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Universe (NCT album)

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Universe
Digital cover
Studio album by
NCT
ReleasedDecember 14, 2021 (2021-12-14)
Recorded2021
StudioSM Studios (Seoul)
Genre
Length45:49
Language
  • Korean
  • English
Label
NCT chronology
Sticker
(2021) 		Universe
(2021) 		Glitch Mode
(2022)
NCT studio albums chronology
NCT 2020 Resonance
(2020) 		Universe
(2021) 		Golden Age
(2023)
Singles from Universe
  1. "Universe (Let's Play Ball)"
    Released: December 10, 2021
  2. "Beautiful"
    Released: December 14, 2021

Universe is the third studio album and ninth album overall by South Korean boy band NCT. It was released on December 14, 2021, by SM Entertainment. Similar to their previous releases NCT 2018 Empathy and NCT 2020 Resonance, NCT 2021 Universe is part of "NCT 2021" project; which saw all current NCT members from several units collaborating on a full-length release. This time, the album features 21 out of 23 members from three current units of NCT; NCT 127, NCT Dream, and WayV. Members Lucas and Winwin were unable to participate.[2][3] Universe is NCT's final album to feature Shotaro and Sungchan, who both withdrew from the group in May 2023.[4]

Background and release

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On November 13, 2021, it was announced that NCT would reunite for a third time as NCT 2021 following their second full group project, NCT 2020 Resonance, in 2020. Five teaser videos, titled "NCT 2021 YearDream" and each labeled from Stage 0 through Stage 4, were released between November 21 and November 29. NCT groups NCT 127, NCT Dream, and WayV were confirmed to participate in Universe, with Winwin and Lucas being absent from the project. NCT released track videos for "Dreaming", "Miracle", and "Earthquake", by NCT Dream, WayV, and NCT 127, respectively. The music video for "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" was released on December 10. The music video for "Beautiful" was released alongside the album itself on December 14.[5]

Commercial performance

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Universe surpassed more than 1.7 million pre-orders on the day of release, breaking their previous record of 1.1 million pre-orders for NCT 2020 Resonance Pt.1[6]

Accolades

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Music program awards for "Universe (Let's Play Ball)"
Program Date (3 total) Ref.
Music Bank December 24, 2021 [7]
December 31, 2021 [8]
January 7, 2022 [9]
Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Work Rank Ref.
Los Angeles Times The 100 best songs of 2021 "OK!" 47 [10]

Track listing

[edit]
Universe track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."New Axis" (NCT U) (sung by Taeyong, Mark and Yangyang)
  • Jarah Lafayette Gibson (80hdmuzic)
  • G'harah "PK" Degeddingseze (80hdmuzic)
  • 80hdmuzic
2:11
2."Universe (Let's Play Ball)" (NCT U) (sung by Doyoung, Jungwoo, Mark, Xiaojun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Yangyang and Shotaro)
  • Kenzie
  • Dem Jointz
  • Breyan Stanley Isaac
  • Alexandru Cotoi Florin
  • Marcel Botezan
3:51
3."Earthquake" (NCT 127)Park Seong-hee
  • Ludwig Evers (Moonshine)
  • Jonatan Gusmark (Moonshine)
  • Deez [ko]
  • Bobii Lewis
  • Ebenezer Olaoluwa Fabiyi
  • Moonshine
  • Deez
3:28
4."OK!" (NCT U) (sung by Taeyong, Yuta, Ten, Mark, Hendery, Jeno and Yangyang)Kenzie
  • Kenzie
  • Maurice Moore
  • Jeremy "Tay" Jasper
  • Timothy "Bos" Bullock
  • Hautboi Rich
Timothy "Bos" Bullock3:49
5."Birthday Party" (NCT U) (sung by Johnny, Yuta, Jungwoo, Hendery, Jaemin, Shotaro, Chenle and Jisung)Rick Bridges
  • Gamal Kosh Lewis
  • Jason David Silber
  • Jeremy "Tay" Jasper
  • Adrian McKinnon
3:18
6."Know Now" (NCT U) (sung by Johnny, Doyoung, Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Jaemin, Yangyang and Sungchan)
  • Tia Scola
  • Marcus Lomax
  • David Wilson
dwilly3:48
7."Dreaming" (NCT Dream)
  • Tim Deal
  • Sam Klempner
  • Scott Quinn
  • Rick Bridges
Sam Klempner3:10
8."Round&Round" (NCT U) (sung by Taeil, Ten, Jaehyun, Xiaojun, Haechan and Sungchan)
  • PRNCE (Vendors)
  • M30 (Vendors)
  • Fascinador (Vendors)
  • San (Vendors)
  • Shaquille
Vendors (Joombas)3:23
9."Miracle" (WayV)
  • Greg Bonnick
  • Hayden Chapman
  • Justin Starling
  • Jeffrey Okyere-Twumasi
  • Adrian McKinnon
LDN Noise3:10
10."Vroom" (NCT U) (sung by Kun, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Hendery, Shotaro, Chenle and Jisung)Song Yoo (Joombas)samUILsamUIL3:45
11."Sweet Dream" (NCT U) (sung by Taeil, Kun, Jaehyun, Haechan and Chenle)
  • minGtion (ADC Music)
  • Junny
  • minGtion (ADC Music)
  • Junny
minGtion3:32
12."Good Night" (Korean: 별자리; RR: Byeoljari; lit. Constellation) (NCT U) (sung by Taeil, Doyoung, Xiaojun and Renjun)Jisoo Park (Joombas)
  • MooF (Joombas)
  • Jisoo Park (Joombas)
Joombas3:58
13."Beautiful" (NCT 2021)
  • Yoo Han-jin
  • Yoo Young-jin
4:21
Total length:45:49

Personnel

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Credits adapted from Naver and QQ Music.[11][12]

Locations

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Charts

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Certification and sales

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Certifications and sales for Universe
Region Certification Certified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA)[31] Million 1,838,636[30]
Japan — 84,158[32]

References

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  1. ^ Adhya, Arpita (December 14, 2021). "NCT 2021 'Universe' album: Airtime, tracklist and subunits explored". HITC. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Woo, Bin (November 12, 2021). "[공식] NCT, 1년 2개월 만에 뭉쳤다…12월 14일 정규 3집 발매" [[Official] NCT, reunited after 1 year and 2 months... 3rd full album release on December 14th]. Tenasia (in Korean). Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Naver.
  3. ^ Jeon, Hyo-jin (December 3, 2021). "'2021 MAMA' NCT, '유니버스' 무대 최초 공개" ['2021 MAMA' NCT unveils 'Universe' stage for the first time]. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Puah Ziwei (May 24, 2023). "Sungchan and Shotaro leave NCT, to re-debut in "new boy group"". NME.
  5. ^ Ha, Na-young (December 14, 2021). "[오늘노래] NCT 21명의 다채로운 조합 만날 수 있는, 'UNIVERSE'". Digital Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  6. ^ "NCT 'Universe' 선주문량 170만장 돌파..강력한 브랜드 파워". Newsen (in Korean). December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Ji, Min-kyung (December 26, 2021). "NCT, 오늘(26일) 'Beautiful' 퍼포먼스 스테이지 공개..희망찬 에너지" [NCT unveils 'Beautiful' performance stage today (26th)... Hopeful energy]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  8. ^ "12월 5주순위". KBS (in Korean). December 31, 2021. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021.
  9. ^ Lee, Seung-hoon (January 7, 2022). "'뮤뱅' NCT U, 'Universe'로 1위..쪼꼬미⋅원위 컴백→하이키⋅케플러 데뷔[종합]" ['Mubang' NCT U, 1st place with 'Universe'..Jokomi・Onewe comeback→Highkey・Kepler debut [comprehensive]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  10. ^ Brown, August; Exposito, Suzy; Roberts, Randall; Wood, Mikael (December 20, 2021). "The 100 best songs of 2021". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  11. ^ "Universe - The 3rd Album". Naver Vibe. November 14, 2021. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  12. ^ "Universe - The 3rd Album". QQ Music. November 14, 2021. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – NCT – Universe - The 3rd Album" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – NCT – Universe - The 3rd Album" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  15. ^ "Lista prodaje 5. tjedan 2022. (24.01.2022. - 30.01.2022.)" (in Croatian). HDU. February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "NCT: Universe" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  17. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-01-03" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  18. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums [2021/12/29 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  19. ^ "Gaon Album Chart – Week 51, 2021". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  20. ^ "NCT Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  21. ^ "NCT Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  22. ^ "NCT Chart History (World Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  23. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2021-12 (see #5)". Oricon. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  24. ^ "Gaon Album Chart – December 2021". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  25. ^ "2021 Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  26. ^ 年間 アルバムランキング 2022年度 [Annual Album Ranking 2022] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  27. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums Year-End 2022". Billboard Japan. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  28. ^ "Album Chart 2022". Circle Chart. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  29. ^ "Year-End Charts Top Album Sales 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  30. ^ Cumulative sales for Universe:
  31. ^ "South Korean album certifications" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA).
  32. ^ Cumulative sales of Universe on Oricon Chart:
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