NCT Wish

Biography

NCT Wish (Japanese: エヌシーティー·ウィッシュ, Hepburn: Enushītī Wisshu) is a Japanese-Korean boy band and the sixth sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment and Avex Trax, with SM director and soloist BoA in charge as the producer until her departure from SM in 2025. The group consists of six members: Sion, Riku, Yushi, Jaehee, Ryo, and Sakuya. They released the single "Hands Up×Hands Up8 October 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Hands Up3:152We Go!3:02" under the tentative name NCT New Team on October 8, 2023, ahead of their scheduled debut in 2024. They officially debuted on February 21, 2024, with the single "Wish" in both Japanese and Korean versions.

Name

On January 17, 2024, NCT Wish was announced as the group's official name of the NCT Tokyo-based sub-unit, multi-national boy group that would promote actively in Japan. The name "NCT Wish" combines the acronym for Neo Culture Technology with the word "Wish" from the catchphrase 'WISH for Our WISH' meaning the ambition to support everyone's wishes and dreams and make them come true together through the music and love.

2019–2023: Plans, formation and NCT New Team

Prior to the group's debut, Yushi was first introduced as a member of Japanese boy group Edamame Beans at the age of 11 but shortly left the group before debut in the same year. Yushi first auditioned for SM Entertainment in his fourth grade of elementary school and was accepted as a trainee in his sixth grade of elementary school. He later came to Korea in his 6th grade of elementary school and trained for about seven years prior joining the survival show. Riku had filmed a visual advertisement for his cousin Ai Takahashi's own cosmetics brand Aimmx in October 2021. Riku was cast through the 2022 SM Global Audition and was a trainee for about one year prior joining the survival show. Sion was cast through Instagram's direct messaging and trained for four years prior joining the survival show. In 2022, Ryo was first scouted by SM while he was watching NCT 127's concert. In January 2023, Jaehee was scouted by SM Entertainment.
In January 2016, SM founder and producer Lee Soo-man announced plans for a new boy group NCT with different units to be based in cities around the world. On June 20, 2019, SM producer Chris Lee announced in a presentation that NCT would continue to debut international units, mentioning that the company was in the process of creating a Japanese one. This was re-iterated in an interview with Billboard the following day, where the unit's activities were confirmed to be managed between Avex Trax and SM Japan.
On December 1, 2022, SM confirmed plans for a Japanese subunit based in Tokyo following the opening of their Southeast Asian branch. As part of their 2023 strategy, the company revealed that the next NCT subunit, tentatively named "NCT Tokyo", would be debuting in the third quarter of the year. On February 24, SM announced that NCT Tokyo would the group's final subunit.
On May 23, 2023, SM announced that two future SM Rookies would be part of the new unit's lineup, with the remaining members selected via a pre-debut survival show. The rookies were revealed to be Yushi and Sion on June 28; two days later, SM confirmed that the survival show NCT Universe: Lastart would begin airing on July 27. The official lineup of the group, now referred to as "NCT New Team", was unveiled during the final episode: Sion, Riku, Yushi, Jungmin, Daeyoung (Jaehee), Ryo, Sakuya. The group served as the opening for the rest of NCT at their Japanese NCT Nation: To the World concerts at Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka from September 9 to 10 and again at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo from September 16 to 17. The new NCT unit later embarked on a pre-debut tour beginning on 8 October, which consisted of 28 performances across 10 cities in Japan.
On October 2, 2023, SM announced that Jungmin, who had been absent from previous performances, would be departing NCT for health reasons. The unit released their pre-debut single "Hands Up×Hands Up8 October 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Hands Up3:152We Go!3:02" on October 8, with their official debut confirmed for 2024.

2024–present: Debut, subsequent single releases, Steady, and Wishful

On January 17, SM released a teaser titled "NCT Wish: Wish for Our Wish" and confirmed that NCT New Team would be debuting under the name NCT Wish scheduled in February. On February 21, NCT Wish performed their debut single "Wish" for the first time at SMTOWN Live 2024 SMCU Palace at Tokyo. The group made their debut on February 28 with the release of the single "Wish" in both Japanese and Korean versions. They took their first music show win on SBS M's The Show, 21 days after they debuted.
On April 11, NCT Wish announced their first fan meeting titled "NCT Wish: School of Wish" which would be held for four times at Myunghwa Livehall in Seoul on May 25–26 and the pre-sale tickets were sold out within 15 minutes. Later they added five more dates with a total of 14 meetings in five cities.
On May 3, NCT Wish attended and performed their songs at GirlsAward, one of the biggest fashion events in Japan. On June 25, NCT Wish released their second Japanese single "Songbird×Songbird25 June 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Songbird (Japanese ver.)3:022Tears Are Falling (Japanese ver.)3:05". The Korean version of the single was released as the lead track for the single album of the same name on July 1.
On August 28, NCT Wish confirmed that they would release new music at the end of September and were in the final stages of preparations. The release was preceded by a pre-release track in early September. Their first EP, Steady×Steady24 September 2024 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Steady3:0123 Minutes2:483Dunk Shot3:004On & On3:045Supercute2:526Skate3:207Hands Up (Korean version)3:15 was released on September 24. On October 15, NCT Wish released the single "Make You Shine", the second ending theme for the Korean dub of Pokémon Horizons: The Series.
NCT Wish's debut studio album, Wishful×WISHFUL27 November 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Wishful Winter3:082WISH - Japanese Ver.3:053Songbird - Japanese Ver.3:014FAR AWAY3:045We Go!3:016Touchdown3:127Hands Up3:158Sail Away - Japanese Ver.3:259CHOO CHOO3:3410NASA3:0311P.O.V3:0112Tears Are Falling - Japanese Ver.3:0513Our Adventures2:52, was released on November 27. The 13 track album contains the group's six previously released Japanese singles, as well as seven new tracks, including the single "Wishful Winter".

On January 22, 2025, NCT Wish released the digital single "Miracle×Miracle22 January 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Miracle2:57", a remake of the song of the same name by Super Junior, as the second single from the album 2025 SM Town: The Culture, the Future.
On March 19, it was announced that NCT Wish would release their second EP Poppop×poppop14 April 2025 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1poppop3:042Melt Inside My Pocket3:133Design3:01410002:535Silly Dance3:046Still 3PM2:45 on April 14.

Public image

In January 2024, US Grammy selected NCT Wish as "11 Rookie K-Pop Acts to Know in 2024" through their website.

Members

Sion (シオン, 시온) – leader
Riku (リク, 리쿠)
Yushi (ユウシ, 유우시)
Jaehee (ジェヒ, 재희)
Ryo (リョウ, 료)
Sakuya (サクヤ, 사쿠야)

Concert participation

NCT Universe: Lastart Pre-Debut Tour (2023)
SM Town Live 2025: The Culture, the Future (2025)
As opening act

NCT Nation: To the World (2023)