Living the DREAM

During their seven years on the music scene, K-pop phenomenon NCT DREAM have sold albums in their multi-millions. As they tour the world, they reflect on cementing the band's original seven-member line-up and how this has made them look to the future with a new sense of purpose

- TAYLOR GLASBY

Although South Korean boy band NCT DREAM ( leader and eldest, 23-year-old Canadian-Korean Mark, Chinese -born Renjun and Chenle, and native Koreans Haechan, Jeno, Jaemin and Jisung, the youngest at 21 years old) are all self-confessed night owls, the only thing they want to do after a show, says Chenle with a grin, is “pass out”. 

Their tour — The Dream Show 2: In A Dream — features a 22-track setlist spanning a seven-year, multi-million album-selling career: the bubblegum pop of their debut, the harder-edged electronic pop of their late teens, and the glitchy, juddering bass of recent singles are all accompanied by strenuous choreography.

“The show starts at 8pm, we finish around 11.30pm, and we get back to the hotel about 12ish,” says Mark, who is blond in London but black-haired two days later in Paris, with photos of the change trending on Twitter. “But the adrenaline stays in you, so I’ll stay up on my phone looking at YouTube, and you find yourself at three in the morning, like, ‘Oh, I gotta sleep.’” 

They’ll often monitor each night’s show via audience videos and reactions: “One fan posted a part in ‘Déjà Vu’ where we jump together, and we were very synchronised, very on point, and when I see those kinds of contents, I’m satisfied,” says Haechan, whose honeyed, nasal tones have made him one of K-pop’s most distinctive vocalists.

Each member, apart from Jisung, has a personal Instagram account but scroll across other platforms. Do they specifically search for NCT DREAM? “No, no,” Chenle says in English, the corners of his lips twitching. “I’m just using my name.”