Following their previous annual tradition of large scale projects, the international K-pop group NCT has finally released their “Universe – The 3rd Album“ at the end of 2021. Consisting of a total of 21 members from three sub-units— WayV, NCT Dream, and NCT 127— this album creates a perfect blend of all different varieties of music genres along with a unique soundscape that redefines the musical universe of NCT.

The album consists of a total of 13 songs spanning across all sub-units with newly formed groups that combine a diverse array of members dedicated to a few songs. For instance, in the first song of the album “New Axis”, three of the main rappers of the band— Taeyong (Korean), Mark (Korean American) and Yangyang (Taiwanese)— collaborated for the first time to assert their statement that sets up the scene for the rest of the album about their ambition towards the future. With lyrics such as “impossibility/ that doesn’t exist/ regardless of what’s in front of me/ I stretch out my fist,” this hip-hop heavy track indeed created a new axis of NCT, as it serves as the introduction and concept of the entire album which surrounds the idea of building a new universe filled with infinite possibility and adventures. 

New project groups such as that for the song “OK!”  brought a lot of unexpected surprises with a lot of bold statements in the lyrics. Despite being only a temporary group, the members collaborated perfectly, showcasing everyone’s unique characteristics and creating a song with many layers and an intoxicating aura with a sleeking concept. Though it is only a b-side, the song has received a massive amount of positive reviews from the fans and general public. As members were doing the  “OK! Song challenge” on Instagram, each video has garnered about a total of 1.5 million likes and 30.1 thousand comments and the number is still growing. 

Lastly, despite the newly developed soundscape and the risk-taking tendency of the album, it still lacked the cultural impact of previous NCT albums such as that of “NCT 2018 Empathy”. Due to experimentation by the song production team, NCT seemed to be losing its original identity.  For instance, the idea of combining traditional culture with contemporary music as shown in songs such as  “Dream in a Dream” was not apparent in this album, nor was the social-sensitive concept of “BOSS” and “GO” discussed. NCT 2021’s new album seems to be a representation of a dilemma as they are considering a new concept while trying to experiment and branch out with different ideas. Though there are costs of losing past concepts, the new experimentation seems to still be a strategic move as it prevents the group from being trapped in one single concept while showing their diverse nature. 

Selling a total of 1.7 million copies during pre-order, becoming the fifth best selling album in the US of 2021, and debuting at top 20 of billboard 200 all proved that in terms of popularity, “Universe – The 3rd Album”  was an immensely successful project. However, in terms of music there are some areas that needed reconsideration and with a new year ahead of them, NCT’s musical journey in the upcoming 2022 seemed to be filled with challenges and new decisions regarding where they are heading towards in the future and what new identity are they going to bring to the world.