I have seen a post circulating twt and tiktok about how NCT 127 contract renewals are soon and i have some thoughts and would like to hear from other people too. I also like participating in doom thoughts. There are some obvious answers for which way the members will go. I think Taeyong will stay, he has been a favourited member (yeah the company is harsh on him but he has two albums, a tour that was filmed and put into cinemas internationally, it is likely he’ll ask for a few more niceties from the company in the future but I don’t see SM letting him go easily (he was a JaeJoong replacement after all)). I also see Ten in a similar light. Doyoung and Jeahyun too I see renewing their contracts. I really don’t see a reason why they wouldn’t (if you want to enlighten me on any particular reasons feel free) On the other side of obvious answers: most foreign members. No surprise SM doesn’t care for their non-Korean members. Ten is not even an exception to this rule but he has a very strong fan base (something I have noticed with many Thai idols) which is why i have grouped him with Taeyong at the start. Yuta is (i think) very obviously not renewing - at least for solo work. As someone who‘s ult bias is Yuta it would be sad to see him go. SM was looking for their first Japanese trainee, he made it through their international auditions and they picked him, worked him hard, and then repaid him with two lines in every title track - yes even their Japanese singles. (Only more recently getting a line beyond ‘mono-drama, melodrama‘) He is the reason NCT got popular in Japan in the first place, and yet they can’t even treat him fairly (missing his face in the intro to NCT Nation) The 7th Sense unit all got solo work published and marketed pretty fairly (although sometimes not scheduled well but when you have 4 units and many solo artists and members enlisting i assume it can be quite difficult). When it comes to Yuta’s solo work Depth was announced the day before it released, people thought it was going to be released after or during his tour. The BTS content is minimal in comparison to everyone else’s and even other content is behind a paywall. If you want to see the lack of promotion go to the NCT instagram page and go through the highlights for each member’s solo work and see how many posts they made in comparison to Yuta. In the most recent NCT 127 video for their 9th anniversary, the discussion of what they want for their 10th anniversary comes up and each member says something apart from Yuta (I can acknowledge he was fresh off a plane from Japan and his concert). The disengagement with 127 content recently could either be down to Taeyong and Jaehyun (two of close friends within the group) not being there, or just simply he sees a future beyond the band, or perhaps both. He does also have 127 tattooed on his arm in a padlock so the band must mean something significant for him to have done that in the first place. I have seen him reject what it means to be an idol in a sense in more recent years, I don’t think he particularly cares for the model, he doesn’t do trends, he doesn’t do tiktoks unless its for a member specifically, he doesn’t massively play into parasocial relationships. If he left the band entirely i would understand why and be a little surprised (I would be upset of course I think he is a big part of the band). I most likely believe he might go down a SHINee/ Red Velvet route and just resign for the band and not his solo work. (this turned into a Yuta think piece I apologise) Mark and Haechan i think would stay too. I think whatever they chose to do they would do it together, a sort of package deal with these guys. Maybe they make a plea for better organisation between 127 and Dream schedules, but I do not see them leaving. Despite the overworking the two of them seem to be pretty well favoured, Mark being the most obvious show of the two. I think Mark could ask for anything and get it, he is essentially the poster boy for NCT and a very well known idol under SM, i doubt they would let him go without a tough fight. Haechan I think would go with whatever Mark does, i think that they have been through so much together already they wouldn’t separate. Johnny is a wild card in this. Rejected from EXO, almost left the company, debuted with 127 later than the original line up… he is now doing pretty well in the business and reputation side of their band, I see him invited to a lot of events and such, he also DJs on the side which I guess is what he is doing rather than doing a traditional solo album? (Although seeing the crowds piss me off because why are people just stood recording him instead of dancing in the clubs/ events please you are making this awkward for everyone involved just put your phone away and vibe). Maybe it is the lack of him doing anything anywhere in NCT songs that makes me have this view of him not making a solo album. I think he would be a good host and i hope to see more of host Johnny in the future, something like Nopogy or Muk2u would've suited him really well. I don’t know to what extent it would be worth Johnny not renewing his contract As i do not know what he would be doing. Jungwoo I think would stay, but this is down to the fact he hasn’t had a lot of solo work so I really don’t know how it would pan out for him. He has mentioned a solo album and I assume he’d release it under SM, he also has Nopogy which is pretty successful and enjoyed by many fans. (i am not sure as to when Jungwoo’s contract will expire due to him debuting later than the others). NCT Dream (I am pretty sure they have a couple more years), Renjun perhaps will follow a route similar to Yuta, depending how the future pans for Chenle him too. (It is known that a lot of Chinese k-pop idols go back to China and are very successful). The Korean members (at this point in time) would likely stay. I am not too sure if WayV contracts even run at a parallel time to 127 or not- but their case confuses me entirely because I cannot decide whether they would stay at all? The consistent mistreatment, the lack of popularity compared to other units. I see the members being very dedicated to their band and they likely stay despite what pessimism is telling me, i am sensing a case of Them being able to pursue solo work individually and not through SM. Also: this is all from outsiders perspective with what the members and company have displayed over the years, obviously this is JUST SPECULATION, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions on this situation. submitted by /u/Extra-Tumbleweed7062 [link] [comments]
