Mark - Golden Hour (SM Station: NCT Lab)

I. Introduction

"Golden Hour" is the second solo single from Korean singer-songwriter and rapper Mark of the boy group NCT. It is the sixth single of SM Station NCT Lab and was released on April 7, 2023.

II. Background & Release

SM Station is a digital music project under SM Entertainment that involves solos or duets from members in existing SM groups, as well as opportunities for singers to experiment in other genres or collaborate with artists inside and outside of SM Entertainment. The project releases a number of singles digitally each year on digital platforms, including streaming audio like Spotify.

SM announced a new project under SM Station to focus around the boy group NCT on January 30, 2022. 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 sub-units. There are currently four sub-units: NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV and NCT U.

NCT Lab will include solo songs, self-composed tracks and sub-unit work outside of the group's albums. Mark released the first song for the project. He is one of the main rappers in NCT 127 and NCT Dream. The song was described as "hip hop with a combination of drum sounds and an impactful guitar sound." Mark also co-wrote the song. He is a prolific writer, having co-wrote over 60 songs, often for NCT units.

The song references a popular fandom meme and viral tweet about Mark struggling to cook eggs. A fan tweeted Gordon Ramsay a photo of his ruined eggs and said her boyfriend made them. Gordon joked back to get a new boyfriend. Ramsay appeared in TikToks poking fun at the joke for the song's release.

III. Tracklist

IV. Spotify

V. Videos

MV:

Teaser:

VI. Concept Photos

VII. Performance

The song reached #112 on the Korean Circle Charts and #13 on the Billboard U.S. World charts.