NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1

On September 15, 2020, it was announced that all current members of NCT would finally reunite as NCT 2020 following their first studio album, NCT 2018 Empathy, in 2018.[3] A teaser video, titled "Interlude: Resonance," was released on September 20.[7] The album's name, Resonance, was announced a day later, with the album to be released in two parts: the first would be released on October 12 while the second part would receive a November release in the same year.[8] NCT groups NCT 127, NCT Dream, and WayV were confirmed to be part of Resonance, with WayV's Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yangyang officially being inducted in NCT through the project. Two new NCT members, Sungchan and Shotaro, would debut with Part 1's release, bringing the total number of members to 23.[8] Pre-orders for the album began on September 21.[4] Another teaser video, named "Year Party," was released the next day, which featured all members assembling.[7] On September 23, the 23 members gathered in a V Live broadcast where Sungchan and Shotaro were officially introduced to the public.[9]

In accordance to the album's release schedule, a short music video for NCT Dream's "Déjà Vu" was released on October 8, 2020 through the group's Youtube channel, with the music video for NCT U's "Misfit" released a day later.[10][11] Along with its parental album, the music video for "Make a Wish (Birthday Song)" was then released on October 12, 2020, while the music video for "From Home" was released on October 19. The physical album comes in two versions: Past and Future, with different packages for the Korean edition and the international edition.

Member Doyoung revealed that producers would be in charge of selecting songs and which members would be recording them.[12] Recording sessions for the album took more than a month to conduct, which is longer than the individual NCT groups would typically undergo.[12] Compared to Empathy, Taeyong is not the leader of the collective NCT 2020, saying, "I'm not actually the lead of NCT right now because the 22 other members are very awesome and these guys don't need a lead. So I'm not the leader of NCT. I just say, 'Hi, guys' and 'Hana dul set... [1, 2, 3...]' to start our greeting."[12] Taeyong explained that Resonance marks as a progression of Empathy, explaining, "Our music is so different too, because now we are in the pandemic, and our lyrics mean we can overcome this right now, and we’re more confident and powerful. We are definitely more grown-up."[13] He also described the various genres and styles the album featured, saying, "If you listen to our album, you’ll notice that obviously we have a more traditional kind of ballad, but we also have other tracks that are more old school and have that retro vibe."[13]

South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter Penomeco co-wrote the album's lead single "Make A Wish (Birthday Song)."

The NCT U unit for "Make A Wish (Birthday Song)" consisted of Taeyong, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Lucas, Xiaojun, Jaemin, and Shotaro.[14] The hip-hop dance title track "Make A Wish (Birthday Song)" was co-written by rappers Penomeco and Damian, with music from Sonny J Mason, Karen Poole, and Bobii Lewis, and arrangement production from Mason.[15] Korean and English versions of the song were included in the album, with Jaehyun explaining that these were recorded with international audiences in mind. Doyoung shared that the song "aims to give listeners a positive vibe and deliver positive energy," with the song's title and lyrics being a spin on making birthday wishes.[13]

The sub-units of NCT each released a song for the album: "Déjà Vu" for NCT Dream, which served as Mark's return to the Dream unit; "Nectar" for WayV; and "Music, Dance" for NCT 127.[13] Doyoung described "Music, Dance" as "energetic," saying, "I just remember having a lot of fun recording it, but we also trying to deliver the same energy when I recorded it. I remember kind of sweating it out actually in the studio."[12] "Déjà Vu" is about the original seven Dream members reuniting, with Jaemin sharing, "The theme of the song was, 'Let’s go back on stage together.' It was great to be reunited again as seven and to be able to showcase that reunion on Resonance Pt. 1."[12] Lucas and Xiaojun described WayV's song, "Nectar," as "sexy." Describing the recording process, Xiaojun explained that they "wanted to use that feeling — like bad boys with this very special juice."[12] Instrumental "Interlude: Past to Present" was a favorite of some members, with Taeyong elaborating, "It explains NCT and kind of introduces the group within the music."[13]

The group that performed "From Home" included Taeil, Kun, Yuta, Doyoung, Renjun, Haechan and Chenle, and was performed in four languages - Korean, English, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.[12][16][9]

Shortened "track videos" for "Déjà Vu" and the NCT U song "Misfit" were unveiled ahead of the release of Resonance Pt. 1; the video for "Déjà Vu" was released on October 8, while the video for "Misfit" was unveiled a day later.[13][17][18] On September 24, a reality show featuring the group, NCT World 2.0, was announced to accompany the album.[19] The show premiered on October 15 on Mnet. NCT World 2.0 was produced by Lee Young Jo and features the members exploring a multiverse and participating in various activities and games.[20][21] A day before the show's airing, an online press conference was held featuring Lee alongside members Taeyong, Doyoung, Kun, Winwin, Jeno, Chenle, Sungchan, and Shotaro.[21]

Two singles, "Make A Wish (Birthday Song)" and "From Home," were announced to be released alongside the album, with both songs performed by NCT U units.[7] The music video for "Make A Wish (Birthday Song)" was released on the same day as the single and the album.[14] NCT U performed "Make A Wish (Birthday Song)" live for the first time at M Countdown on October 15; this also served as the debut stage of Shotaro. The group also had a small fan-meeting during the show.[22] The single received first place trophies on the October 21 airing of Show Champion, as well as M Countdown and Music Bank in the following days.[23][24][25]

The music video for "From Home" was released on October 19, with a special live broadcast with the members, “Cozy Night From Home,” airing an hour before the video's release.[16] NCT U performed "From Home" for the first time at M Countdown on October 22.[26]

Credits adapted from Naver.[15]