Play in this article ↓NCT 2020 RESONANCE Pt. 1: 23 Members, a Birthday Song and a Song About Home
- Category: Album & Song Guide
- Artist: NCT
KPOP NO1 Editorial · Sources checked October 22, 2026
In 2018 the theme was EMPATHY. Two years later, NCT went bigger: RESONANCE. SM said the idea was to move from empathy to resonance, connecting through music to create a powerful synergy. It brought together 23 members from NCT 127, NCT DREAM and WayV, plus two new members. Part 1 sold more than a million copies in its first week.
The NCT 2020 project
SM announced NCT 2020 on September 21, 2020. SM announcement
- Who: 21 existing members of NCT 127, NCT DREAM and WayV, plus SHOTARO and SUNGCHAN, who SM said would later join a new NCT team. That makes 23.
- How: mostly through NCT U, the team whose lineup changes from song to song.
- What: a full-length album in two parts. Part 1 came out on October 12, 2020, and Part 2 followed.
- Why “resonance”: SM said the album builds on NCT’s story, where members connect through dreams and become one through music.
Two title songs
Part 1 has double title tracks: Make A Wish and From Home.
Make A Wish (Birthday Song) is a pop dance song built on a hip-hop beat, with a catchy whistle riff. Its message: believe that we’re always connected, and make a wish so everyone’s dreams can come true. Seven members perform it: TAEYONG, DOYOUNG, JAEHYUN, JAEMIN, LUCAS, XIAOJUN and SHOTARO. An English version was released as a streaming-only bonus track. SM: title songs
From Home is a slow R&B pop ballad sung by TAEIL, DOYOUNG, KUN, HAECHAN, YUTA, RENJUN and CHENLE. Its lyrics mix Korean, Chinese and Japanese. They tell the story of members who came together with the same dream, to be singers, and became each other’s friends and family. A Korean version is included too.
Our take: The two title songs show both sides of NCT at once. Make A Wish is the high-energy dance side. From Home is about the people behind the group, sung in three languages, which says a lot about how international NCT is.
The rest of Part 1
The official track list has twelve entries:
| # | Song |
|---|---|
| 1 | Make A Wish |
| 2 | Misfit |
| 3 | Volcano |
| 4 | Light Bulb |
| 5 | Dancing In The Rain |
| 6 | Interlude: Past to Present |
| 7 | Déjà Vu |
| 8 | Nectar |
| 9 | Music, Dance |
| 10 | Faded In My Last Song |
| 11 | From Home |
| 12 | From Home (Korean Ver.) |
One song has a link back to 2018. Volcano reunites the BOSS lineup from NCT 2018 EMPATHY: TAEYONG, JAEHYUN, WINWIN, MARK, DOYOUNG, JUNGWOO and LUCAS. SM describes it as a hip-hop dance song about burning with passion, like a volcano about to erupt.
A million in a week
SM reported strong numbers for Part 1:
- 1.21 million copies in one week, making it a million-seller. That was about 6.6 times the first-week sales of NCT 2018 EMPATHY, according to Gaon Chart. SM: million-seller
- No. 1 on iTunes album charts in 35 regions, and No. 2 on Oricon’s weekly album chart in Japan.
- The Make A Wish video reached 60 million YouTube views in 7 days, 7 hours and 18 minutes. SM said the BOSS video had taken 265 days to reach the same number. SM: 60 million views
- Billboard 200: No. 6, according to SM’s later announcement.
Part 2 and the final single
Part 2 followed on November 23, 2020, adding eight new tracks for 21 in total, led by 90’s Love and including Work It. SM: Part 2
Then, on December 4, came the final single, RESONANCE, a mash-up built from four songs: Make A Wish, 90’s Love, Work It and Raise The Roof. NCT performed it for the first time at the 2020 MAMA awards. SM: RESONANCE
Part 2 brought more combinations. Raise The Roof mixes an unusual rhythm with Eastern sounds and a big chanted chorus, about how individual strengths grow like resonance when they come together. My Everything is a quiet piano ballad by TAEIL, RENJUN and XIAOJUN about waiting for someone you can’t forget. SM: Part 2 songs
At 2020 MAMA on December 6, NCT won Favorite Male Group and Worldwide Fans’ Choice, and WayV won Favorite Asian Artist. The next day, NCT released an official video for From Home, with the R&B live version from MAMA and footage of the members from their trainee days to now. SM: MAMA
By the end of the year, the two parts had sold 2,680,920 copies combined, making the album a double million-seller. SM also quoted Forbes, which called it one of K-pop’s biggest hits of 2020. SM: Forbes · SM: year-end sales
How to listen for the first time
- Watch Make A Wish. It’s the energetic entry point.
- Then play From Home. Listen for the three languages.
- Find Volcano. It’s the BOSS lineup, reunited.
- Finish with the RESONANCE single. It brings four of the era’s songs together.
Where to go next
- The first whole-NCT album: NCT 2018 EMPATHY.
- The next one: Golden Age, from 2023.
- Meet the teams: the NCT beginner guide.