2021 was a year full of achievements for SM Entertainment’s NCT Dream, with the release of their first full-length album, Hot Sauce, in May and their repackaged album Hello Future in June. The two releases reached amazing milestones for the septet as they broke records and swept various domestic and global music charts. The “triple million seller” group continues to be awarded accolades as NCT Dream won “Best Album” at the 31st Seoul Music Awards on January 23.
Best Album Award
From winning the “Top 10” Bonsang Award at the 2021 Melon Music Awards (MMA) to “Best Album” Bonsang Award at the 36th Golden Disc Awards 2022, the “Best Album” at the Seoul Music Awards is just one of the many incredible achievements for the NCT unit.
The release of a full-length album was highly anticipated for NCT Dream, who have released several singles and five EPs over the course of four years. Pre-orders for Hot Sauce surpassed 1.71 million copies, setting a new record for the group. Upon its release, the album quickly became one of the top-selling albums of the year in 2021.
NCT Dream ranked first in album sales in the first half of the year with cumulative sales that exceeded 3.35 million copies in total—2,071,000 copies with Hot Sauce and 1,279,000 copies with Hello Future.
The SMA “Best Album” award has been given to several big-named K-pop artists over the years, such as BoA, BIG BANG, Psy, IU and BTS.
Heating Up SMA With “Hot Sauce”
Following their introductory VCR, anticipation was high as the unit rose from the stage with the signature introduction to “Hello Future” playing in the background. As if the stage wasn’t hot enough already, the group also performed “Hot Sauce,” the title track of their first full-length album. Known for their impressive performance skills, Dream’s performance was nothing less than that. The seven members impressed the crowd with their charismatic, high-energy performance.
“Best Album of the Year is a Big, Big Title”
Hot Sauce is a meaningful album to NCT Dream and fans, as this was not only the first full-length studio album for the NCT unit, but the first album with all seven members present. “Best Album of the Year is a big, big title,” Mark said in his speech. “It’s really special for us because this was our first album all together, our first full-length album, and to have this title itself is a great, great honor.”
Jaemin showed his appreciation with a speech in Korean, as Chenle followed with a speech in Mandarin and Mark in English. All three members showed immense gratitude towards staff and fans. The members assured that they will continue to work hard in the year of 2022. Mark closed his speech off by saying to look forward to more of NCT Dream, NCT 127 and the entirety of NCT.
“My Dreamies”
NCT Dream continues to be recognized for their hard work and effort with their numerous musical achievements. Fans ran to Twitter to share how proud they are of the group.
What’s To Come?
The members of NCT Dream have not so subtly dropped hints that they are in the midst of preparing for their next project. In several fansign video calls, even during the red carpet of the Seoul Music Awards, members have hinted that the album is coming soon.
Interested in listening to the albums? You can listen to Hot Sauce and Hello Future on Spotify. If you want to keep up with NCT Dream, make sure to follow the subunit’s official Instagram and Twitter accounts, as well as NCT’s official Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Want more NCT Dream? Read our article on the group becoming the face of Indonesian beauty brand Somethinc, here!
