So they say that being a fan of SM Entertainment K-pop groups isn’t meant for the soft-hearted, and in the latest development the label announced the NCT Nation To The World Concert on June 7, 2023. As a series of a total 5 concerts to be held, first one in Korean and the rest in Japan (August onwards), are to welcome all sub-units of the grand boy group (now 20 members), NCTzens are on a tumultuous path, rather than rejoicing in the news that came out a few hours ago.
NCT was first introduced in 2016 and formed and managed by SM Entertainment. Presently, the group has 5 sub-units – NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV, and NCT DOJAEJUNG, and its last one, NCT Tokyo, is to be introduced soon. While usually such headlines would make a band’s fanbase jump high in excitement, contrasting emotions have consumed NCITY. Earlier this year, the entertainment label announced the departure of three former members of the group – Lucas (former WayV member), who’s now preparing for his solo debut, and Shotaro and Sungchan, who were first brought on board in 2020 with the release of NCT 2020 Resonance, the second studio album of the group arrangement that reunited all members under one roof.
Since the NCT 2020 era, fans had warmed up to the new members’ introduction and had been highly anticipating Shotaro and Sungchan’s debut (who left their mark in the Make a Wish and 90s Love music videos respectively) as members of the new NCT sub-unit. However, plans switched over and pulled the plug on this schedule. The two artists (also collectively known as SungTaro among the fans) were then announced to be debuting as part of a new SM boy group, marking their departure from the NCT brand.
SM Entertainment has particularly been under fire since the the SM 3.0 announcements. Moreover, the recent official statements released by EXO CBX members Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin further brought the fans’ attention to the company’s unfair treatment of its artists as the trio prepares to file a lawsuit against the lack of transparency regarding their unjust long-term exclusive contracts.
As per the SM 3.0 updates, NCT will no longer be following its “unlimited” project and putting an end to the expansion of the same with the last unit’s (NCT Tokyo) debut this year. NCTzens have always found the “limitless” concept of the group quite unfeasible especially since it hasn’t equally granted opportunities to all the members to step up to the forefront and showcase their abilities and artistry, but with the exit of 3 members, who were particularly adored by them, the fanbase has been fiercely against SM’s tactics to clear up their name and defuse the situation.
Also read: Taeyong SHALALA MV: NCT Leader Shines in His Surreal Neo Solo Debut
They’ve often opposed the release of untimely merchandise drops, but the label continues to resort to such means. The latest news of the NCT Nation concert is set to bring back the remaining 20 members of the group together, and though this was a much-desired feat that fans often asked for previously, the recent developments have compelled them to perceive it as yet another strategy employed by the entertainment label to distract the fans from ongoing mishaps and troubles at hand.
Raising their voices against the upcoming concerts that will kick off at Incheon Munhak Stadium, South Korea on August 26, 2023, to be followed on more dates in Japan – Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka on September 9 and 10, and at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo on September 16 and 17, the fans are speculating further about how this will lead to fan-wars between the followers of respective units. Due to the additional Japan concert dates, NCTzens are also wondering if this is just a manoeuvre planned by SM to finally announce the details of NCT Tokyo’s debut.
The overarching fandom has often witnessed similar disagreements due to SM’s unbalanced division of schedules among the several units of the mega-group. Moreover, Mark and Haechan, who participate in a variety of diverse schedules for NCT U, NCT 127 and NCT Dream, are often swamped with endless activities. Their fans have many a times raised their concern for the members’ health, demanding much-needed breaks in between. This concert will again add on to their long list of activities for this year, leaving them with barely any time to recover between conflicting schedules of their various units.
At the moment, NCT’s unit arrangement is as follows – NCT 127 (9 members): Taeyong, Taeil, Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Mark and Haechan; NCT Dream (7 members): Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung; WayV (6 members): Kun, Ten, Winwin, Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yangyang; NCT DOJAEJUNG (Japan fan club not applicable yet): Doyoung, Jaehyun and Jungwoo. On June 5, 2023, the NCT leader, Lee Taeyong made his official solo debut with his first mini album SHALALA. NCT Dream are also set to pre-release their single Broken Melodies this June, while their new comeback is slated for July.
Here’s How NCTzens Reacted to the NCT Nation To The World Concert News
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