Chain (EP)

Chain is the debut Japanese extended play (fourth overall) by South Korean boy band NCT 127, the multi-national and second sub-unit of NCT. The five-track extended play was released on May 23, 2018 by their Japanese record label Avex Trax. With SM Entertainment's founder Lee Soo-man serving as the executive producer, the electropop, hip-hop and R&B record featured composition from production team Caesar & Loui, Kanata Okajima, 250, Albin Nordqvist, Kenzie, Mike Daley, MZMC, Harvey Mason Jr., J Que, Kevin Randolph, Mitchell Owens, Deez, Tay Jasper, Andrew Choi, MEG.ME and others. It was preceded by the Japanese version of "Limitless" as the first single on November 4, 2017, followed by the eponymous second single on May 8, 2018. To further promote the release, the group had their first showcase tour prior to its release.

Chain
Digital cover
EP by
NCT 127
ReleasedMay 23, 2018 (2018-05-23)
Recorded2016–2018
StudioSM Studios, Seoul, South Korea
Genre
Length18:14
LanguageJapanese
LabelAvex Trax
Producer
  • Lee Soo-man (exec.)
  • Caesar & Loui
  • Harvey Mason Jr.
  • Kenzie
  • Mike Dakey
  • Andrew Choi
  • Deez
  • MZMC
  • Dewain Whitmore
  • Patrick "J Que" Smith
  • 250
  • Albin Nordqvist
  • Kevin Randolph
  • Kanata Okajima
  • Mitchell Owens
NCT 127 chronology
Cherry Bomb
(2017)		 Chain
(2018)		 Regular-Irregular
(2018)
NCT chronology
NCT 2018 Empathy
(2018)		 Chain
(2018)		 We Go Up
(2018)
Singles from Chain
  1. "Limitless (Japanese Ver.)"
    Released: November 4, 2017
  2. "Chain"
    Released: May 8, 2018

Upon its release, Chain achieved commercial success for the group. It debuted at number two of the Oricon Weekly Albums chart with 44,832 copies sold on its first week of release, eventually went on to achieve a total of 49,289 copies in Japan. In addition, the extended play also debuted at number eight on the Billboard World Albums Chart, earning the group's their fourth top-ten entry.[1][2] It was NCT 127's last album to feature the nine-original member line-up, before the addition of member Jungwoo later in September 2018.

Background and release

Since June 2017, the group had their In late 2017, SM Entertainment announced that NCT 127 would be one of their two idol groups to debut and hold accompanying showcase tour in Japan during spring of 2018, having signed with Japanese label Avex Trax for further marketing and promotion along with fellow labelmate Red Velvet.[3][4] The group then revealed the extended play's title to be Chain on March 31, 2018, as well as the album covers and tracklist.[5] It was released in a total of thirteen editions: ten CDs (nine being limited edition individual covers and a normal pressing CD), two CD+DVDs (one limited and one normal edition), and a limited edition cassette tape.[6]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Naver.[7]

Chain
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Dreaming"
  • Caesar & Loui (The Kennel)
3:17
2."Chain"
  • MEG.ME
  • 250
  • Albin Nordqvist (Cosmic Music)
  • 250
3:42
3."Limitless" (Japanese version)
4:07
4."Come Back"
  • Mike Daley
  • Mitchell Owens
  • Deez
  • Michael Jiminez
  • Jeremy "Tay" Jasper
  • MZMC
  • Deez
  • Jeremy "Tay" Jasper
3:25
5."100"
  • Akira
3:42
Total length:18:14

Charts
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[8] 3
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[9] 2
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[10] 14
US World Albums (Billboard)[11] 8

References
  1. 週間 アルバムランキング 2018年06月04日付 [CD album weekly ranking from May 21, 2018 to May 27, 2018] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  2. "Chain(初回生産限定盤) | NCT 127". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  3. "NCT 127、ミニアルバム「Chain」で日本デビュー". Natalie (in Japanese). 2018-03-29. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  4. "NCT 127 JAPAN Showcase Tour "chain" 各地詳細解禁！". NCT Japan (in Japanese). 2017-12-25. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  5. "2018/5/23（水）JAPAN DEBUT MINI ALBUM「Chain」『NCT 127 JAPAN Showcase Tour "chain"』会場限定特典決定！！". NCT Japan (in Japanese). 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  6. "NCT 127/Chain＜初回生産限定盤＞". Tower Records Japan. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  8. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums | Charts". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  9. 週間 アルバムランキング 2018年06月04日付 [CD album weekly ranking from May 21, 2018 to May 27, 2018] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  10. 週間　デジタルアルバムランキング 2018年05月28日付 [Digital album weekly ranking from May 14, 2018 to May 20, 2018] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  11. "World Music: Top World Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
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