NCT’s Ten Dazzles in “New Heroes”
NCT’s Ten wraps up the second season of SM Station with his new track “New Heroes.”
“New Heroes” is the 52nd and final track of SM Station Season 2. The song highlights a trainee’s struggle to achieve their dream of debuting and becoming a legendary artist.
SM Station is SM Entertainment’s weekly music release project which began in February 2016. The Station releases one single featuring at least one member of SM each week for 52 consecutive weeks, and has included releases like f(x) Amber and Luna’s “Lower,” Jang Jaein and EXO Suho’s “Dinner,” and Yoo Youngjin and NCT Taeyong’s track “Cure.”
The first thing listeners will notice about “New Heroes” is the sudden ability to completely understand all of its lyrics; “New Heroes” is Ten’s second, all-English SM Station single. His first English track, “Dream in a Dream,” was released in April 2017 and reached 5th place on the US Billboard World Digital Songs Chart. The song’s music video featured then SM Rookies trainee-turned-NCT member, Lucas.
Musically, “New Heroes” combines future bass EDM and pop genres into a dreamy, sensual song. The lyrics are set in the perspective of a trainee who is struggling to achieve their dream of debuting in a group. Instead of sympathizing over the difficulties they face, the song encourages them to take their difficulties and turn them into motivation to succeed: “Nobody knows how I got here / Nobody cared for my dream / I get high off my lows and stronger from the blows / So I keep on keep on keep on / all of the pains / taste of the sweat and dirt / we all live for the day / they’ll be screaming our names / so we keep on keep on keep on.” Ten held his first performance of “New Heroes” at the SMTOWN LIVE WORLD TOUR VI concert in Dubai on April 6.
Following the song’s luxurious, dreamy feeling, the music video for “New Heroes” is gorgeous and aesthetically-pleasing. The video expresses the same feeling of determination that can be felt in its lyrics, and it even opens with the words: “the dawn won't spread the brightest light if there is no darkness.” From there, the camera trails Ten from the ocean to the big city as he performs throughout Los Angeles. The pinnacle of the music video is Ten’s freestyle dance routine, which shows off his cool, effortless power, talent, and maturity.
Ten’s glimmering silver shirt is also a key point in the video because it sparkles under the lighting so beautifully that it makes him look ethereal. The music video for “New Heroes” perfectly encapsulates the song’s dreamy feeling and is a solid way to end off an amazing second season of SM Station. This is a track everyone will want to listen to on repeat for a long, long time.