NCT 127 Talks About Their Comeback With "STICKER," Overcoming The Pressure Of "Kick It," And More

Sep 17, 2021

On September 17, NCT 127 held an online press conference for the release of their third studio album, “STICKER.”

This is the unit’s first comeback since the release of their second studio album, “NCT #127 NEO ZONE,” in March 2020. The members shared, “It’s the first time in almost a year and a half that we’ve come together as NCT 127, so we were excited and nervous for the comeback.”

Haechan said, “Like our first and second studio albums, our third album has a lot of songs in diverse genres. You’ll be able to experience our rapping and vocals, but also music that brings out the best of a performance.” Doyoung added, “It’s our first comeback in a while, so we thought a lot about what kind of image fans would like. It’s no fun if NCT 127 keeps doing the same music and performances that we’ve done before, so we’ve always ben thinking about the new things that we could try.”

About the title track, “Sticker,” Mark said, “There’s a signature flute sound that makes a strong impression. It’s a song where anyone can remember the melody, so I think it will receive a lot of love. There’s also a new kind of performance that we’ve never done before, so you’ll be able to see a new side to NCT 127.”

Taeyong added, “At first, it was really difficult to imagine how we would perform this kind of song. But director Yoo Young Jin gave us the chance to make the rap ourselves, so we were able to bring out the NCT vibe.” Mark, who also worked on the rap making, said, “Since we received such a good opportunity, we worked hard. I had many discussions of Taeyong and wrote the lyrics while thinking of the team.”

Taeyong said that there had been a sense of pressure about whether the unit could surpass the expectations created by “Kick It,” their last comeback. “A lot of people liked ‘Kick It’ from our second album,” he said, “and we worried a bit while preparing this album. It did so well that we weren’t sure if we could surpass it and put on an even better performance. But when ‘Sticker’ was born, we worked hard to show our growth and development, and the agency also worked hard to create even better content for this comeback.”

NCT 127, which debuted in 2016, recently celebrated their fifth anniversary together. Jaehyun said, “While writing our thank-you messages in the album, I thought that if we were to turn back time, without the help of those around us, without our fans, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve so many things and get so many great opportunities. Our fifth anniversary somehow felt different from our fourth anniversary. I thought that I move forward with an even more grateful attitude toward our members and the fans in the future.”

Doyoung said, “Like Jaehyun said, five years isn’t a short time. NCT 127 has experienced a lot of things since our debut. But what hasn’t changed is our relationship with our fans. We cheer each other on, and that relationship makes us work with the attitude of not forgetting where we started.”