K-pop boy band NCT 127 had a very enjoyable and memorable night as they performed before Filipino fans in their first stadium concert in the country.
NCT 127 (엔시티 127) held their concert “3rd Tour: Neo City-The Unity” on Jan. 21 at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Ciudad de Victoria in Bulacan, drawing thousands of fans who were there early just to see their idols.
This was also their first stadium concert since launching their “Unity” tour in November in Seoul. They were the second international act to use the Philippine Sports Stadium for a concert.
When NCT 127’s Taeyong, Jaehyun, Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung, Jungwoo, Mark, and Haechan emerged on stage, fans could not stop screaming with delight.
They started the show with “Punch” followed by “Superhuman,” “Ay-Yo,” “Crash Landing,” “Space” and “Time Lapse.”
“Did you guys miss us? Did you guys miss us a lot? We got the moon up there. We got the stars down here,” said Johnny.
Haechan said, “It’s been a long time since we came here. Did you guys miss us? Did you guys really miss us?”
“Manila, missed you guys. It’s incredible to perform here,” said Mark.
Jaehyun said, “Long time no see, everyone.. Did you miss us? I missed you a lot too. We did a rehearsal this morning and the sky was amazing but the night time with you guys is even better. I love the breeze, I love the vibe.”
Back in September 2022, NCT 127 held their first ever group concert in the Philippines, the “NCT 127 2nd Tour Neo City-Manila: The Link,” at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Magandang gabi (Good evening),” said Taeyong. “It’s been a long time, right? We really, really missed you guys. We finally made it.”
Yuta said, “The show is just one day. So you have to use up all your energy tonight, okay?”
“Kamusta kayo? (How are you?),” Jungwoo asked the crowd. “I’m so happy to actually perform here after a long time.”
Doyoung said, “I missed you guys so much.”
Before the concert, a plane carrying a sky banner, a fan project, flew around the stadium with the message “PH Doppu always with Doyoung.”
Who Is NCT 127?
NCT 127 is the second sub-unit of NCT. They debuted on July 7, 2016 on M Countdown with their debut stage for “Firetruck”, the title track from their first mini album, NCT #127, which was released on July 10. The number 127 refers to the longitude for Seoul, where they are based.
On January 6, 2017, the group made a comeback with two new members, Johnny and Doyoung. On September 17, 2018, Jungwoo was announced as a new member of the unit.
On July 1, SM Entertainment announced that NCT would be having their second sub-unit under the name NCT 127, with the numbers representing the longitude of Seoul, South Korea. On the same day, they released teaser pictures for the first two members, Haechan and Yuta. The following day they released pictures for the next two members, Winwin and Taeyong. Finally on July 3, they released pictures of the last three members, Jaehyun, Mark, and Taeil. On the same day, they released the debut date of their album, July 10. On July 6 at midnight KST, the newly formed sub-unit shared a teaser for their first music video “Fire Truck”. The track was supposed to be released on July 7, 12 A.M. KST but was postponed to 12 p.m. KST. Finally the single “Firetruck” was released on July 7, the song was described as a song with a fusion genre including hip-hop, trap, and Moombahton aspects. A powerful bass and rhythmical percussion contribute to a cheerful atmosphere which is aimed to relieve listeners of stress from their busy schedules. The group then made their first music show appearance on Mnet’s M Countdown performing “Firetruck” and “Once Again”, the B-Side of the album. The album, NCT #127 was finally released on July 10, with the album topping multiple charts and ranking number one on multiple iTunes charts in six different countries. Later on July 26, it was announced that NCT 127 would be releasing a single via SM STATION as their 25th artist. On July 29 at midnight KST, NCT 127 dropped their new song “Taste the Feeling”, which was a collaboration with the soft drink company Coca-Cola. The track is the Korean version of the company’s theme song of the same name, and was used as part of the company’s international marketing campaign in 2016.
On December 26, the group released a new video teaser for their upcoming comeback through the 2016 SBS Gayo Daejun. The video featured the addition of two more members, Doyoung and Johnny, and released teasers for Haechan on the same day. Mark’s teasers were released the next day, then Taeyong the following day, followed by Doyoung, Yuta, and Taeil.
2017: NCT #127 Limitless, NCT #127 Cherry Bomb
On January 1, they continued the teasers with WinWin, and finally Jaehyun and Johnny on the following next two days. On January 5 at midnight KST, they released two music videos, both for the title track “Limitless” from their second mini album of the same name. One is entitled a ‘rough version’ while the other is a ‘performance version’. With their comeback on Mnet’s M! Countdown on the same day. The group’s album, NCT #127 Limitless was released on the next day digitally, with the physical album coming out on January 9. The album was a commercial success, topping multiple charts in various countries, eventually managing to grab #1 on Billboard’s World album charts.
NCT 127 NCT -127 Cherry Bomb group teaser
Promo for NCT #127 Cherry Bomb
On May 25, it was reported that NCT would be making a comeback as the group was seen in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea for a music video shoot which was confirmed by SM Entertainment later. On June 5 at midnight KST, they released their first teaser photo, which features what appears to be the cloud of an explosion of cherries. It was later announced that their upcoming third mini album would be titled NCT #127 Cherry Bomb and was set to be released on June 14 at 6 p.m. KST. On June 7, a set of teaser photos for Taeyong, WinWin, and Doyoung was released for their upcoming comeback; The excitement for their comeback was so high that the group’s official website crashed. They also released three videos on Instagram that were cartoon versions of members Doyoung, Taeyong, and WinWin dancing while wearing hats that looked like “cherry bombs”.The next day, at midnight KST, the group shared three teaser photos for each of their members Haechan, Jaehyun, and Yuta, also with videos of them cartoonified. They also updated their website to include interactive content. Eventually, the final teasers for Mark, Taeil, and Johnny were released with cartoonified versions of them posted as well. On June 10, group teaser photos were shared, along with a message from Mark, Taeil, and Doyoung about the comeback on their Instagram. The first music video teaser clip was revealed on June 11, while the second one was released on June 12. On June 14, the group released their album NCT #127 Cherry Bomb with the title track of the same name. The song was described as having a heavy hip hop beat, with members Taeyong and Mark taking part as lyricists for the rap parts of the title track and four other songs on the album. Most notably was Tony Testa’s contribution to the choreography of the song. The group held their showcase on the same day.
2018: NCT 2018 project, addition of Jungwoo and NCT #127 Regular-Irregular, Japanese debut with Chain and “Touch”
On March 11, a preview for the NCT 127 song “Touch” was released. The song was the fourth music video to be released as part of NCT 2018’s Empathy album which also featured songs from the other sub-units of NCT. The music video for “Touch” was then released on March 13 and earned a win on the Show.
NCT 127 debuted in Japan with the mini album Chain on May 23.
Their first Japanese single, “Touch”, was released on October 4.
2019: “Let’s Shut Up & Dance”, Awaken, NCT #127 We Are Superhuman, “Highway to Heaven”
The collaboration single “Let’s Shut Up & Dance”, was released on February 22.
The group’s first Japanese studio album Awaken, was released on April 17.
On May 24, NCT 127 released their fourth mini album, NCT #127 We Are Superhuman, with “Superhuman” as the title track. An English version of the pre-release track, “Highway to Heaven”, was released on July 18.
2020: “First Love”, NCT #127 Neo Zone, NCT #127 Neo Zone: The Final Round
On January 27, NCT 127 released their second Japanese single “First Love”; They also released the music video for their gift song “Dreams Come True”. The release marked the return of Jungwoo after he’d been on a hiatus since August 2019 due to health issues. It was confirmed later that day the group would be releasing their second full-length album titled NCT #127 Neo Zone on March 6.
On April 7, a repackage album titled NCT #127 Neo Zone: The Final Round, was confirmed. It was later announced that the album would be released on May 19.
2021: Loveholic, “Save”, Sticker, Favorite
NCT 127 released their second Japanese mini album, Loveholic, on February 17.
On May 28, NCT 127 and Amoeba Culture announced their collaboration single, “Save”, to be released on June 4.
On July 7, through their online fan meeting “OFFICE : Foundation Day” in celebration of their fifth anniversary, NCT 127 announced they would be returning with a full-length studio album in September. A first video teaser was released on August 21, hinting at a university/college concept. On August 23, the group announced their third album, Sticker, would be released on September 17.
On October 8, the group announced a repackage album titled Favorite, which was released on October 25.
2022: 2 Baddies
On August 8, a source from SM Entertainment confirmed that NCT 127 is preparing for a new album in September. On August 19, the group announced their fourth album, 2 Baddies, which was released on September 16.
2023: Ay-Yo, Haechan’s hiatus, Johnny’s and Taeil’s hiatus, Fact Check, “Be There For Me”
On December 7, 2022, Sports DongA reported that NCT 127 would be making a comeback with a repackaged album in January 2023. SM Entertainment later confirmed the reports. On December 26, 2022, SM Entertainment announced that they will return with the repackage album titled Ay-Yo, set to be released on January 30.
On January 6, SM Entertainment released a statement stating that Haechan will be taking a break from promotions to receive treatment and recover his health due to experiencing abnormal conditions (heart palpitations, chest tightness, etc). On January 27, SM Entertainment gave an updated statement regarding Haechan and revealed that his condition has improved and that he will be returning to activities starting with NCT’s comeback with Ay-Yo.
On May 24, SM Entertainment announced that the group will be releasing their fifth full-length album in October as well as a special album in December.
On June 12, SM Entertainment released a statement stating that Johnny will be taking a break from activities due to a right shoulder injury.
On August 15, SM Entertainment announced that Taeil had suffered a left thigh fracture due to a motorcycle accident, and will be taking a hiatus from group activities.
On August 26, during their 2023 NCT Concert – NCT Nation : To The World, the group announced their fifth album, Fact Check, set to be released on October 6.
On October 16, NCT 127 announced their third tour, NCT 127 3rd Tour: Neo City – The Unity, which will begin on November 17 to 19 in Seoul.
Through SM Entertainment’s 3Q23 earning release, it was revealed that NCT 127 will be releasing a single in December. Additionally, the group will go on an Asian tour in early 2024. On December 7, NCT 127 announced that they will release their first special single “Be There For Me” on December 22.
