerful, but straightlined) dancing style a lot. 

Lucas comes through for the second Raise the roof break. He has the quality to impress in a second. Half of neos don’t have his presence and can’t be made centre. It’s simple as that. You either captivate with your body (lines, movements) or the face and a facial expression. Sad, but true.

Yuta needs brighter hair or something on his head. He blends into the background. I see his effort with facials, but he is not very successful. Chenle distracts with his hand movements. The kick is good though.

Taeil is again in the central three (Ten is centre). 

Jaemin always gets the best outfuts. That polca dot black shirt.

Work It is very different from the rest of the songs and won’t fit in the mash-up being longer that it is. 

The dance break. Time to put the best dancers in the centre.

Jaedo. Bless. 

There is something about Doyoung and curtains. Heh. Touch.

It’s very very NCT to place the vocals at the end of the mash up and let them bring the audience to the final chorus. What is NCT without the SM vocals? It’s the group’s trademark.

Adlib flex.

There is an interesting moment of a battle for the spotlight. Kun has the centre position in the dance, but is cut by a close up of Renjun singing. I don’t know if any stans will end up satisfied, but the editor tried. 

The members were evidently tired at the end of shooting Raise the roof. The formation of N C T lacks the needed energy (look at languid Lucas), but I’ll give them a pass, albeit with a regret. 

And the drop.

Central trios in Raise the roof.

Tae-Mark-Jae

Ren-Tae-Woo

Taeil-Jaemin-Chenle

Yuta-Johnny-Chenle

Kun-Ten-Taeil

Tae-Mark-Ten

Xiao-Jeno-Hyuk

Tae-Jeno-Jae

Do-Kun-YY

Xiao-Jae-Hyuk

Renjun, Taeil, Chenle, Kun weren’t in any mash up songs, but there is an attempt to give them screentime. The focus of the camera was an issue, agree, still, they had their chance to attract attentions to themselves with their dancing skills.

Hm, an improvement can be Kun instead of Xiaojun in the moment when the latter raises from within the mass of members. And Renjun instead of Johnny as the centre, who has Work It appearence. But the members also need to change formations, it is also one of the factors that influence the placement and positions.

Blue-Red-Yellow - the three colours of NCT’s legend.

Glitches. Static noise.

The stage.

"Raise the roof” has a problem of meaning over sound. It’s hard to shout “R” or “F”. The call falls somewhat flat. (it’s not GO-O-OOON). But, well, they screamed.  

NCT2020 was uneven in promotional content quality (like the Yearparty). Therefore I’m relieved the final show, Resonance, was so good. Not ideally perfect, but given the time constraints SM always operates under, very satisfying.  

[dojae-huh]

which members do you think are the most appreciative? of doyoung? (not necessarily whose closest, but whose the most thankful for him - jaehyun, taeyong, jungwoo, yuta, johnny, jeno, xiaojun, and shotaro are some of the members that come to mind)

and who do you think are the members doyoung is most thankful for/appreciative of?

I don’t think an outsider, who doesn’t even know them personally, can answer such a question. Even closest frends and relatives don’t always get what the other one truly thinks about them. Just think about how often parents feel underappreciated or how many miscommunications often exist between lovers. 

In addition to this problem of feelings needed to be put into actions or words to be seen, we are not always privy to important moments that happen to idols. For example, I don’t think many would imagine Johnny crying in his room during his Rookies days. We know about this happening because he told us about it.

I can safely say that Tae and Jae are most appreciative because Tae said himself he doesn’t think he can find a better bff than Doyoung (he needs him and can’t imagine 127 without him) and Jae’s love borders on obsession. 

With the rest it gets more complicated. Remembering I can be completely off mark, I pick Johnny, Jeno and Haechan. Doyoung wasn’t the reason Yuta was able to change, and there are other members who were there for him, when he came around. Shotaro gets a lot of help from Tae, Hyuk, Taeil, Yuta and other members.

For Doyoung it’s Jaehyun, in my opinion. Doyoung is pretty sentimental, he likes to say 127 were all destined to meet and make a family. He met Jaehyun on his first official day in SM and went through all Rookies and Post-debut happenings together with him. They are part of Tende, t7s and WY, ShowChamp MC duo. Jae was the reason he accepted his orientation. Do could have opted to date on the side, but instead still decided to risk and commit to a serious relationship with a co-member. His feelings for Jae are truelly underestimated. Jaehyun was (4:05) and continues to be his partner in crime.

[dojae-huh]

Do you consider the very first NCT U (T7S) members as the core members of NCT? I feel like those five are the strongest among 23 and can see why SM decided to debut them first and expand NCT from there.

Taeil was in the first NCT U line up too. “Without you” was released a day later from “The 7th Sense” and all 6 promoted at the same time. 

Haechan sang in the earlier version of “The 7th sense”. Fans rave how he should have been included in the debut version, but I disagree.

Let me start with a pre-word. 

The (male) Rookies were introduced in this order:

2013 

(October 11: Doyoung officially joins SM)

December 3: Taeyong, Jeno

December 10: Jaehyun

December 17: Mark, Jisung, Hansol

December 24: Ten, Johnny, Yuta

2014

April 14: Haechan

April 16: SMRookies site is opened. MarkHyuk explain its navigation. 

July and August - Solo rap by Taeyong and dance video by SR14B (Johnny, Hansol, Taeyong). 

2015

January 15: Doyoung

April 22: Jaemin

July: SR15B (Taeyong, Yuta, Johnny, Jaehyun, Ten, Hansol)

ShowChampion (Doyoung, Jaehyun), Non-Summit (Yuta) Micky Mouse club (Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Jisung + Doyoung, Jaehyun as guests).

Several promotional videos for upcoming SMRookies shows in October.

October 13: Taeil

December 15: Kun

2016

January 5: WinWin 

Debut of NCT U, NCT 127 and NCT Dream. Kun is kind of a part of NCT U, as he sings (and performs) in the Chinese version.

Doyoung and Johnny host SMT. Doyoung participate in Lipstick prince.

2017

Doyoung and Johnny join 127.

April 6: Lucas

April 17: Jungwoo

2018

Lucas and Jungwoo join NCT U, later Woo joins 127.

July 17: Xiaojun, Hendery, YangYang

* Chenle, Renjun, Shotaro, Sungchan debuted without being introduced as Rookies.

Because of SR14B and SR15B everyone thought that the new group will be dance and rap oriented, but SM was lucky enough to discover Taeil and Doyoung in time. There was a third possible vocalist, but he left the company early on. 

Taeil joined SM before Doyoung (also in 2013), but I can’t find the exact date. He was better at dancing in the beginning, so he joined the older trainees, who performed on SM artists’ shows, ealier than Doyoung.

OK, so Rookies were the top-tier trainees, not the final chosen ones (many girls left, Hansol left). Their chances of debuting were pretty high, but not set in stone. Taeil said he felt like he exited a dark tunnel after his debut. 

As we can see, Taeyong, Mark and Jaehyun (joined SM in 2012) were the core members from the get go. Tae even got his own solo pre-debut and was in the centre of dance team performances on shows. Made the leader. Jae was in every dancing team and got a hosting job. Mark debuted thrice.  

Yuta (2012), Johnny (2008) and Hansol (2012?) were among the first introduced as older trainees. It’s interesting that Ten was introduced so early (he joined in 2013). Perhaps because SMRookies and later NCT targeted Thailand specifically. 

Haechan and Doyoung were introduced right before getting a job to do. Around a year after being accepted for both.  

Ten was supposed to be the core member of the Chinese unit, but its debut was delayed. To keep Ten busy he was sent on dancing shows, given two solos and a duet with Taeyong. So yes, I’d add him to the core members. He was heavily promoted. 

Doyoung and Taeil. I’d say both of them were meant to be the core members (Taeil simply didn’t fit “the 7th sense” concept). It was Taeil who was made the main vocal of 127 and he got a very pronounced make over. SM really tried with him the first three comebacks.

Taeil’s falling behind is solely his “fault”. He tried to change, to be among the first, but decided he is more content with being chill and enjoying his life without extra effort. 

Understand, to be the front idol you have to diet, to be great in dancing, have stage presence, to be entertaining, to go on multiple shows, to learn languages, etc. 

It’s still a mystery why Doyoung wasn’t in 127 from 2016. Either he was meant for the Chinese unit or SM wanted to pull of 7+2+1 scheme. Doyoung was in 127′s 1st EP actually, he sang in Switch. 

Doyoung’s MC skills and singing were recognised right away. He actually sang in 2014 (Hope, yes, it’s Jaehyun-ie who raps). He sang an OST with Key, a duo with Joy and SMstation in 2016. Like Ten, he actually was kept busy in the second half of 2016. 

Yes, SM liked him, and Do didn’t dissapoint.

Now, the interesting case is Yuta. He was promoted quite well at the very beginning. Appeared in MVs and was sent to a programme pre-debut. He was a good dancer, was cute, had good Korean. He fell behind in singing though and soon after the debut entered a depression phase, did plastic surgery that worsened his looks, didn’t give his all in dancing... He rebounced in 2018 with Regular, but it was a bit too late. Lucas, Xiaojun, Jungwoo, Shotaro joined the ranks and started to fight for the fans as well. 

Johnny was always given many opportunities (he even appeared on the recent business conference with LSM and Baekhyun), but he lacks in all skills. 

Xiaojun quickly gains experience. He shined in both MAW and My Everything. If he ups his entertainment/MCing skills, he’ll be there with Ten.

Currently, Taeyong, Mark, Haechan and Ten receive the most attention musically (Ten upgraded his singing tremendously). All of them are in several groups/fixed units and are the Aces. 

Doyoung is in a peculiar position. He is everywhere promotion and TV appearence wise, but no newer songs are centered around his voice. Same goes to Jaehyun, he is the most popular member, but “All about you” is the first song in a long time (not counting “Coming home”) that showcases his singing in full capacity. They are the support line in NCT and definetely one of the most recognised members. They are the core promotional/advertisement members. 

So to answer your question. Yes, the 7th line + Haechan are the core of NCT, but they ended up like that. Taeil and Yuta had their chance. 127′s songs still rely on Taeil as the vocal centre a lot, but it is not mandatory. Regular is an example of that.