"Hot Sauce" () is a song recorded by South Korean boy group

NCT Dream NCT Dream () is the third sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed by SM Entertainment in 2016. They were initially intended to be the teenaged unit of NCT with an admission-and-graduation system, in which members would leave after rea ...

for their first studio album of the same name. It was released digitally on May 10, 2021, by

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

. It became the first

trilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

song to enter the

Billboard Global 200 The ''Billboard'' Global 200 is a weekly record chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine. The chart ranks the top songs globally and is based on digital sales and online streaming from over 200 territories worldwide. First announced in mid-2 ...

Composition

"Hot Sauce" was composed by Martin Wave, Tinashe Sibanda, Philip Kembo, Rosina "Soaky Siren" Russell, John Mitchell, Ninos Hanna,

Yoo Young-jin Yoo Young-jin is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and vocal trainer under SM Entertainment. He has produced and written songs for H.O.T., S.E.S, BoA, Shinhwa, TVXQ, CSJH The Grace, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, Shinee, ...

, while production was handled by Lee Soo-man. Musically, the song is described as "Latin music with

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting ...

-tinged hip-hop song". It features a "minimal track contrast with repetitive chanting and chilling vibes in the chorus". The track was composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

F-sharp major F-sharp major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has six sharps. The F-sharp major scale is: : Its relative minor is D-sharp minor (or enharmonically E-f ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 100 beats per minute.

Critical reception

Kim Sung-yeop of ''

IZM ''IZM'' () is a South Korean online magazine that publishes pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ...

'' noted the song as it "expresses only the passionate energy and playful, kitsch charm of NCT Dream", adding that it does not match any of the group's existing styles and has a clear presence as the first song to mark a new beginning. Rhian Daly of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' described the track as "vibrant and exuberant", further adding that "the very SM experimentalism that courses through it elevates it into something more weighty and developed".

Commercial performance

"Hot Sauce" debuted at number one on South Korea's

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

with chart issue dated May 9–15, 2021, giving the group their first number-one song on the chart. It also debuted atop the Download Chart and BGM Chart. The song debuted at number 37 on the component Streaming Chart, and peaked at number 31. The song entered the ''Billboard'' K-Pop Hot 100 at number 39, and peaked at number 18. In the United States, "Hot Sauce" debuted at number eight on the ''Billboard''

World Digital Song Sales The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific s ...

. The single debuted at number 96 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 making it the first song in three languages to enter the chart. The song also debuted at number 51 on the ''Billboard'' Global Excl. US. On the year-end charts, Hot Sauce became NCT Dream and NCT's first entry on the yearly Gaon Digital Chart.

Music video

The music video for "Hot Sauce" is set in a taqueria where the group are tasting their own specialty hot sauce and begins pouring the spicy dressing all over their food. Following the music video's release, Gladys Yeo of ''

'' described it as a "vibrant and whimsical video". Tássia Assis of ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since ...

'' noted the "psychedelic TV ad-meets-''taquería''" of the visual. NCT Dream released two dance practice videos on May 23, 2021.

Accolades

Pinkfong version

Global entertainment company

SmartStudy The Pinkfong Company ( ko, 더핑크퐁컴퍼니), formerly known as SmartStudy, is a global entertainment company. Its brands and intellectual property include Pinkfong and Baby Shark, and the company has produced original animated series, world ...

released a

Pinkfong Pinkfong (Hangul: 핑크퐁) is a South Korean children's educational brand of The Pinkfong Company (formerly SmartStudy), a South Korean educational entertainment company. Pinkfong consists of mainly children's songs, of which the most famous ...

-style version of "Hot Sauce" on May 28, 2021, at 7:00PM KST ( UTC+09:00). According to the chief executive officer of SmartStudy, Kim Min-seok, said that they "have created a special gift for all families and fans out there, regardless of age", further adding that they are "always looking to create opportunities" where they can bring joy to their fans around the world and across generations. The version features a special episode of NCT Dream appearing as Pinkfong dinosaur characters that crash-landed in the Age of Dinosaurs. Korean and English versions of the animation videos were released.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Hot Sauce''. Recording * Recorded and engineered for mix at SM Yellow Tail Studio * Recorded, digitally edited, engineered for mix, and mixed at SM Booming System * Mixed at SM Blue Cup Studio Personnel * NCT Dream (

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, Jisung)vocals * Moon Yeo-reumKorean songwriting * Jo Yoon-kyungKorean songwriting * Martin Wavecomposition, arrangement * Tinashe Sibandacomposition * Philip Kembocomposition * Rosina "Soaky Siren" Russellcomposition * John Mitchellcomposition * Ninos Hannacomposition *

composition, arrangement, vocal directing, recording, digital editing, mixing engineer * Bantuarrangement * Dr. Chaiiarrangement * Kenzievocal directing * Haechanbackground vocals * Renjunbackground vocals * Junnybackground vocals * No Min-jirecording, mixing engineer * Jung Yu-radigital editing * Jeong Eui-seokmixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{NCT (band) 2021 singles 2021 songs Gaon Digital Chart number-one singles NCT Dream songs SM Entertainment singles Songs written by Tinashe Sibanda Songs written by Yoo Young-jin