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" 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.
History 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" 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". 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 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, 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", 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 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 (, ) – leader Riku (, ) Yushi (, ) Jaehee (, ) Ryo (, ) Sakuya (, )
Discography
Japanese studio albums Wishful (2024)
Korean studio albums Ode to Love (2026)
Filmography
NCT Universe: Lastart (2023)
Tours and concerts
Headlining tours
Date City Country Venue May 24, 2024 Seoul South Korea Myunghwa Live Hall May 25, 2024 May 26, 2024 June 1, 2024 Busan Busan Dream Theater June 8, 2024 Jeonju Samsung Cultural Center June 15, 2024 Daegu Suseong Artpia Grand Theater June 22, 2024 Cheongju CJB Media Center Eden Art Hall
Date City Country Venue Attendance November 3, 2024 Ishikawa Japan Hondanomori Hokuden Hall 30,000 November 4, 2024 November 9, 2024 Kyoto ROHM Theatre Kyoto November 10, 2024 November 27, 2024 Kanagawa Pacifico Yokohama, National Convention Hall November 28, 2024 November 30, 2024 Hyogo Amasaki Amashin Archaic Hall December 1, 2024 December 6, 2024 Fukuoka Fukuoka Sunpalace Hotel&Hall December 7, 2024 December 12, 2024 Aichi Nitera Hall December 13, 2024 March 21, 2025 Seoul South Korea SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium 19,500 March 22, 2025 March 23, 2025 April 4, 2025 Macau China Broadway Theatre April 5, 2025 April 6, 2025 April 12, 2025 Manila Philippines New Frontier Theater May 2, 2025 Hong Kong China AsiaWorld-Expo Hall 10 May 3, 2025 May 17, 2025 Singapore Arena @ Expo May 24, 2025 Taipei Taiwan Taipei Music Center May 31, 2025 Jakarta Indonesia Tennis Indoor Senayan June 7, 2025 Bangkok Thailand Thunder Dome Total
Date City Country Venue Attendance October 31, 2025 Incheon South Korea Inspire Arena 24,000 November 1, 2025 November 2, 2025 November 8, 2025 Ishikawa Japan Hondanomori Hokuden Hall November 9, 2025 November 15, 2025 Hiroshima Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall November 16, 2025 Kagawa Sunport Hall Takamatsu November 21, 2025 Osaka Orix Theater November 22, 2025 November 23, 2025 November 29, 2025 Hokkaido Kanamoro Hall December 18, 2025 Fukuoka Fukuoka Sunpalace Hotel&Hall December 19, 2025 December 21, 2025 Aichi Aichi Prefectural Art Theater December 22, 2025 December 23, 2025 January 3, 2026 Hyogo World Memorial Hall January 4, 2026 January 17, 2026 Tokyo Yoyogi National Gymnasium January 18, 2026 January 25, 2026 Hong Kong China AsiaWorld-Expo Hall 10 February 6, 2026 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Mega Star Arena February 28, 2026 Taipei Taiwan NTSU Arena March 14, 2026 Metro Manila Philippines New Frontier Theatre March 21, 2026 Macau China The Venetian Arena April 4, 2026 Bangkok Thailand BITEC Live April 11, 2026 Jakarta Indonesia ICE BSD Hall 5 April 17, 2026 Seoul South Korea KSPO Dome April 18, 2026 April 19, 2026 Total
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)
Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, award category, nominee(s) and the result of the award Award ceremony Year Category Nominee/work Result Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2024 The Best New Artist NCT Wish D Awards 2025 Rookie of the Year Dreams Silver Label Best Popularity Award – Boy Group Golden Disc Awards 2025 Rookie Artist of the Year Most Popular Artist – Male Album Bonsang Steady 2026 Album Bonsang Color Album Daesang (Album of the Year) Most Popular Artist – Male NCT Wish Hanteo Music Awards 2025 Artists of the Year (Bonsang) Best Continent Artist – Africa Best Continent Artist – Asia Best Continent Artist – Europe Best Continent Artist – North America Best Continent Artist – Oceania Best Continent Artist – South America Best Popular Artist Best Global Popular Artist iHeartRadio Music Awards 2025 Best New Artist (K-pop) Korea First Brand Awards 2026 Male Idol – Hot Trend Korea Grand Music Awards 2024 IS Rising Star MAMA Awards 2024 Artist of the Year Best New Male Artist 2025 Album of the Year Color Best Dance Performance – Male Group "Poppop" Fans' Choice of the Year NCT Wish Fans' Choice Top 10 – Male Song of the Year "Poppop" Melon Music Awards 2025 Top 10 Artist NCT Wish Kakao Bank Everyone's Star Artist of the Year (Note: Click on tab labelled "부문별 투표" to view open categories then click through each subheading to view nominees.) Millions Top 10 Color Berriz Global Fan's Choice NCT Wish Seoul Music Awards 2025 Main Prize (Bonsang) Grand Prize (Daesang) Best Group Award Popularity Award K-Wave Special Award K-pop World Choice – Group TMElive International Music Awards 2025 Rising International Group of the Year
Notes
References
External links