NCT Dream

  • I. Introduction

    NCT Dream is a Korean boy group and a rotational sub-unit of NCT. NCT is unique among K-Pop groups due to the fact that the concept of NCT is an ever expanding group with "unlimited" members and is comprised of several individual subunits. The NCT Dream sub-unit currently consists of seven members (Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung) and sings primarily in Korean. The group has also recorded in Chinese. NCT Dream has a brighter, sunnier pop sound than the other sub-units, although it has an equal emphasis on powerful and intricate dance choreography.


    Because two of the members (Mark and Haechan) are also part of another permanent NCT sub-unit, the group sometimes performs as five members when there are schedule conflicts. Fans note this distinction as 5Dream and 7Dream.


    II. Members

    Mark (마크)

    Real Name: Mark Lee (Korean name: Lee Min-hyung; in Hangul: 이민형)
    Main Rapper, Main Dancer, Sub-Vocalist
    Birthday: 8/2/99
    Zodiac Sign: Leo
    Nationality: Canadian
    NCT Emoji: 🐯
    IG: @onyourm__ark
    Weibo: @我有重要的话说
    Renjun (런쥔)

    Real Name: Huang Renjun (Chinese: 黄仁俊)
    Main Vocalist
    Birthday: 3/23/2000
    Zodiac Sign: Aries
    Nationality: Chinese
    NCT Emoji: 🦊
    IG: @yellow_3to3
    Weibo: @黄仁俊_RENJUN

    Jeno (재민)

    Real Name: Lee Jeno (제노)
    Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Visual
    Birthday: 4/23/00
    Zodiac Sign: Taurus
    Nationality: Korean
    NCT Emoji: 🐶
    IG: @leejen_o_423
    Weibo: @je_李帝努_no
    Haechan (해찬)

    Real Name: Lee Donghyuck (이동혁)
    Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer
    Birthday: 6/6/00
    Zodiac Sign: Gemini
    Nationality: Korean
    NCT Emoji: 🐻 (sometimes also ☀️)
    IG: @haechanahceah
    Weibo: @楷灿HAECHAN

    Jaemin (재민)

    Real Name: Na Jaemin (나재민)
    Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer, Center, Visual
    Birthday: 8/13/00
    Zodiac Sign: Leo
    Nationality: Korean
    NCT Emoji: 🐰
    IG: @na.jaemin0813
    Weibo: @najaemin0813_罗渽民
    Chenle (천러)

    Real Name: Zhong Chenle (钟辰乐)
    Main Vocalist
    Birthday: 11/22/2001
    Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
    Nationality: Chinese
    NCT Emoji: 🐬
    IG: @kh1000le
    Weibo :@KHCHENLE
    Jisung (지성)

    Real Name: Park Ji-sung (박지성)
    Main Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper, Maknae
    Birthday: 2/5/2002
    Zodiac Sign: Gemini
    Nationality: Korean
    NCT Emoji: 🐹
    IG: @the__and.y
    Weibo: @志晟_JISUNG


    III. Career

    IIII. 2016: Debut

    NCT Dream was announced as the third NCT sub-unit on August 18, 2016. NCT Dream was designed as a teenage boy group, with members graduating from the group once they reached adulthood (20 in Korean, 19 international age.) Five of the seven members had previously been a part of the pre-debut group SM Rookies. The Rookies team, which also included future members of NCT 127 and Red Velvet, performed in live performances and variety shows, with the future NCT Dream members appearing as cast members on "The Mickey Mouse Club."


    Prior to their debut as NCT Dream, many members appeared in an ongoing NCT reality show, NCT Life, throughout April-June 2016 in its first season, NCT Life in Bangkok, focusing on their journey to debut in NCT, as well as competing in competitions and events.


    Chinese singers Chenle and Renjun are two of only four members in NCT who did not participate in SM Rookies. Chenle was the last member to be added just five months prior to debut.


    NCT Dream debuted on August 24, 2016 with "Chewing Gum." At the time of debut, members ranged in age from 14 to 17, including the youngest male SM Rookie, Jisung. "Chewing Gum" reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard World Digital Songs Chart, #23 on the Spotify Viral 50 chart and #12 on Billboard China, as well as charting on Gaon Digital.


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    Members also sang and danced in popular and iconic performances on hoverboards.


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    IIIII. 2017: The First, FIFA Under 20 World Cup and We Young

    NCT Dream released its first single album The First on February 9, 2017, featuring the previously released "Chewing Gum" as well as two new songs. Due to an injury and herniated disc, Jaemin took a temporary medical hiatus from the group and did not participate in any of these promotions. The First debuted at #1 on the Gaon Album Charts in Korea. The album also included Chinese versions of "My First and Last" and "Chewing Gum," as well a cover of a popular song "Dunk Shot." The lead single "My First and Last" charted on Gaon, as well as reaching #9 on Billboard China and #11 on U.S. Billboard World.


    In the same month, NCT Dream were also appointed as official ambassadors for the 2017 FIFA Under 20 World Cup and performed a special song, "Trigger the Fever" tied into the event.



    Members returned to a new season of NCT Life, built around the Dream members. NCT Life: Entertainment Retreat followed the members as they learned variety show skills and competed in competitions with their seniors at SM, Super Junior's Leeteuk and Shindong.


    NCT Dream released its first EP, We Young, on August 17, 2017. This release and promotion also did not include the recuperating Jaemin. The album contained "Trigger the Fever," while the lead single "We Young" appeared in Korean and Chinese versions. The release debuted at #2 on the Gaon Charts and reached #3 on U.S. World albums, while also charting in France. The single "We Young" reached #14 on Chinese Billboard and #11 on U.S. Billboard World Songs charts.


    In December 2017, the group released a holiday single "Joy" as part of season 2 of SM's digital station project.



    IIIIII. 2018: NCT Empathy and We Go Up

    Jaemin returned from injury and NCT Dream participated during the NCT 2018 project on March 14, 2018, featuring all NCT members, and debuting three new ones. This project also included the first NCT full album, NCT 2018 Empathy. The album featured songs from all three existing NCT sub-units at the time, including the rotating combination sub-unit NCT U and the two other sub-units, NCT 127 and NCT Dream. NCT Dream had one song ""Go" featured on the albums, and NCT Dream members participated within the NCT U units for "Boss," "Yestoday", "Black on Black," and "The 7th Sense." They are also dancers in "Black on Black," with Jisung, Mark, Haechan and Jeno having featured dance portions in the video.


    Empathy debuted at #2 on the Gaon Album Charts, as well as reaching #5 on U.S. World albums and charting in France, Japan, Netherlands and the U.K. "Go" reached #18 on the U.S. Billboard World Songs chart.

    On August 27, it was announced that the upcoming NCT Dream EP, We Go Up, would be Mark's last, as he was graduating from NCT Dream due to his age. This would reduce NCT Dream to 6 members after promotions were complete. The EP was released on September 3, 2018 and debuted at #1 on the Gaon charts, eventually being certified platinum. It reached #5 in the U.S., as well as charting in Japan and the U.K. The lead single "We Go Up" charted on Gaon and reached #11 on U.S. Billboard World Songs.


    NCT Dream was the only Asian artist featured on U.S. Billboard's "21 Under 21 2018: Music's Next Generation" list, and was also named Time magazine's 25 Most Influential Teens of 2018.


    On December 19, Haechan was forced to take a hiatus due to injury. The group released a holiday single "Candle Light" on December 27 as part of season 3 of the SM Station project, which was the last to feature Mark.

    IIIIV. 2019: We Boom and first tour

    In July 2019, NCT Dream were named the first global ambassadors of the World Scout Foundation and recorded a single "Fireflies" to support Scout activities in low-income counties. They also performed at the World Scout Jamboree.


    On July 26, the group released its third EP, We Boom. It became NCT Dream's second platinum album, selling over 300,000 copies in the first month and debuting at #1 on the Gaon charts. It also reached #7 on the U.S. World charts, #3 on Billboard Social 50 chart and #16 on the Japanese Oricon charts. The EP would become the best selling NCT release (by any sub-unit) until that point. The EP also earned Bonsang awards at the Golden Disc Awards and Seoul Music Awards. The lead single "Boom" charted on Gaon and reached #6 on the U.S. World charts.

    In September, the group was again included in Billboard's 21 Under 21 list, becoming the first Asian artists to be named consecutively.


    In November and December, the group began their first international concert tour, The Dream Show, in Seoul and Bangkok.


    During the year, the group released two collaborations: "Don't Need Your Love" with English singer HRVY for SM Station and "Up to You" with PrettyMuch.


    IIIV. 2020: NCT Resonance and Reload

    The COVID-19 pandemic halted Dream's touring schedule. In April 2020, SM announced that following the release of NCT Dream's fourth EP Reload, the group's graduation concept would be dropped. Mark will rejoin NCT Dream and they will promote as a special unit similar to NCT U. A day before release, Reload already had 500,000 preorders. The album debuted at #1 on the iTunes chart in 49 countries, including the U.S., as well as topping the Chinese QQ chart. It also debuted at the top of the Gaon charts, #2 on Oricon charts in Japan and #7 on U.S. Billboard World charts. The lead single "Ridin" became the first NCT single of unit to reach #1 on Melon. It also reached #17 on Gaon and #18 on U.S. Billboard World. Four other songs off the EP also charted on Gaon.


    The following month, NCT Dream hosted its first online concert as part of the Beyond Live concert series. The group also released a live album of its concert tour.


    NCT Dream participated in the NCT 2020 project in October 2020, featuring all NCT members, and debuting two new ones. This project also included a 2-part NCT full album, NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1 and NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 2. Members of NCT Dream appear in the NCT U combination units on multiple song, as well as releasing their own, "Deja Vu." As part of the Resonance event, sub-units appeared across NCT performances during year-end shows, with each sub-unit featuring one of their songs. For NCT Dream, they performed "Ridin." The entire project also appeared on NCT World 2.0, a competition-focused show. Mark made his first performance with NCT Dream in 2 years on the Resonance track "Deja Vu" and also performed with the group as part of the NCT World 2.0 series.


    The two Resonance albums became top sellers for the year and multi-platinum, debuting at the top of the Gaon and U.S. Billboard World Album charts.

    IIIVI. 2021: First album and repackage, NCT 2021

    On May 10, 2021, the group released its first album, Hot Sauce. Fans had been clamoring for a full album and pre-orders reached over 1.7 million copies. The album debuted at #1 on the Korean Gaon Album Charts, with its songs charting on all the digital charts (Genie, Flo, Melon). The album also topped the Chinese QQ charts and iTunes charts in 37 regions, including the United States. Within 1 week, the album had surpassed more than 1,000,000 copies sold on the Hanteo charts, becoming the first SM album to accomplish this in its first week. Additionally, it became the second biggest streaming boy group album launch under SM on the global Spotify charts. The title song debuted at #189 on Spotify's global charts, becoming NCT Dream's first song to do so. The lead single "Hot Sauce" became the group's first #1 on the Gaon Digital chart. The album went on to sell over 2 million copies as of June 2021, becoming only the second artist to do with a single album in South Korea. It also set a record for most copies sold in SM Entertainment, although the record was broken a few months later by fellow NCT sub-unit, NCT 127. The album was certified as a 2x million seller.


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    Members also participated in two shows, 7Illin in the Dream on You Tube and Boys Mental Training Camp on Waave as part of the comeback.


    NCT Dream also partnered with children's programming Pinkfong (of "Baby Shark" fame) for promotions around Children's Day, including a version of "Dino ABC" and animated versions of "Hot Sauce" in Korean and English.


    On June 28, NCT Dream released a repackage of Hot Sauce, Hello Future, which included 3 new songs. Hello Future also reached #1 on the Gaon albums chart, and charted in four other countries. During its first day of sales, it reached the highest sales for a repackaged album in Hanteo history, surpassing 500,000. It also become the second highest first week sales of a repackaged album. It was later certified a million seller. Its lead single reached #6 on the Gaon charts and #17 on the U.S. Billboard World song charts.


    Between the two albums, NCT Dream became the youngest triple-million seller in Korean history.


    NCT Dream participated in the NCT 2021 project in December 2021, featuring all active NCT members at the time. This project also included a NCT full album, NCT 2021 Universe. Like previous all-unit albums, each fixed unit has its own song on the album: NCT Dream's song was "Dreaming." The seven active members also participated in various NCT U units on songs, as well as the all-member song "Beautiful on the album.


    In December, the group became the first NCT unit to win a top 10 Melon Music Award for "Hot Sauce."


    IIIVII. 2022: Awards and Second Album

    NCT Dream started the year winning awards: the Gaon Chart Music Awards Album of the Year 2nd Quarter for Hot Sauce as well as Top Kit Seller. They also won a Bonsang and the Best Album Award for "Hot Sauce" at the Seoul Music Awards.


    NCT Dream's second album Glitch Mode released on March 28, 2022, supported by a second season of 7Illin in the Dream, 7Illin' In Our Youth. Chenle suffered an injury during preparations and had to limit his participation in the choreography, although he appeared seated on stage during their promotional performances. Glitch Mode was again a double million seller, breaking the group's own records, including 2 million in preorders and selling over 1.2 million copies in only 4 days, making the group only the third to pass 1 million Hanteo sales in the first week of release. It also charted for the first time in the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The album also earned a Daesang for Best Album at the 2022 Genie Music Awards.


    NCT Dream also partnered again with Pinkfong for a children's song and kids' version of their title track.


    The repackage, Beatbox, was released on May 30, 2022, becoming the most pre-ordered album in SM history at the time with 1.4 million preorders and becoming a triple million seller. NCT Dream became the first act to reach 1M+ pre-orders on two albums in 2022.


    The album recorded 840,000 copies sold in its first week, ranking second in all-time repackage album sales in K-pop history. It was certified a million seller by Hanteo within the first week of release for 1.4 million copies sold. It also was certified as Double Platinum by QQ Music in China. The album also debuted at #1 on the Korean Circle (Gaon) chart, #2 on the Japanese Hot 100 chart and #9 on the Billboard US World chart.


    The group also embarked on its second tour, The Dream Show 2: In a Dream, including shows at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium and Osaka's Kyocera Dome.


    NCT Dream released its first movie, a concert movie following the tour in September 2022, called NCT Dream The Movie: In a Dream.


    In December, NCT Dream released its first winter album, Candy. Boosted by the lead single, a remake of a popular H.O.T. song, the album debuted with over 2 million preorders. It broke the record NCT Dream had previously set with Glitch Mode as the fastest SM album to hit 1 million in sales on Hanteo and making the group the only artist to release three million-selling albums in 2022. The total also made it the eighth highest first week sales in Hanteo history.


    The album and song both debuted at the top of the Circle chart, with all of the songs charting. The song also had a notable accomplishment on the Korean Melon streaming charts, becoming the first SM artist to enter the top 5 since 2017. "Candy" remains the longest charting NCT single in the top 100 on the Melon charts. The album also hit #1 on iTunes album charts in 16 regions, as well as reaching #1 on China's QQ Music charts and earning a platinum certification.


    IIIVIII. 2023: Tour in Americas and 3rd Album

    NCT Dream continued its Dream Show 2 tour with dates in countries it had previously not toured, including North and Latin America. Haechan took a temporary medical hiatus during promotions for his other group, NCT 127, ahead of NCT Dream's American legs but returned for the shows.


    In February, the group released its first Japanese single, "Best Friend Ever," which topped the Japanese charts and was certified Platinum by the RIAJ. It also released an English version of "Beatbox" ahead of its American stops.


    In July, NCT Dream released its third album, ISTJ, shattering the company's record with 4.1 million in sales. It became the third highest selling album in its first week in South Korea, selling 3.6 million copies. It debuted at #1 in the Korean Circle charts. It also became NCT Dream's highest charting album in the Billboard 200 chart at #28 and longest charting at 3 weeks. It debuted at #3 in the US World albums charts and #2 on the Japanese Oricon charts. It was certified 3X Million, while the NEMO version was certified 2x Platinum (550K) and the SMC Platinum (250K).


    In August-September, NCT Dream participated in the NCT Nation concerts, a series of concerts that featured all the NCT units in a 5-hour concert with over 40 songs. Members appeared in the rotational NCT U units during the show, as well as with the entire group in stages and with their own songs as NCT Dream.


    IV. Discography

    V. Singles

    VI. Videography

    VII. Awards and Nominations

    VIII. Concept Photos

    IX. Trivia

    - Fans call the members "Dreamies" while the fans are called Dreamzens.

    - Many of the older members of other NCT units, like 127 and WayV, have known Dream since they were children and still treat them like younger brothers, including purchasing meals for them.

    - The maknae line of WayV, as well as Sungchan and Shotaro (members added in the 2020 Resonance event) are actually the same age as the Dream members.

    - Haechan and Mark are also both in NCT 127, where they are the maknae line. Mark is the oldest in Dream and second youngest in 127. Haechan is in the middle in Dream and the maknae of 127.

    - SM released a video using the audio from NCT's MAMA performance that captures the journey of the members through their career.


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    - During the first season of 7Illin in the Dream and in the Past segment of promotions for Hello Future, members talked about the challenges of debuting at a young age.

    - NCT Dream broke records for repackage sales for the Hello Future album, setting a new record for first day and sales and moving into second on first week sales.

    - Hot Sauce became the highest selling album in SM Entertainment history until the record was topped by NCT 127 in September with Sticker.

    - NCT Dream became only the second group to sell more than 2 million copies of one album and the first SM artist and NCT unit to do so.

    - NCT Dream became the youngest group to reach the triple-million seller status in Kpop.

    - NCT Dream was the first NCT unit to win on Inkigayo.

    - NCT Dream was the first unit to win a Bonsang at the Melon Music Awards.

    - Dreamzens make reference to OT7 when speaking of original members; OT6 refers to the years Mark was not in the group; OT5 refers to the group performing without Mark and Haechan when their schedules with NCT 127 conflict.

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