ISTJ is the thirdstudio album by South Korean boy bandNCT Dream. Released on July 17, 2023, bySM Entertainment throughKakao Entertainment, the album consists of 10 tracks and is supported by the singles "Broken Melodies" and "ISTJ".
On June 13, 2023, SM Entertainment announced that NCT Dream would be making a comeback with a new studio album,ISTJ, on July 17, seven months after their previous release,Candy. The album also follows the conclusion of the group'sThe Dream Show 2: In A Dream concert tour.[1]ISTJ was confirmed to have 10 tracks, including the lead single "Broken Melodies", which was released on June 19.[4] NCT Dream began promotions forISTJ with performances of "Broken Melodies" on music programs such asM Countdown,Music Bank,Show! Music Core, andInkigayo.[5] A preview and track video of the song "Poison" was released on July 7.[6] The title track, "ISTJ", served as the second single, was released on the same day as the album.[7] The song was accompanied by a colorful music video, which features the group members being transported to "MBTI World".[8]
The name of the album refers to one of the 16Myers–Briggs Type Indicators, a personality type characterized by introversion, sensing, thinking and judging.[9]
The opening and title track, "ISTJ" is ahip hopdance song, expressing desire to deviate from the stereotypes ofMBTI personality types.[10] Specifically, the song is written from the perspective of an ENFP individual and directed towards an opposite-personality ISTJ individual.[11] The second track, and thelead single, "Broken Melodies" is a solemnpop song, with the accompanying music video featuring calls at a phone booth and depicting the struggles of a long-term relationship.[12][13] "Yogurt Shake" is a sweet melodic song characterized by harmonic vocals.[3] The fifth track, "Blue Wave", is a bright and rhythmic pop song, acting as a sequel to "Dive into You", a song from a previous album,Hot Sauce.[10] It also features sounds of apan flute and fast-paced lyrics.[14] "Poison" is a sensualR&B song, conveying contradictory feelings of love,[6] while "SOS" is a powerful hip hop dance song characterized by synth sounds.[10] "Pretzel" is a futuristic hip hop song, featuring electronic synths, while "Starry Night" features sounds of an acoustic guitar andtrap beats.[3] The final song of the album, "Like We Just Met" is a slowballad written by all members of the group and expresses the group's desire to stay with their fans forever.[3][10]
On July 17, the album's preorders surpassed 4.2 million copies, a new record for NCT Dream.[15][14] In the first week of release, the album sold over 3.65 million copies, becomingthe third highest selling album in its first-week in South Korea.[16] It also marked the third-largest sales week for albums in South Korea, according to the sales numbers on the Hanteo Chart.[17] In the United States, "Blue Wave" became NCT Dream's first number one onBillboard'sHot Trending Songs.[18]
^The IFPI Global Albums chart ranks, in order, the albums that generated the most money globally across streaming, download, and physical record sales (combined) in a calendar year. The Global Album Sales Chart measures global unit sales across all physical formats, as well as full album downloads.
^Lee Min-ji (June 13, 2023).NCT DREAM, 정규 3집 'ISTJ' 7월 17일 발매 확정 [공식] [NCT DREAM, 3rd regular album 'ISTJ' confirmed to be released on July 17th [Official]].Newsen (in Korean). RetrievedJune 13, 2023 – via Daum.
^Mo Shin-jung (June 22, 2023).NCT DREAM, 이번주 음방 출격...'Broken Melodies' 무대 공개. [NCT DREAM, this week's music show... 'Broken Melodies' stage release.].Sport Hanguk (in Korean). RetrievedJune 22, 2023.
^Lee, Da-gyeom (January 10, 2024).NCT 드림, '2023 써클차트' 디지털 앨범상...올해의 가수상은 20팀(종합) [NCT Dream won the '2023 Circle Chart' Digital Album Award... Singer of the Year Award goes to 20 teams (Comprehensive)] (in Korean).Maeil Gyeongje. RetrievedJanuary 10, 2024 – viaNaver.
^年間 アルバムランキング 2023年度 [Annual Album Ranking 2023] (in Japanese).Oricon. p. 5.Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. RetrievedDecember 20, 2023.
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