Sticker (album)

''Sticker'' is the third Korean-language and fourth overall studio album by South Korean boy band NCT 127. It was released on September 17, 2021, by SM Entertainment, distributed by Dreamus in South Korea and Virgin Music in United States. It follows their Japanese-language EP ''Loveholic'', released in February 2021, and previous Korean-language studio album ''Neo Zone'', released in March 2020. On October 25, the group released a repackaged version of ''Sticker'', titled ''Favorite'', which features three new tracks, including the lead single " Favorite (Vampire)".

The album and its reissue were commercially successful both in South Korea and internationally, selling a total of 3.58 million copies. ''Sticker'' became the best-selling album of all-time by an act under SM Entertainment, the best-selling K-pop album of 2021 both globally and in the United States (in pure sales), and the best-selling album by NCT 127 and by an NCT sub-unit. ''Sticker'' debuted and peaked at number 40 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming NCT 127's first appearance on said chart. On the ''Billboard'' 200, ''Sticker'' debuted and peaked at number three; it became the longest-charting album by an SM Entertainment artist, and NCT 127 became the third K-pop group to chart for 17 weeks after BTS and Blackpink. The album received positive reviews from music critics, with several publications naming it as one of the best K-pop albums from 2021. ''Sticker'' won the Album of the Year award from the 2021 Asia Artist Awards.

Background

On June 28, 2021, SM Entertainment released a presentation on the future of the company and planned comebacks of their artists during the "SM Congress" event. The presentation indicated that NCT 127 was planning to release a third studio album and repackage before the year's end. At a fanmeet in celebration of the group's fifth anniversary, they confirmed the album would have a September release window.

Promotion

''Sticker'' was teased with a concept trailer titled "Who Is Sticker", released on August 21, which depicted the members of NCT 127 as engineering students by day and computer hackers by night. On August 22, SM Entertainment announced the album's release date as September 17 on the group's social media accounts. On September 10, NCT 127 released a playlist called "Welcome to NCT 127 Sticker, the Enhanced Playlist" exclusively on Spotify. ''Sticker'' was officially released on September 17, and the group promoted the album and its title track on ''The Late Late Show with James Corden''.

Commercial performance

''Sticker''

On August 24, 2021, after just one day of availability, it was reported that ''Sticker'' had surpassed 1,329,000 pre-orders, eventually surpassing 2.2 million pre-orders on the day of release, exceeding their previous career high of 530,000 pre-orders for ''Neo Zone'' and setting a new record for artists under SM Entertainment.

On September 24, 2021, NCT 127 broke their own sales record to become a double-million seller, with over 2.15 million copies of ''Sticker'' sold in just one week. As of November 2021, the album has sold 2.4 million copies.

''Sticker'' debuted at number three on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 58,000 copies in its first week. As of March 2022, it has sold over 230,000 copies in the United States.

''Favorite''

On October 25, 2021, it was reported that ''Favorite'' surpassed 1,060,000 pre-orders, making it the most pre-ordered repackaged album from SM Entertainment. One week after its release, it was reported that the album has sold 1.1 million copies, bringing the total sales of ''Sticker'' to 3.58 million copies.

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Notes

References

{{Gaon Chart Music Awards for Artist of the Year – Physical

2021 albums
Korean-language albums
NCT 127 albums
SM Entertainment albums
Universal Music Group albums