Photo credit to SM Entertainment.
NCT WISH is back with their newest mini-album ‘I SPY’. This record goes through the emotions of experiencing love for the first time while utilizing the group’s bright and youthful energy along with an experimental sound to give it a fresh feel. This album follows their first full length album ‘ode to love’, but shifts the feeling from sharing love to experiencing it. The concept around this release captures the feeling of playful attraction.
The six member boy group was formed from a survival show under SM entertainment called NCT universe: LASTART. They are the sixth unit group of boy group NCT. The group consists of members Oh Sion, Maeda Riku, Tokuno Yushi, Kim Jaehee, Hirose Ryo, Fujinaga Sakuya. They were formerly known as NCT New Team before they got the name NCT WISH. Shortly after the lineup was finalized, the group released a pre-debut single called “Hands Up” on October 19th of 2023. Their official debut came a few months after in February of 2024 with the single ‘WISH’, which achieved first place on MNET’s music programs The Show and Show Champion.
‘I SPY’ features six songs that explore the feeling of experiencing love within different genres. The title track “I SPY” uses lyrics to communicate how when you see someone you like, every sense you have focuses on them. Lyrics like, “i can spot you right away and when our eyes meet with a smile look at me” convey the meaning of the track. NCT WISH have been using love in their songs lately while also utilizing cuter concepts to convey youthful love in many different aspects.
“We Own This Street” is the second track on the record and is a hip-hop based alternative pop track that differs from the title track. While “I SPY” communicates the feelings of love, this track expresses confidence within NCT WISH and how they take over the street with bright energy and turn dull things bright. The album’s third track is similar concept wise as it relates to the confidence shown in the second one. “Upgrade” describes breaking free from old habits and having the confidence to start something new.
A shift is felt in the album around the third track, “Super Major.” This tracks features heavy synth sounds, reminiscent to sounds heard in an arcade or a video game. Though it is less than three minutes long, the message of breaking free and following your dreams is prevalent.
With the fourth track, they tie love back into the concept of the album. “Hubble Time”, produced by Dem Jointz, uses an R&B ballad to describe love and how vast and limitless it is. “from the very first moments we met and infinite time has led us to today” is a lyric that relates to what this track means.
The final song on the record is different from the love and confidence in the previous ones. “Like A Dream” is yet another R&B ballad that samples The Carpenters “Close To You”. The message through this wishes for someone to have good dreams and to look back on the dreams and the time they have spent with one another. This track ties the album’s concept together and shows how experiencing love and reminiscing are one in the same.
Since the release of ‘I SPY’, the title track music video has amassed 24 million views, and the album claimed the No.1 spot on both the Weekly Album Chart and Retail Album Chart and even earned a double crown on the Circle Chart. Wishzen everywhere are loving this album!