When SM announced NCT2018 project, I was excited. It kind of reminded me of when they decided that EXO needed to promote together and form an unstoppable force as OT12 instead of continuously breaking them into K and M unit. NCT2018 with 18 members, it's perfect!

However, it is still hard for me to get into NCT because I just don't like their music. They often push Taeyong for the center with the most lines and I have to say this : He's very pretty but I don't like his voice. I tried listening to their songs after I got hyped for their comebacks and ... they're alright, I guess. I have to admit though, a part of me is avoiding their songs because of fear that I will fall for them. I'm sure if I listen to the songs on repeat, they will grow on me although my initial reaction was a strong dislike.

I never bought any NCT songs until... Black on Black. I was reading people's reaction on Omona and I saw many disliking the song. I was curious so I went ahead and watch the performance MV. To my surprise, unlike other NCT songs, I actually like it! It's weird because people kept mentioning the similarities between Black on Black with EXO's Wolf and God I hate that song but I like this one! I played the MV several times and the tunes stuck in my head so I just had to have it. I purchased the song and watched their performances on music show stages.

Another thing, when I first watched the MV, I was at the office so I watched it without any audio. And despite the good choreo, the first thing I noticed was their moves were out of sync with each other. There were no music to listen to so my focus was on visuals only and I was actually surprised that they weren't as good as I thought they would be. Granted, synchronized dancing is much harder when the choreography is complicated and you have movements of 18 people to match.

So far... maybe because my full attention is on BTS, none of the NCT kids is appealing to me. I don't feel any special connection with any of them but I do know most of their names and I'm happy when I see some of the kids get the spotlight. I saw the Billboard interview and I must say, Johnny is REALLY good in handling this. Just like when I saw him MC along with Leeteuk at the comeback live showcase on VLive, he's really good!

Members that I like; Yuta, Winwin, Taeyong for his face. My love for Lucas is cancelled.

NCT is really gearing up for this NCT2018 thing and I'm getting hyped. I still don't like their songs, yet I got pretty excited by the beautiful concepts teasers, persistent promos and the hypes. They got 500M hearts last night on their VLive show which is a fist time for any VLive videos/live shows.

( NCT is not successful? )

But this year, this year they're going BIG. They WILL be big. They are taking over the world. Look at this group, they have different nationalities, 9 Koreans, 5 Chinese, 2 Americans, 1 Thai & 1 Japanese. SM is again getting into that stage where they decide to put all the kids together (there is a power in number, they say). Clearly SM is investing a lot of money into this NCT2018 project. They will pull this as an 18 members group, which is a first in South Korea (I think 13 members is the top for now? Super Junior, Topp Dogg, Seventeen, WSJN - ETA: Whoops I forgot 14U with 14 members, they are active albeit the low popularity). If EXO can succeed snatching top group crown with the horrible song that is Wolf, then NCT may succeed with any songs with the same strategy at this point. The oldest in EXO will have to enlist in the military in the next year or two, SM needs to prep their next main money maker and I will be here for the party.

And then it dawned on me, 2018 is the final year of Wanna One. They will disband in December according to their contract. They've released teasers leading to their next comeback stating that this is going to be their golden age. I can see 3 or even more Wanna One comebacks within this year. They were born into the entertainment industry as a monster rookie and they are now still one of the groups with the biggest impact out there. The success they got is record breaking with the shortest amount of time from debut (also without power of the Big 3).

BTS is only starting their global dominance and EXO is still the reigning kings of K-Pop with no signs that they're going to slow down any time soon. SM is launching NCT2018 and other big three companies JYP and YG both are going to debut new groups.

2018 is going to be awesome for K-Pop, maybe crazier than last year. But probably also going to be a bloodbath for the fans.

SM released teasers for NCT 2018 project and it is so BEAUTIFUL.

However, here's my problem with NCT. I really want to like them, I do. I was following some of them during the very early SM Rookie days, when they were just babies. Back then I was rooting hard and I couldn't wait for their debut. I was sure SM is going to deliver and create the next IT boy group. I always think Taeyong is beautiful both in still pictures and in movement, Yuta is my adorable bubbly Kansai kid, the boys are great dancers, and they all are just gorgeous international babies. And I love international!

SM is no joke when it comes to comeback/debut concepts. I've always loved their styling, concept photos, how they release the teasers (pics and vids), the artistic direction, etc. Superb. Over the top. Beautiful. Expensive. I enjoy art very much and thank you. This is K-Pop, it needs to be over the top, with crazy colors, shapes, AVANT GARDE! Look at this NCT yearbook concept, it's so breathtakingly beautiful! This is like high-fashun magazine production without even the need to collaborate with any of the magazines. This is ART on its own.

Now the things I don't like about them, one is their freaking NAME. Neo Culture Technology? Fuck off. Why. It's not even easy or nice to pronounce. TRCNG is much worse of course, but still. I don't like the name!

Also, what is it with that member rotation concept, it's too complicated for my stupid, simple mind. I'm a traditional fan, when I like a group, I would like that group to have fixed members, please. There are already so many people, so many names, so many sub-units, so confusing. How the hell do I keep up? How do I support them all?

I can get over the above though if only I like their songs.

AND I JUST CANNOT WITH NCT'S MUSIC OMG. I literally cannot. I tried. I hate Cherry Bomb. And this song right here as well. They're the same shit. What genre is this even? You can't even sing to it. Am I just too old and my taste no longer match the tunes that young people like today? I tried listening to them and it's instant hate, no room for negotiation. It's not something that I can casually listen to everyday to let it grow on me, no. I FREAKING HATE THEM WITH PASSION. I know they have other sub-units which actually sings and have songs with real tune and melody, but how do I get into them if I can't like the main group's genre?

The artistic concepts are still pretty to look at, though.