Exclusive: NCT 127 Reflects On 10th Anniversary, How They’ve Changed, World Tour, And More At “BLINGY” Press Conference

NCT 127 is gearing ready for their highly-anticipated comeback!

On August 24, NCT 127 held a press conference for the release of their seventh studio album “BLINGY” in celebration of their 10th debut anniversary.

Summarizing this comeback, Taeyong remarked, “In our album, there’s the Seoul map and NEO colors. It captures the meaning of wanting to return to our roots. Since two members are not here right now, we worked hard to prepare so that the album doesn’t appear to be lacking in any way.”

Reflecting on the “Blingy” title track, Jaehyun remarked, “The meaning of ‘Blingy’ is that we set out to find something ‘Blingy,’ but the song contains the meaning that what’s ‘Blingy’ is actually within us.” Johnny emphasized that the choreography for “Blingy”—which Taeyong participated in making—is more difficult than ever before, once again bringing up their return to their roots. Jaehyun remarked on the importance of picking a title track that best showcases the group’s identity.

Furthermore, the music video for “Blingy” is filmed with fast cut edits. Jaehyun remarked, “There’s a scene where Haechan bends to write something, and he walked like that for three minutes.”

Regarding the pre-release track “Piñata,” Yuta shared, “‘Piñata’ is a powerful song. The first time we heard it, we couldn’t help but rock our heads.”

Jaehyun introduced “127 Million Miles,” saying, “It’s a song that has a lot of cute points. Even when apart from Czennies (NCTzens), we’re always together,” mentioning that fans will be able to hear the familiar voices of Doyoung and Jungwoo, who participated in recording the song ahead of their military enlistment.

NCT 127 also took time to answer questions about their comeback. Touching upon the group’s contract renewal, Taeyong remarked, “I really think it’s worth celebrating. We trusted each other and the company, and we all renewed,” adding their resolve to become even stronger as NCT 127.

Reflecting on how different their original vision for the group 10 years in the future is from their current selves, Taeyong candidly replied, “When we debuted, I pictured all of us together. But a lot of member changes happened, and there was a period of time I felt hurt, and I had a difficult time adjusting. Now there are seven members, and we want to replay the memories we’ve made with fans. Since our members reunited for the first time in a while, we relied on each other even more.”

Regarding Mark’s departure from NCT, Taeyong shared, “Personally, I respect that. He worked so hard for the past 10 years partaking in two teams. I really want to cheer him on. As our paths are different, I want to respect that.”

On their most memorable moment in 10 years, Jaehyun remarked, “What I thought we did best [over the years] is that we are a group that takes on a lot of new challenges.” Taeyong added, “For me, when we shined the brightest were our albums.”

With their upcoming tour “NEO CITY – THE REDLINE,” Johnny remarked, “While doing a lot of concerts, we heard the title ‘God of Performance’ a lot. We want to maintain that. Like Doyoung said, we won’t do stages that aren’t cool.” Haechan wittily remarked, “This album and ‘THE REDLINE’ concert are limited edition. It’s only now that you can see the five of us like this.”

Jaehyun briefly remarked that a benefit of having five members is that preparation time goes by really quickly. “We’ve done performances with up to 20 people, and the hair and makeup [preparations] are really fast with just five people.”

When asked to summarize the past 10 years in one word, Yuta shared, “That’s really hard to summarize in one word. But I want to say we’ve done a good job so that we can come to this point of renewal.” Haechan picked the phrase “my way” to describe how NCT 127 has walked their own unique path.

Regarding Doyoung and Jungwoo, Taeyong shared, “Everytime we filmed, they sent coffee trucks or snack trucks. They brought bread while we practiced and came to cut their hair. They weren’t able to participate, but we felt like we were together.” Adding how they communicated through a group chat, Taeyong shared, “They gave their opinions on what they thought was good and bad.”

Joking about the difficulty of the performance, Taeyong confidently added, “Personally, I didn’t have a hard time.” Johnny added, “When he danced ‘Blingy’ in front of us, he was dry when he started but by the end, he was soaking wet.” Taeyong replied, “I wanted to say my stamina improved since I was in the military.”

Near the end of the press conference, the members took the time to each share their favorite B-side track. Haechan picked “Legacy,” while Jaehyun mentioned, “Someone else will pick ‘Piñata,’ so I like ‘Day After Day.’ It’s good to listen to at the end of a day.” As mentioned by Jaehyun, Taeyong went on to pick “Piñata,” while Yuta picked their title track “Blingy.” Johnny picked “Getaway,” saying, “Please listen to it when you’re having a hard time or when you want to run away.”

Are you excited for NCT 127’s comeback? Stay tuned for updates on their release here!

Watch Johnny on his on-air variety show “ALL or NOTHING” below:

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Also watch Jaehyun in “Dear.M” on Viki:

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