NCT評價之媒體報道 系列一——新秀

禁止任何形式的轉載或引用。

論誇獎音樂人的專家，非樂評人莫屬， 或者是各大媒體的音樂版塊主筆記者。我作為粉絲沒有能力花式誇獎我愛豆的時候，還是要膜拜諸位大牛，看看人家是怎麼評價他們的。

本文節選的英文來自標註的網站，翻譯部分是我原創。

Last month, the nine-member band was named the Best New Artist of the Week by Apple Music after releasing their Cherry Bomb EP and of the synth and bass-driven single the same name. Days later, they were greeted with roars of approval at KCON NY that rivaled, and exceeded, the response to some of the older, more recognized K-pop groups.

上個月，NCT 127公開了他們的迷你三輯《Cherry Bomb》，同名主打歌強調了合成器和貝斯。靠這張專輯，NCT 127被Apple Music 評選為The Best New Artist of the Week。數日之後， 他們在KCON NY演唱會上收到了歌迷的熱烈歡迎。 現場觀眾看到他們的呼聲可以比肩甚至超越一些比他們出道早、更被熟知的K-pop團體。

The band』s singles overflow with atypical sound effects -- the distorted 「what what」 of 「Fire Truck,」 the nursery rhyme chant of 「Cherry Bomb」 -- laced into melodies that draw on hip-hop and drum & bass elements blended with trap and dancehall. Their B-sides are equally explorative, emphasized on the recent EP with each of Cherry Bomb』s tracks offering up a new Top 40-ready song.

NCT 127的很多歌曲都充滿了不尋常的音效——《Fire Truck》中失真效果的「what what」，《Cherry Bomb》中的童謠——將嘻哈、鼓和貝斯的元素，混合trap和dancehall （一種起源於20世紀70年代末的牙買加流行樂的流派）運用到旋律中去。專輯中的 B-sides歌曲也頗具探索精神，最近這張《Cherry Bomb》里的每首歌曲都是從備選的Top 40的歌曲中選取的。

Produced by K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment, NCT 127』s international success isn』t unexpected: EXO, the label』s most recent male group prior to the NCT project is one of the most popular boy bands K-pop』s seen in the past decade. Other acts from the company include Girls』 Generation, TVXQ, BoA,Super Junior, SHINee, f(x), and Red Velvet, all household names in the K-pop world.

But the pace of NCT 127』s growing presence in the U.S is impressive even compared to their senior labelmates, and its reflective of how what was once a niche genre is now a full-blown fan sub-culture. Prior to NCT 127s Brooklyn performance, only EXO, SHINee, BoA, Girls』 Generation, and TVXQ have held solo concerts and/or fan meetings in the U.S. from SM』s roster.

出身K-pop名門SM娛樂公司， NCT 127在國際上獲得成功不足為奇：EXO，作為NCT同會社直屬的最年輕師兄團體， 是K-pop過去十年間最成功的男子團體之一。其他的同社藝人， 包括少女時代、東方神起、BoA、Super Junior、SHINee、 f(x)和 Red Velvet， 都是K-pop界家喻戶曉的名字。

儘管如此，和自家前輩相比， NCT 127在美國不斷提升的存在感還是令人印象深刻，他們反應了曾經小眾的市場如今發展出成熟的粉絲亞文化。在此次NCT 127的布魯克林演出之前，只有SM旗下的EXO, SHINee, BoA, 少女時代和東方神起在美國舉辦過單獨演唱會和/或粉絲見面會。

Coming to the States and gaining a following has been a lofty dream for many K-pop artists for years. Only a handful of acts have even resonated with the mainstream music industry, and many of K-pop』s biggest names failed to gain momentum after extensive attempts to break into the elusive U.S market.

And, even without dedicated attempts, it used to be that most K-pop acts took their time and had little impact in the U.S in their first year, gaining popularity in Asia first and then heading to the U.S in their later years. But that』s changing rapidly and more new acts are coming to the U.S for performances and tours earlier in their career. Including NCT 127, there were three boy bands out of KCON NYs nine acts that weren』t yet two years old...

With the success of acts like BTS and GOT7, who toured the U.S early in their careers and gained American fans before garnering popularity in Korea, the States is no longer the end-goal for many K-pop acts. Instead it』s a starting point for acts who hope not to be popular only in Korea but amongst the global K-pop fanbase. And NCT 127, still relatively under the radar in Korea -- as under the radar as SM Entertainment acts are in their early days -- is the rookie act of the moment Stateside.

多年以來，很多K-pop藝人來到美國，想在這裡俘獲一眾追隨者。只有極少數能被主流音樂工業所認可， 更多鼎鼎大名的K-pop明星企圖來美國擴張版圖，想打入鐵板一塊的美國市場，最終只得鎩羽而歸。

也有一些藝人不會刻意嘗試，早期他們在美國花了時間卻沒能激起一點水花好，經年之後他們在亞洲大火然後再進軍美國。而如今的新人們變化極大， 他們在職業生涯的早期就來美國表演甚至巡演。 這次的KCON NY演唱會上， 9組藝人里有包括NCT 127在內的3組男團出道不足兩年。

諸如BTS和GOT7，他們在職業生涯的早期來美國巡演，在韓國本土獲得高人氣之前就在美國吸引了粉絲；隨著他們的成功， 美國不再是K-pop藝人們的目標終點。那些不局限於本土，把目光投向全球韓流粉絲的藝人們，將美國當作他們的起點。而NCT 127， 相對於他們尚未被韓國民眾所關注——恰似SM公司的藝人在他們早期都不引人注目——他們在美國已經是新秀明星了。

上文原文摘自Tamar Herman的文章「NCT 127's American Appeal Bodes Well For Future of K-Pop Act」。

關於原文作者Tamar Herman：雜誌主編，作家，記者，目前定居紐約；擅長的領域是採訪，娛樂產業分析，K-pop歷史以及K-beauty。這位作者喜歡的團體有：Super Junior, INFINITE, Girls』 Generation, and Sunny Hill。

PS. 這個系列更新大約每周1-2篇，直到我能找到的媒體發文都找完了。

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