NCT Wish (Japanese:エヌシーティー·ウィッシュ,Hepburn:Enushītī Wisshu) is a Japanese-Koreanboy band and the sixth and final sub-unit of the South Korean boy bandNCT, formed and managed bySM Entertainment andAvex Trax, with SM director and soloistBoA in charge as the producer until her departure from SM in 2025.[2][3] The group consists of six members: Sion, Riku, Yushi, Jaehee, Ryo, Sakuya. They released the single "Hands Up" under the tentative name NCT New Team on October 8, 2023, ahead of their scheduled debut in 2024.[4][5] They officially debuted on February 28, 2024, with the single "Wish" in both Japanese and Korean versions.
On January 17, 2024, NCT Wish was announced as the group's official name of the NCT Tokyo-based sub-unit, multi-national boy group that would promote actively in Japan. The name "NCT Wish" combines the acronym for Neo Culture Technology with the word "Wish" from the catchphrase 'WISH for Our WISH' meaning the ambition to support everyone's wishes and dreams and make them come true together through the music and love.[6][7]
Prior to the group's debut, Yushi was first introduced as a member of Japanese boy group Edamame Beans at the age of 11 but shortly left the group before debut in the same year. Yushi first auditioned for SM Entertainment in his fourth grade of elementary school and was accepted as a trainee in his sixth grade of elementary school. He later came to Korea in his 6th grade of elementary school and trained for about seven years prior joining the survival show. Riku had filmed a visual advertisement for his cousinAi Takahashi's own cosmetics brand Aimmx in October 2021.[8] Riku was cast through the 2022 SM Global Audition and was a trainee for about one year prior joining the survival show.[9] Sion was cast throughInstagram's direct messaging and trained for four years prior joining the survival show.[10] In 2022, Ryo was first scouted by SM while he was watching NCT 127's concert.[11] In January 2023, Jaehee was scouted by SM Entertainment.[12]
In January 2016, SM founder and producerLee Soo-man announced plans for a new boy group NCT with different units to be based in cities around the world.[13] On June 20, 2019, SM producerChris Lee announced in a presentation that NCT would continue to debut international units, mentioning that the company was in the process of creating a Japanese one. This was re-iterated in an interview withBillboard the following day, where the unit's activities were confirmed to be managed betweenAvex Trax andSM Japan.[1]
On December 1, 2022, SM confirmed plans for a Japanese subunit based in Tokyo following the opening of their Southeast Asian branch.[14][15] As part of their 2023 strategy, the company revealed that the next NCT subunit, tentatively named "NCT Tokyo", would be debuting in the third quarter of the year.[16][17] On February 24, SM announced that NCT Tokyo would the group's final subunit.[18][19]
On May 23, 2023, SM announced that two futureSM Rookies would be part of the new unit's lineup, with the remaining members selected via a pre-debut survival show.[20] The rookies were revealed to be Yushi and Sion on June 28;[21] two days later, SM confirmed that the survival showNCT Universe: Lastart would begin airing on July 27.[22] The official lineup of the group, now referred to as "NCT New Team", was unveiled during the final episode: Sion, Riku, Yushi, Jungmin, Daeyoung, Ryo, Sakuya.[23] The group served as the opening for the rest of NCT at their Japanese NCT Nation: To the World concerts at Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka from September 9 to 10 and again at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo from September 16 to 17.[24] The new NCT unit later embarked on a pre-debut tour beginning on 8 October, which consisted of 28 performances across 10 cities in Japan.[25]
On October 2, 2023, SM announced that Jungmin, who had been absent from previous performances, would be departing NCT for health reasons.[26] The unit released their pre-debut single "Hands Up" on October 8, with their official debut confirmed for 2024.[27]
2024–present: Debut, subsequent single releases,Steady, andWishful
On January 17, SM released a teaser titled "NCT Wish: Wish for Our Wish" and confirmed that NCT New Team would be debuting under the name NCT Wish scheduled in February.[28] On February 21, NCT Wish performed their debut single "Wish" for the first time at SMTOWN Live 2024 SMCU Palace atTokyo.[29][30] The group made their debut on February 28 with the release of the single "Wish" in both Japanese and Korean versions.[31][32] They took their first music show win onSBS M'sThe Show, 21 days after they debuted.[33]
On April 11, NCT Wish announced their first fan meeting titled "NCT Wish: School of Wish" which would be held for four times at Myunghwa Livehall inSeoul on May 25–26 and the pre-sale tickets were sold out within 15 minutes.[34] Later they added five more dates with a total of 14 meetings in five cities.[35][36]
On May 3, NCT Wish attended and performed their songs atGirlsAward, one of the biggest fashion events in Japan.[37][38] On June 25, NCT Wish released their second Japanese single "Songbird".[39] The Korean version of the single was released as the lead track for the single album of the same name on July 1.[40]
On August 28, NCT Wish confirmed that they would release new music at the end of September and were in the final stages of preparations. The release was preceded by a pre-release track in early September.[41] Their firstEP,Steady was released on September 24.[42] On October 15, NCT Wish released the single "Make You Shine", the second ending theme for the Korean dub ofPokémon Horizons: The Series.[43]
NCT Wish's debutstudio album,Wishful, was released on November 27. The 13 track album contains the group's six previously released Japanese singles, as well as seven new tracks, including the single "Wishful Winter".[44]
^NCT 마지막팀, NCT WISH 2월 데뷔.종합일간지 : 신문/웹/모바일 등 멀티 채널로 국내외 실시간 뉴스와 수준 높은 정보를 제공. January 18, 2024.Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. RetrievedFebruary 13, 2024.
^【初プロデュース】高橋愛、コスメを作る!〜撮影メイキング〜 [[First production] Takahashi Ai makes cosmetics! ~Making of the shoot~] (Video) (in Japanese). Ai Takahashi lab. October 13, 2021 – viaYouTube.
^Kim, Hyo-jin (March 12, 2024).엔시티 위시(NCT WISH), '더쇼'서 첫 1위...데뷔 21일 만 [NCT WISH takes first place on 'The Show'...21 days after debut] (in Korean). Top Star News.Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. RetrievedMarch 12, 2024 – viaNate.
^Lee, Seon-myung (April 18, 2024).'최고 루키' NCT위시, 팬미팅 4회차 15분만 전석매진 ['Best Rookie' NCT Wish, sold out all tickets for the four times fan meeting in just 15 minutes] (in Korean).Sports Kyunghyang.Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. RetrievedMay 5, 2024 – viaNaver.
^Sun, Mi-kyung (April 19, 2024).NCT WISH, 서울 찍고 전국 5개 도시 시즈니 만나러 간다 [NCT WISH shoots in Seoul and goes to meet Czennies in 5 cities across the country] (in Korean). Osen.Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. RetrievedMay 5, 2024 – viaNaver.
^Kim, Soo-jin (April 30, 2024).NCT WISH, 日 최대 패션 음악 축제 '걸스어워드' 5월 3일 출연 [NCT WISH will appear at Japan's largest fashion music festival 'Girls Awards' on 3 May] (in Korean). Star News.Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. RetrievedMay 5, 2024 – viaNaver.
^Yoon, Sung-yeol (May 4, 2024).NCT 위시, 日 최대 패션 음악 축제 떴다..'걸스어워드' 오프닝 장식 [NCT Wish appeared at Japan's largest fashion music festival..'Girls Awards' opening decoration] (in Korean). Star News.Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. RetrievedMay 5, 2024 – viaNaver.
^Lee, Min-ji (June 24, 2024).NCT WISH, 오늘(24일) 싱글 'Songbird' 日 버전 최초 공개 [NCT Wish, first release of Japanese version of single 'Songbird' today (24th)] (in Korean). Newsen.Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. RetrievedJuly 3, 2024 – viaNaver.
^Kim, Jin-seok (July 2, 2024).NCT WISH, 국내 주요 음반 차트 일간 1위 차지 [NCT Wish, daily No. 1 on major domestic album charts] (in Korean).JTBC.Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. RetrievedJuly 3, 2024 – viaNaver.
^"NCT WISH、デビュー後初の単独ツアー開催 思いあふれて涙「6人で頑張ります」" [NCT WISH holds first solo tour since debut, brought to tears with emotion: 'The six of us will do our best'].Oricon (in Japanese). November 28, 2024. RetrievedJuly 7, 2025.
^Lee, Ha-na (April 10, 2024).대상 주인은 스트레이 키즈, TXT 4관왕→트레저·더보이즈 3관왕(종합] [ASEA 2024] [Grand Prize winner is Stray Kids, TXT 4 wins → Treasure and The Boyz 3 wins (Overall)[ASEA 2024]].Newsen (in Korean).Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. RetrievedApril 11, 2024.
^Hwang, Hye-jin (February 22, 2025).엔하이픈 '디 어워즈' 대상 포함 5관왕, 라이즈·제로베이스원 4관왕 [Enhypen received 5 trophies at 'D Awards' including the grand prize, Riize and Zerobaseone received 4 trophies].Newsen (in Korean). RetrievedFebruary 24, 2025.
^Jeong, Hyeon-tae (February 11, 2025).방탄소년단vs엔하이픈→르세라핌vs트리플에스...'디 어워즈' 베스트 인기 그룹은? [BTS vs Enhypen vs Le Sserafim vs TripleS].Single List (in Korean).Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2025.
^Jo, Yeon-kyung (January 6, 2025).세븐틴·에스파 영예의 대상...39회 골든디스크어워즈 성료 [Seventeen and aespa Win Grand Prizes... 39th Golden Disc Awards Completed].JTBC News.Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. RetrievedJanuary 6, 2025.
^Jang, Do-min (December 5, 2024).마이원픽, 골든디스크어워즈 인기상 2개 부문 뽑는다 [My One Pick, Golden Disc Awards Popularity Award 2 categories] (in Korean). News1.Archived from the original on December 5, 2024. RetrievedDecember 5, 2024 – viaNaver.
^Kim, Hye-young (December 21, 2025).지드래곤, 'MMA' 7관왕 등극…제니→올데프 수상 [G-Dragon wins 7 'MMA' crowns... Jennie → AllDay Project Award].iMBC (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. RetrievedDecember 21, 2025 – viaNaver.
^MMA 2025 – 부문별 투표 [MMA 2025 – Category Voting].Melon (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 5, 2025. RetrievedDecember 5, 2025. (Note: Click on tab labelled "부문별 투표" to view open categories then click through each subheading to view nominees.)
^Lee, So-hyun (December 5, 2025).'2025 멜론 뮤직 어워드', 임영웅·지드래곤→로제·제니 TOP10 확정…부문별 투표 시작 ['2025 Melon Music Awards', Lim Young-woong, G-Dragon→ Rosé, and Jennie TOP10 confirmed... Voting by category begins].Top Star News (in Korean).Archived from the original on November 20, 2025. RetrievedDecember 5, 2025 – viaNaver.
^Lee, Yoon-bi (June 22, 2025).아이들 '대상'→TXT, 아이브, 에스파 '본상', 영탁 4관왕까지...'서울가요대상' 빛냈다 [I-dle's 'Grand Prize' →TXT, IVE, aespa 'Main Award', and Young Tak won 4 awards... 'Seoul Music Awards' shined].MHN (in Korean).Archived from the original on June 22, 2025. RetrievedJune 22, 2025 – viaNaver.
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