NCT Dream Welcomes a New Chapter With Their Repackage Album, Hello Future
Get ready to embrace all the positive energy of NCT Dream! Although members Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung basically—conceptually—spoiled the whole repackage album ahead of time, Hello Future still leaves a strong impression with its official release.
HELLO FUTURE, THE REPACKAGE ALBUM
Not many K-Pop albums hit this number, but 맛 (Hot Sauce) became a double million seller—and it happened in quite a short time. Following the big success of NCT Dream’s first full-length album, they released a repackage on June 28 with three additional songs: “Hello Future,” “Bungee,” and “오르골 (Life Is Still Going On).”
If you read our 맛 (Hot Sauce) review, or listened to the album very carefully, you know that NCT Dream’s first full-length album wasn’t just a random selection of great songs, but had a story to talk about—the friendship between the members. 맛 (Hot Sauce) included tracks about their past and present, and as the title of the repackaged album suggests, the new songs on Hello Future open the new chapter of the future for NCT Dream. That being said, it brings some happy, fresh, and carefree songs to the tracklist.
I might be an NCTzen, but as someone coming from a PR and marketing background, I cannot help but look at concepts and releases from an industry point of view as well. The story telling of their first full album, starting from the very first hints at Cafe 7 DREAM until this very moment, really got me engaged and made me appreciate the whole team behind the seven members. This era truly marks a new beginning for NCT Dream.
“HELLO FUTURE”
The title track, bearing the same name as the repackage album, is a hip-hop dance song featuring powerful trap rhythm and a dazzling hook. With its playful music, cheerful dance moves, and hopeful lyrics, “Hello Future” makes for a reassuring and bright summer song. As the lyrics also hint, this is only the beginning for NCT Dream. If we look at the concept of their whole album, this song is about how the members will say hello to a bright future and go high all together with the trust and bond between them.
The “Hello Future” music video is just as bright and hip as the song itself. The colors, the outfits, and vibrant edits make it a perfect summer music video. At the beginning, the members radiate a pastel take on the bohemian hippie vibes from the ‘70s before walking into a very modern, sterile setting that they color in with the shades of their past. To me, this showcases very well what this repackage album represents: we become who we are now and who we will be in the future because of the past version of ourselves; whatever the future brings, it will always stay a part of us.
“BUNGEE” and“오르골 (Life Is Still Going On)”
The second new track on the repackage album is “Bungee,” an electro-pop song. It is another funky and playful track about how fear disappears when you are with the right people. This song shows a very positive vibe with basically just bungee jumping into an encouraging hug.
For the last new track, “오르골 (Life Is Still Going On),” SM Entertainment released a bonus chapter of DREAM-VERSE, a series of teasers for the original album. This video talks about the past, present, and future as we see the members camping and chilling outdoors. First Haechan jokingly tries to read Renjun’s future, then Jaemin brings in a time capsule labeled “Hello Future.” This song will help you throw away your worries and calm down the anxiety that comes with everyday life. It’s a good reminder that “life is a party” and it “is still going on, it just flows.” It’s okay to stumble and be shaken for a moment, because whatever is going on, it will pass. So “straighten your shoulders,” NCTzens, because NCT Dream is right by your sides with this song. With its happy instrumentation and meaningful lyrics, “오르골 (Life Is Still Going On)” is a very confident, positive, and mature track.