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 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 | ||||
| Released | May 23, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | 2016–2018 | |||
| Studio | SM Studios, Seoul, South Korea | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 18:14 | |||
| Language | Japanese | |||
| Label | Avex Trax | |||
| Producer |
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| NCT 127 chronology | ||||
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| NCT chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Chain | ||||
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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 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
editIn 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]
The title track "Chain" later received a Korean version which is included in the repackaged version of the group's first album, Regular-Irregular several months later.
The song 'Come Back' later received a Korean and Chinese version. The Korean version was featured in NCT 127's first album Regular-Irregular. The Chinese version was featured twice by WayV; first in the debut digital EP: The Vision and then in their first mini album: Take Off.
Track listing
editCredits adapted from Naver.[7]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dreaming" | Junji Ishiwatari |
| Caesar & Loui (The Kennel) | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Chain" | MEG.ME |
| 250 | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Limitless" (Japanese version) | Kenzie |
| Kenzie | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Come Back" |
|
| 3:25 | |
| 5. | "100" | Akira (Palm Drive) |
| Andrew Choi | 3:42 |
| Total length: | 18:14 | ||||
Note: The cassette edition of the EP consists of tracks 1–3 on Side A and tracks 4–5 on Side B.
Charts
edit| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] | 2 |
| Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[9] | 3 |
| US World Albums (Billboard)[10] | 8 |
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "Chain(初回生産限定盤) | NCT 127". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-10-14. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ "NCT 127、ミニアルバム「Chain」で日本デビュー". Natalie (in Japanese). 2018-03-29. Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ "NCT 127 JAPAN Showcase Tour "chain" 各地詳細解禁！". NCT Japan (in Japanese). 2017-12-25. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ "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. Archived from the original on 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^ "NCT 127/Chain＜初回生産限定盤＞". Tower Records Japan. Archived from the original on 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- ^
- "Chain – 1st Japanese Mini-album by NCT 127 on Naver". Naver. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums | Charts". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "World Music: Top World Albums Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved July 15, 2018.