Universe (NCT album)

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]

Universe
Digital cover
Studio album by NCT
Released	December 14, 2021 (2021-12-14)
Recorded	2021
Studio	SM Studios (Seoul)
Genre	Hip hop R&B EDM[1]
Length	45:49
Language	Korean English
Label	SM Dreamus
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
"Universe (Let's Play Ball)" Released: December 10, 2021 "Beautiful" Released: December 14, 2021

Background and release

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

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

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

Universe track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"New Axis" (NCT U) (sung by Taeyong, Mark and Yangyang)	Taeyong Mark Rick Bridges	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 Mark	Kenzie Dem Jointz Carlos Battey Ryan S. Jhun Breyan Isaac Wayne Hector Alexandru Cotoi Marcel Botezan	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" Bullock	3:49
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	LunchMoney Lewis TheOnlyDiet Julianbeatz BRIANXWHITE Jeremy "Tay" Jasper	3:18
6.	"Know Now" (NCT U) (sung by Johnny, Doyoung, Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Jaemin, Yangyang and Sungchan)	Jo Yoon-kyung Mark	Tia Scola Marcus Lomax David Wilson	dwilly	3:48
7.	"Dreaming" (NCT Dream)	Lee Ji-yoon Rick Bridges	Tim Deal Sam Klempner Scott Quinn Rick Bridges	Sam Klempner	3:10
8.	"Round&Round" (NCT U) (sung by Taeil, Ten, Jaehyun, Xiaojun, Haechan and Sungchan)	Jeon Ji-eun (January 8th (lalala Studio)) Hwang Seon-jeong (January 8th (lalala Studio)) Kim Jeong-mi (January 8th (lalala Studio))	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	Greg Bonnick Hayden Chapman Justin Starling Jeffrey Okyere-Twumasi Adrian McKinnon	LDN Noise	3:10
10.	"Vroom" (NCT U) (sung by Kun, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Hendery, Shotaro, Chenle and Jisung)	Song Yoo (Joombas)	samUIL	samUIL	3:45
11.	"Sweet Dream" (NCT U) (sung by Taeil, Kun, Jaehyun, Haechan and Chenle)	minGtion (ADC Music) Junny	minGtion (ADC Music) Junny	minGtion	3:32
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)	Joombas	3:58
13.	"Beautiful" (NCT 2021)	Yoo Young-jin Taeyong Mark Johnny Jeno Hendery	Yoo Han-jin [ko] Yoo Young-jin	Yoo Han-jin Yoo Young-jin	4:21
Total length:					45:49

Personnel

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

Rick Bridges – vocal director (track 1, 5), background vocals (track 1, 5) GDLO – vocal director (track 2, 5) Ju Chan-yang (Pollen) – vocal director (track 3, 10), background vocals (track 3) G-high – vocal director (track 6) Seo Mi-rae (Butterfly) – vocal director (track 7, 10), pro tools operator (track 7, 10) Ju Dae-gwan – vocal director (track 8), pro tools operator (track 8) Noday – vocal director (track 8-9), background vocals (track 10) minGtion – vocal director (track 11), piano (track 11), bass (track 11), recording (track 11), digital editing (track 11) Jisoo Park – vocal director (track 12), background vocals (track 12) Yoo Young-jin – vocal director (track 13), background vocals (track 2, 13), digital editing (track 13), engineered for mix (track 13), mixing (track 13) NCT – vocals, background vocals Taeil – vocals (track 3, 8, 11, 12-13), background vocals (track 8, 13) Johnny – vocals (track 3, 5-6, 13), background vocals (track 13) Taeyong – vocals (track 1, 3-4, 13), background vocals (track 13) Yuta – vocals (track 3-5, 13), background vocals (track 4, 13) Kun – vocals (track 9-11, 13), background vocals (track 13) Doyoung – vocals (track 2-3, 6, 12-13), background vocals (track 13) Ten – vocals (track 4, 8-9, 13), background vocals (track 2, 4, 13) Jaehyun – vocals (track 3, 8, 10-11, 13), background vocals (track 13) Jungwoo – vocals (track 2-3, 5, 10, 13), background vocals (track 13) Mark – vocals (track 1-4, 6-7, 13), background vocals (track 4, 13), rap making (track 2, 6) Xiaojun – vocals (track 2, 8-9, 12-13), background vocals (track 2, 13) Hendery – vocals (track 4-5, 9-10, 13), background vocals (track 13) Renjun – vocals (track 6-7, 12-13), background vocals (track 13) Jeno – vocals (track 2, 4, 6-7, 13), background vocals (track 4, 13) Haechan – vocals (track 2-3, 7-8, 11, 13), background vocals (track 8, 13) Jaemin – vocals (track 2, 5-7, 13), background vocals (track 13) Yangyang – vocals (track 1-2, 4, 6, 9, 13), background vocals (track 1, 4, 13) Shotaro – vocals (track 2, 5, 10, 13), background vocals (track 13) Sungchan – vocals (track 6, 8, 13), background vocals (track 13) Chenle – vocals (track 5, 7, 10-11, 13), background vocals (track 5, 13) Jisung – vocals (track 5, 7, 10, 13), background vocals (track 5, 13)

Junny – background vocals (track 2, 7, 11) Ebenezer – background vocals (track 3) Kenzie – background vocals (track 4) Oiaisle – background vocals (track 6) MarcLo – background vocals (track 6) Dwilly – background vocals (track 6) Justin Starling – background vocals (track 9) Jeffrey Okyere-Twumasi – background vocals (track 9) Adrian McKinnon – background vocals (track 9) No Min-ji – recording (track 1-2, 4, 7-8, 12), digital editing(track 1-2, 4-5, 10), engineered for mix (track 10) Kang Eun-ji – recording (track 2-3, 5, 10-12), digital editing(track 3, 6), engineered for mix(track 3-4, 6, 12) Lee Min-gyu – recording (track 6, 12), mixing (track 6, 8, 10), engineered for mix (track 11) Jung Yu-ra – recording (track 7, 9, 12), engineered for mix (track 8), digital editing (track 12) Xu Tian Hong – recording (track 8-9) On Seong-yun – recording (track 9) Jung Ho-jin – digital editing (track 2, 5, 9) Kwon Yu-jin – digital editing (track 7-8), recording (track 8, 10-11) Lee Ji-hong – engineered for mix (track 5, 9), mixing (track 9, 12) Jung Ui-seok – mixing (track 1, 3-4) Nam Gung-jin – mixing (track 5, 7) Kim Cheol-sun – mixing (track 2, 10)

Locations

Recording SM Yellow Tail Studio SM SSAM Studio SM Big Shot Studio SM Starlight Studio doobdoob studio Studio21A sound POOL Studios SM BOOMINGSYSTEM Editing SM Yellow Tail Studio SM SSAM Studio doobdoob Studio sound POOL Studios SM Starlight Studio SM BOOMINGSYSTEM

Mixing SM Blue Cup Studio SM Blue Ocean Studio SM SSAM Studio SM Concert Hall Studio SM Big Shot Studio SM LVYIN Studio SM Starlight Studio SM BOOMINGSYSTEM

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Universe Chart (2021–2022) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 95 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 177 Croatian International Albums (HDU)[15] 22 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 41 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[17] 1 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[18] 1 South Korean Albums (Gaon)[19] 1 US Billboard 200[20] 20 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21] 2 US World Albums (Billboard)[22] 1

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for Universe Chart (2021) Peak position Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] 5 South Korean Albums (Gaon)[24] 1 Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Universe Chart (2021) Position South Korean Albums (Gaon)[25] 5 Chart (2022) Position Japanese Albums (Oricon)[26] 45 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[27] 55 South Korean Albums (Circle)[28] 68 US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 56

Certification and sales

Certifications and sales for Universe

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

References

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. "South Korean album certifications" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA).
31. Cumulative sales for Universe:

    • "2021 Album Chart" (in Korean). Circle Chart. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
    • "2022 Album Chart". Circle Chart. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
32. Cumulative sales of Universe on Oricon Chart:

    • 月間 アルバムランキング 2021年12月度 [Monthly album ranking December 2021]. Oricon. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
    • 月間 アルバムランキング 2022年01月度 [Monthly album ranking January 2022]. Oricon. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2023.