SM Entertainment would soon debut a Japanese sub-unit, called "NCT Tokyo," according to a media outlet.
Keep on reading for more details.
NCT Tokyo? SM Entertainment Reported to Debut Japanese Boy Group
On May 30, the Korean media outlet JoongAng Ilbo mentioned in their article that SM Entertainment is planning to launch a Japanese boy group, which will be another subunit of NCT. To date, NCT has four subunits: NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream, and WayV.
According to the news outlet, the group would be named "NCT Tokyo" and will, of course, be active in Japan as soon as they debuted. JoongAng Ilbo, however, didn't specify if the agency has started scouting trainees to be the members of the subunit, or when the new boy group will debut.
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SM Entertainment first teased the formation of NCT's new sub-units in December 2018. The agency's A&R Producer Chris Lee revealed the possibilities of launching NCT Japan, NCT Thailand, NCT Hollywood, and NCT Africa.
In late 2020, two new members were added to NCT, namely Shotaro (Japanese) and Sungchan (Korean). It is said that Sungchan has been studying Japanese. Because of these, many fans speculated that an NCT Japan unit will soon debut.
READ MORE: DUSTIN to Re-Debut with 20 Members and the Same System as NCT
Fans became more excited when Sungchan revealed through Star News in January 2021 that a new unit will come out that year together with the other NCT teams. However, SM Entertainment did not release an official statement regarding that, and no new NCT sub-unit has made their debut until now.
Additionally, the latest NCT members Shotaro and Sungchan still don't have their own sub-unit. But, the two did participate in NCT's 2020 comeback with their albums "RESONANCE Pt. 1" and "RESONANCE Pt. 2."
Are you excited about NCT Tokyo? Do you think Shotaro and Sungchan are among the members?
NCT's Latest Group Comeback With "Universe"
In other news, NCT made a comeback as a full group (with all 23 members) in December 2021 with their third studio album titled "Universe." The 13-track album includes the title songs "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" and "Beautiful."
On the day of its release, "Universe" exceeded 1.7 million stock pre-orders, breaking their previous record of 1.1 million pre-orders achieved by their 2020 album "RESONANCE."
NCT's "Universe" impressively sold more than 933,000 copies in just the first week of its release, while it had more than 1.6 million sales in the first month in South Korea alone. The full album sold almost two million copies by the end of 2021.
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For the week ending on Jan. 1, 2022, "Universe" debuted inside the top 20 on Billboard 200, becoming the group's second album as a group to enter the chart (following "RESONANCE Pt. 1"). It spent four weeks on the tally until the week ending on Jan. 22.
The studio album also debuted on iTunes Album chart in various countries. It ranked first in at least 30 different regions as of Dec. 14, 2021. It also placed first on Korean album charts such as Hanteo, Synnara, and Hot Tracks.
NCT's "Universe" was even certified platinum by China's QQ music after reaching one million album sales.
Meanwhile, NCT U's "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" won three trophies on different music shows.
Check out NCT's "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" music video here!
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Written by Maria Scott
