There’s nothing “Regular” about NCT 127’s latest single: It’s the group’s first predominantly English song, and they premiered it through Apple Music’s Beats 1 Radio on Monday (Oct. 8).
The 10-member K-pop boy band hung out with Zane Lowe to reveal the English version of their new single “Regular,” which will front their upcoming Regular-Irregular album. It’s a high-energy dance track with sensual Latin vibes that incorporates Spanish lyrics.
During the radio show, the members talked about recording their first single in English, with Canadian-born Mark saying that, “Even for us English speakers, it was hard because we were already used to recording in Korean and everything. But we’ve realized that we wanted to focus on spreading our music to the world. And so, we needed an English version of the song, and we wanted our international fans to listen to it as well.”
Rappers Mark and Taeyong take center stage on “Regular” with their charismatic raps driving much of the tune, while rhythmic beats, trap hi-hats, swaying verses, a swaggering chorus and soaring “oh-oh”s from the group’s vocalists draw it all together to create a festive hype track littered with cash-register sounds.
Lowe also set up a Facetime call between NCT 127 and DJ Khaled, with whom the group has expressed interest in collaborating. During the call, he introduced the group to his young son Asahd and also said that he’s up for working with them. “I’m ready, whatever, whatever you wanna do,” said the “No Brainer” singer and producer.
ANOTHA ONE with the man himself @DJKhaled!!!
???? ???? ????? ???. ??? ????? @DJKhaled @beats1 @zanelowe? ??? ????!WE THE BEST!
Watch the full vid here: https://t.co/hCBkj1wiTZ #NCT127_Regular_Eng#NCT127#NCT pic.twitter.com/Btx8HijS4z
— NCT 127 (@NCTsmtown_127) October 8, 2018
A Korean version of “Regular” and music video will be released later this week.
Fans of NCT 127 trended the hashtag “#NCT127_Regular_Eng” worldwide prior to the song’s premiere on Beats 1, and after their call, DJ Khaled’s name also trended globally on Twitter.
Shortly after the song’s premiere, NCT 127 released the English-language music video for the boisterous new single as well.
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Exuding a sense of luxury that emulates the swaggering lyrics, the clip starts with Mark rapping as he roams through alleys with a tiger by his side, one of several nods to Korean culture sprinkled in the video, since tigers are the representative animal of Korea and its people. As it progresses, the music video intersperses the group’s choreography with a variety of dramatic, mostly night-set scenes that hint to them being part of a gang involved in a high-stakes con, which some NCTzens believe is connected to the 2012 South Korean film The Thieves.
The release of “Regular” in English coincides with several Stateside appearances by NCT 127, including a Jimmy Kimmel Live! concert and ABC’s special celebrating Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday. The group also was recently revealed to be one of Apple Music’s Up Next artists.
NCT 127 is the Seoul-oriented group under SM Entertainment’s NCT boy band umbrella, which features several groups and has seen over a dozen singles released in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and English since its start in 2016. Regular-Irregular is NCT 127’s first LP and the first album from the act with the addition of member Jungwoo. It is set to be released on Oct. 12.