I. Introduction
질주 (2 Baddies) is the fourth full Korean studio album from the permanent NCT sub-unit, NCT 127. It was released on September 16, 2022 with the title track "질주 (2 Baddies)."
II. Background & Release
After the release of their best-selling, award-winning third album Sticker, NCT 127 released a repackage, Favorite, and participated in the NCT all-unit event Universe. The group structure of 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 it is comprised of several individual subunits. Currently there are 23 members in NCT, making up four individual subunits. The sub-units combine to create an all-unit project in select years that features all NCT members, debuts new ones, releases albums, appears on TV shows, web and social content.
NCT 127 embarked on their second world tour Neo City: The Link during Universe promotions. Continuing impact from the COVID-19 pandemic limited tour dates and locations and created complexity throughout the tour. However, the group completed a successful sold-out tour of Japanese domes.
Between dates on the tour, the group's fourth Korean studio album was announced on August 8, 2022. The title and release date were confirmed on August 18.
The song contains 12 songs primarily in Korean. There were three versions: 2 Photobook versions - Faster and 2 Baddies; and a digipack and a deluxe box. As with their past albums, the Photobook version had a special version with different inclusions for the American retail store, Target.
Long-time collaborators like Dem Jointz, Ryan Jhun, Yoo Young-Jin, Kenzie, Junny and IMLAY wrote and produced songs for the album. However, after multiple tt from Dem Jointz and/or Kenzie, the tt was produced by a new group of collaborators, although Dem Jointz and Kenzie songs do also appear on the album. As with past NCT 127 releases, Taeyong and Mark wrote many of their own raps, earning co-songwriting credits, although they have fewer credits on this album than past ones. K-hip hop artists Sokodomo and Xinsayne co-wrote the lyrics to the title track. Other producers like Cutfather, PhD and Paul Blanco also produced songs for the album.
The album was further supported by a robust promotional campaign, including an extensive campaign debuting a fictional nightclub with a theme of Neo Seoul Nights, promotions tied in the street racing theme of the album including a NCT 127 Street pop-up in Seoul, a new reality show Fill It Up, similar to the Sticker counterpart Stick Together, as well as a live-streamed live showcase show. The release was also supported with a pair of North American tour dates in the Neo City: The Link tour, which sold out in less than an hour.
Multiple last-minute changes and issues also impacted the release. The MV release was adjusted at the last minute to release a day earlier than the album, while the initial digipack versions had an error (a photo missing a group member) and had to be recalled in the first week of release, creating delays.
The group promoted the title track "2 Baddies" on Korean music shows with the b-side "Faster." The group debuted the two songs live in the Neo City: The Link tour during their American dates, as well on promotions on American TV shows. They then debuted the other b-sides during their special two-night show Neo City: The Link+ in Seoul's Jamsil Olympic Stadium. The group then released the live performance of the b-side "Gold Dust" as a thank you to the fans. During the performance, a fan project created a sea of golden lights for the group as a surprise during the song.
III. Tracklist
| Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Faster" | Lee Song (VERY GOODS), Sahara (Joombas) | Mich Hansen,Rasmus Hedegaard, Balance | Cutfather, Rasmus Hedegaard | 2:50 |
| "질주 (2 Baddies)" | Sokodomo, Haeil, Xinsayne | Aron Bergerwall, Louise Lindberg, Tony Ferrari, Parker James, Moa "Cazzi Opeia" Carlebecker (Sunshine), Ellen Berg (Sunshine) | Aron Wyme, IMLAY | 3:50 |
| "Time Lapse" | Jeong Ha-ri (Joombas), Taeyong, Mark | Dem Jointz, Young Chance | Dem Jointz | 3:35 |
| "Crash Landing" | Kenzie | Kenzie, IMLAY, Junny | Kenzie, IMLAY | 3:24 |
| "Designer" | Kim Jae-won, Taeyong, Mark | Corron Cole, James Bunton, Aaron Aye, Dem Jointz, Ryan S. Jhun | No Past, No Future, Ryan Jhun, Dem Jointz | 3:57 |
| "Gold Dust" | Lee Chae-young | Mozilla, Nick Bradley, Stuart Crichton, Paul Blanco | Stuart Crichton, Paul Blanco | 4:09 |
| "Black Clouds" | Oh Hyun-sen (Lalala Studio) | Rokman (The Hello Group), Lauren Dyson (The Hello Group), Sean Fischer (Honua) | Rokman, Sean Fischer | 3:38 |
| "Playback" | Lee Chang-hyuk | Oneye, Andreas Oberg, Johan Gustafsson | Oneye, Johan Gustafsson | 3:12 |
| "Tasty" | Jo Yoon-kyung | Teodor Herrrgardh, Rebecca Sjoberg, Gustav Nilsson, Moa "Cazzi Opeia" Carlebecker (Sunshine), Ellen Berg (Sunshine) | Teodor Herrrgardh, Rebecca Sjoberg, Gustav Nilsson | 3:34 |
| "Vitamin" | Kim Ye-in | Jacob Attwooll, Jon Eyden, Eben | Jacob Attwooll | 3:04 |
| "LOL (Laugh-Out-Loud)" | Lee Hye-yoom | Fabian Torsson, Harry Sommerdahl, Albin Nordqvist | Fabian Torsson, Harry Sommerdahl, Albin Nordqvist | 3:39 |
| "1, 2, 7 (Time Stops)" | Park Seong-Hee | Peter Wallevik (PhD), Daniel Davidsen (PhD), Iain James | PhD | 3:36 |
IV. Spotify Playlist
V. Videos
질주 (2 Baddies)
VI. Concept Photos
VII. Reception
Despite production errors and delays, the album broke SM's sales record by selling more albums in its first week than any album in SM history with 1,547,595 copies. At the time, it was #7 in all-time Hanteo sales and placed them third for best-selling artists of all time in first week sales. It debuted at #2 on the Hanteo, Circle, Oricon and United World charts and #3 on the U.S. Billboard charts, making them only the second kpop group in history to land three albums in Billboard's top 5.
The album charted in 13 countries outside of Korea, including reaching #3 on the Australian charts, one of the few Kpop groups to do so. It also debuted at #2 on the worldwide iTunes album chart and in the top 3 for over 14 regions around the world.
The album went on to sell over 2 million copies and make them only the second kpop group in history to have 3 different albums chart on the Billboard 200 for 6 weeks each.
The title track "2 Baddies" reached #8 on the Gaon/Circle charts. It also reached #11 on the Japanese Hot 100 chart and #45 on the Billboard US World Songs chart. "2 Baddies" also reached #5 on the Hot Trending Songs chart. "Gold Dust" reached #19 on the same chart. 6 of the b-sides also charted on Circle: "Faster" at #129, "Crash Landing" at #188, "Designer" at #167, "Gold Dust" at #111, "Black Clouds" at #157 and "LOL (Laugh Out Loud)" at #191.
"2 Baddies" was named as one of Teen Vogue, Rolling Stone and Dazed magazine's best Kpop songs of the year. Teen Vogue also named "Time Lapse" and "Designer" in their best Kpop songs of the year.
