▲ NCT 127 poses at a press conference marking the release of its seventh full-length album, "BLINGY," at Sky31 in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 24, 2026. (Yonhap)

 

NCT 127, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, released its seventh full-length album, "BLINGY," on Aug. 24, reaffirming its unity as a team.

 

At a press conference held in Seoul's Songpa district earlier in the day to mark the album's release, the members said they had all renewed their contracts with SM Entertainment "as a sign of trust in one another as we move forward," adding that they would "show an even stronger side of ourselves."

 

They also expressed their ambition to "return to our starting point, Seoul, become the 'problem solvers of Seoul' and run wherever our fans, known as Sijeuni, call us."

 

NCT 127 debuted in July 2016 with the number 127, representing Seoul's longitude, in its name and the ambition to "venture across the world based in Seoul, the home of K-pop."

 

The group has released hit songs including "Fire Truck," "Cherry Bomb," "Regular," "Hero" and "Fact Check," backed by its distinctive blend of fresh yet powerful music and eye-catching performances.

 

NCT 127 has also placed 10 consecutive albums on Billboard's main albums chart, the Billboard 200. Through four world tours, the group has performed at major venues including stadiums, domes and arenas around the world, surpassing 100 solo concerts in total.

 

Member Jaehyun reflected on the group's decade-long journey, saying that filming content for the 10th-anniversary celebrations brought back many memories. He said one of the group's greatest achievements was "taking on many different challenges in music, style and various other areas."

 

All seven members — Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo and Haechan — recently renewed their contracts with SM Entertainment. Five members attended the press conference, with Jungwoo and Doyoung currently serving in the military.

 

▲ NCT 127 poses at a press conference marking the release of its seventh full-length album, "BLINGY," at Sky31 in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 24, 2026. (Yonhap)

 

Leader Taeyong said the group sought to return to its roots by combining a map of Seoul with NCT's signature color on the album cover. "Since it's our 10th anniversary, we worked even harder so that the team would not look incomplete even without the two members," he said.

 

The members were also asked about former member Mark, who left the group in April.

 

"When we debuted, we imagined that all of us would still be together 10 years later," Taeyong said. "So going through a period of change was painful, and there were aspects that were difficult to adjust to."

 

"Even so, the seven members who remain want to repay the fans for the memories and trust we've built together over 10 years. We relied greatly on and trusted one another," he said.

 

Taeyong added that Mark was "another former member who has walked this path for 10 years" and that he personally respected him.

 

"I've thought about how much he must have struggled while being part of both NCT 127 and NCT Dream for 10 years," he said. "Our paths have now gone in different directions, but I respect and support his path."

 

"BLINGY" reflects the members' determination to carve out their own path based on pride in the team and a strong sense of unity. The album contains nine tracks spanning various genres, including hip-hop, rock, pop and indie pop, with the title track sharing the album's name.

 

"BLINGY" is a hip-hop track combining distorted synthesizer sounds, a powerful drum beat and a chanting chorus. Through the lyrics, the members express an energy and presence that continues to rise without stopping. Taeyong also participated in creating the choreography.

 

Johnny described the song as carrying the message that "we are always looking for 'blingy,' or something that shines, outside ourselves, but the real blingy is within us."

 

"The keyword for this new song is returning to our roots," he said. "The performance is so difficult that even we haven't yet managed to dance it from beginning to end. It's a song and performance with a level of difficulty that's hard to find these days."

 

The album also includes the pre-release track "Pinata," which combines powerful electronic guitar sounds, funky bass and breakbeat drums; "Legacy," which conveys a message of spreading positive energy from the team's home base of Seoul; and "127 Million Miles," a fan song featuring vocals from all seven members, including those currently serving in the military.

 

Haechan said of "Pinata," "The chorus is in a high vocal range, and we had to sing it with a lot of power, so our voices were hoarse after recording."

 

"The A&R team also asked us to sing it as if we were performing onstage, so we gave it everything we had. I was happy that the energy we wanted to convey seems to have come through in the recording," he said.

 

NCT 127 will kick off its fifth world tour, "NEO CITY - THE RED LINE," with concerts at KSPO Dome in Seoul's Olympic Park from Sept. 18-20.

 

"Our goal is to show NCT 127's music to more Sijeuni around the world," Haechan said. "We want to meet fans in more diverse regions and continue our activities. When we recently appeared on the U.S. show 'America's Got Talent,' I realized there are so many people who want to see us."

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]