Winter is cold, but NCTzen need not fear. NCT is back with a heartwarming song and music video, “Beautiful.” On December 14, NCT dropped their second title track music video for their highly anticipated third album, Universe. “Beautiful” features 21 members, each showing off their unique vocals in a musical-esque single.

Neo Culture Musical

“Beautiful” is an upbeat pop ballad, full of enchanting harmonies and smooth raps. The track is composed by Yoo Young Jin, with lyrics by Yoo Young Jin and NCT’s very own Hendery, Jeno, Johnny, Mark, and Taeyong. The lyrics are a warm message to fans, encouraging them to know their worth and embrace their differences. After a second year in a seemingly never ending pandemic, “Beautiful” serves as a sweet reminder that everything will be okay and motivation that happiness is soon to come.

The track starts strong with a narration from Johnny, who reminds fans, “You are the most important person in your life, so be yourself. Be beautiful.” This transitions into a slow build up, leading up to a chorus with vocals from all members.  

The song changes pace with a series of slow raps from Taeyong, Jeno, Hendery, and Mark, building up anticipation for a powerful final chorus. “Beautiful” ends as warm as it started, Doyoung singing “You’re perfect the way you are. Beautiful, beautiful, you are.”

An Equally Theatrical Video

Beautiful can’t even begin to describe the video for the track. The music video for “Beautiful”  is a mix of mundane scenes with over-the-top theater-esque dance sequences. The ambience resembles a combination of High School Musical and winter Hallmark movies. 

From Jaehyun in a lecture hall and Jisung and Renjun as baristas to Jaemin on the bus and others playing baseball, the video is constructed of many small scenes. The video paces through the scenes, also showing bits of their choreography. Midway through the song, NCT takes to the streets, Taeyong rallying the members as they walk through traffic. This leads to an exchange of raps and one of Taeil’s signature high notes that is followed by members using the whistles from the NCT YearDream concept videos. 

The whistles unite all members in an epic finale where all members dance in the night-time snowfall. With tons of flair, backup dancers and beautiful sceneries, “Beautiful” manages to capture the emotional and motivational essence behind the song.

What’s Next?

“Beautiful” is one of 13 songs in NCT’s Universe album. The album acquired over 1.7 million pre-orders, and sold over 635,000 copies in its first day in Korea. NCT released their first title track, “Universe (Let’s Play Ball),” on Friday, December 10, and performed it at the 2021 MNET Asian Music Awards. NCT U will be promoting “Beautiful” alongside “Universe (Let’s Play Ball)” this week on music shows. 

In addition to shows, fans can expect more music from NCT on December 27. NCT is participating in SM Entertainment’s SMTOWN winter album alongside their labelmates such as TVXQ, Girls Generation, and aespa. They will also be performing at the SMTOWN 2022 Live Concert on New Year’s Day. 

Read up on NCT’s “Universe (Let’s Play Ball)” video here.

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