Wishful

Wishful is the debut studio album by boy band NCT Wish, the Japan-based unit of boy group NCT. It was released digitally on November 27, 2024, followed by a physical release in Japan on December 25, through SM Entertainment and Avex Trax. Comprising thirteen tracks, the album is led by the single "Wishful Winter", and includes tracks from the group's previously released maxi singles – "Hands Up", "Wish" and "Songbird".

Wishful
Digital cover
Studio album by NCT Wish
Released	November 27, 2024 (2024-11-27)
Genre	J-pop
Length	40:51
Language	Japanese
Label	SM Avex
NCT Wish chronology
Steady (2024) Wishful (2024)
NCT chronology
Frequency (2024) Wishful (2024)
Alternative cover
Physical cover
Singles from Wishful
"Hands Up" Released: October 8, 2023 "Wish" Released: February 28, 2024 "Songbird" Released: June 25, 2024 "Wishful Winter" Released: November 27, 2024

Background and release

On October 8, 2024, it was announced through NCT's Japanese website that NCT Wish will be releasing their first Japanese studio album Wishful on December 25. The album will include their six previously released Japanese tracks in addition to seven new songs,^[1] including the full version of "NASA", which was originally released in shortened form in a January 2024 performance video.

Wishful was released to digital download and streaming services on November 27, 2024, along with the album's title track, "Wishful Winter", and its accompanying music video.^[2]

Composition

The album's title track, "Wishful Winter" is described as a pop ballad with arpeggio piano, strings, and harmonies "reminiscent of bells". The song's lyrics reflect on the band "granting wishes on Christmas."^[3]

Promotion

The band will promote the album with the "Log In" Asia tour. The tour is scheduled to begin on November 3 in Ishikawa, continuing to several other cities in Japan throughout November and December. In 2025, the tour will visit Seoul and other regions of Asia.^[4]

To commemorate the release of Wishful, a Christmas-themed release event will be held between November 30 and December 25 at DiverCity Tokyo Plaza.^[5][6]

Track listing

Wishful track listing^[7]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Wishful Winter"	D&H (Purple Night) Soorin	Lee Joo-hyoung Kyle Wong Mayu Wakisaka	Lee	3:08
2.	"Wish"	Kenzie Jeanjinn Jane Toyosaki	Dress Kenzie Heon Seo Jane George Gershwin Ira Gershwin	Kenzie Dress	3:05
3.	"Songbird"	Toyosaki	Honey Noise (The Hub) Brown Panda (The Hub) Jacob Aaron (The Hub) Frankie Day (The Hub)	Honey Noise Brown Panda	3:01
4.	"Far Away"	Yuki Fujiwara	Tim Tan Daniel Roughley William Segerdahl 153/Joombas	Tan Roughley	3:04
5.	"We Go!"	Meg.Me	Simon Janlöv Daniel Caesar	Janlöv	3:02
6.	"Touchdown"	Kenzie Adrian McKinnon Jop Pangemanan	Kenzie McKinnon Pangemanan Ludvig Evers (Moonshine) Jonatan Gusmark (Moonshine)	Moonshine Kenzie	3:12
7.	"Hands Up"	Kenzie H. Toyosaki	Kenzie Evers Gusmark McKinnon	Moonshine	3:14
8.	"Sail Away"	Meg.Me	Cazzi Opeia Emily Yeonseo Kim Sonny J Mason	Mason	3:25
9.	"Choo Choo"	Takahishi Shiho	Alexander Karlsson Alexej Viktorovitch John Mars	Viktorovitch Mars	3:34
10.	"NASA"	D&H	Greg Bonnick Hayden Chapman Jeremy "Tay" Jasper Justin Starling Young Chance Shorelle	LDN Noise	3:03
11.	"P.O.V"	Meg.Me	Jake K. (Artiffect) Hyun	Jake K.	3:01
12.	"Tears Are Falling"	Irodori Kaoru	Christopher Lund Nissen Nicklas Sahl Jeppe London Blisby Rick Bridges	Blisby	3:05
13.	"Our Adventures"	Mahiro	Sqvare Avenue 52 Nild	Nild	2:52
Total length:					40:51

Notes

• "Wish" contains sampled elements from "Love Is Here To Say" (1980), as written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, and performed by The Singers Unlimited.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Wishful Chart (2024–2025) Peak position Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] 2 Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon)[9] 2 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[10] 4

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for Wishful Chart (2024) Position Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11] 6

Release history

Release history for Wishful

Region	Date	Format	Label
Various	November 27, 2024	Digital download streaming	SM Avex
Japan	December 25, 2024	CD

References

1. "NCT WISH Japan 1st Album "WISHFUL" to be released on Wednesday, December 25th!". NCT Japanese Profile. October 8, 2024.
2. Kyung, Ji-min (November 1, 2024). "NCT WISH, 27일 日 첫 정규 앨범 'WISHFUL' 발표" [NCT WISH to release first full album 'WISHFUL' on the 27th]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved November 20, 2024.
3. Yoo, Ji-hye (November 20, 2024). "NCT 위시, '윈터송 강자' 될까…日 신곡 '위시풀 윈터' 27일 공개" [Will NCT Wish become a 'winter song powerhouse'?... New Japanese song 'Wishful Winter' to be released on the 27th]. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved November 20, 2024.
4. Kyung, Ji-min (October 16, 2024). "NCT WISH, 亞 투어 'LOG in' 개최..글로벌 루키 행보" [NCT WISH, Asia Tour 'LOG in' Held.. Global Rookie Steps]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved October 28, 2024.
5. "「NCT WISH WISHFUL Christmas in DiverCity Tokyo Plaza」 開催！". Mitsui Shopping Park (in Japanese). November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
6. "NCT WISHをイメージした約6ｍの巨大クリスマスツリーやクリスマスイベントを実施「NCT WISH WISHFUL Christmas in DiverCity Tokyo Plaza」開催！" [NCT WISH collaborates with DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, members appear at one-night-only Christmas event]. PR Times (in Japanese). November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
7. "NCT WISH Japan 1st Album 「WISHFUL」 最新ビジュアル・TRACKLIST公開！" [NCT WISH Japan 1er album "WISHFUL" TRACKLIST！]. NCT Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 31, 2024.
8. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2025-01-06" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
9. "Oricon Top 50 Combined Albums: 2025-01-06" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
10. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of January 1, 2025". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2024.
11. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2024-12" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.