"Touch" is a song recorded by the South Korean, Seoul-based unit

NCT 127 NCT 127 () is the first fixed and second overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment. The current lineup consists of nine active members: Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo ...

for their parental unlimited

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

NCT's first studio album ''

NCT 2018 Empathy ''NCT 2018 Empathy'' (stylized in uppercase) is the debut studio album by South Korean Boy band NCT, an unlimited group project under the management of SM Entertainment. Containing a total of fourteen tracks with twelve of which were released as ...

'' (2018). Co-produced by production team

LDN Noise LDN Noise (pronounced ''London Noise'') is a British songwriting and record production duo based in London, England. Consisting of songwriter Greg Bonnick and DJ Hayden Chapman, the duo has worked with artists such as Nathan Sykes, Nick Jonas ...

, Deez and Adrian McKinnon with lyrics from Jo Yoon-kyung, Kim Min-ji and Shin Jin-hye, the '90s-imbued

tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. T ...

track was released digitally on March 14, 2018, as the fourth single from ''Empathy'' 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 ...

with

iRIVER Inc Dreamus is an electronics and entertainment company founded in 1999 originally as ReignCom. Currently headquartered in South Korea (and formerly in the United States), it is the parent company of South Korean-based iRiver, Astell & Kern and FLO ...

as the distributor. An accompanying music video was premiered a day prior to both the single and the album's scheduled digital release. The song was later re-recorded and released as the first single from the unit's first Japanese studio album '' Awaken'' (2019) on September 16, 2018 by Avex Trax. Following its initial release, "Touch" received positive reviews from music critics for its "bright, poppy" nature that does not usually present through the unit's choreography. The song also attained moderate commercial success, becoming the second highest entry from ''Empathy'' on the ''Billboard''

K-Pop Hot 100 The K-pop Hot 100 is a music singles chart in South Korea, launched by ''Billboard'' in conjunction with ''Billboard'' Korea () on August 25, 2011. It is the second Asian ''Billboard'' chart after the Japan Hot 100. The chart used the same multime ...

, while being the unit's first single to narrowly miss the top ten on ''

Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' World Digital Song chart, peaking at number eleven only.

Background and release

Following the group's promotion activity for their third extended play since June 2017, all nine members were eventually revealed as part of NCT 2018, a singular-year project involving all current members of NCT during mid-January by their native label. SM Entertainment then confirmed the unit's involvement for their parental group's first major release on February 6, with a music video to precede the album release. It was eventually released as the fourth single overall for ''Empathy'' on March 13, one day prior to its digital release. The song was technically the unit's first original release in nine months, and their first for a grouped NCT release. The song was then released as a single in the Japanese market on September 16, 2018, becoming the first single for their then-unknown upcoming Japanese studio album a year later.

Composition

According to ''Billboard'''s Tamar Herman, "Touch" is a '90s-imbued pop track that incorporates funky instrumentals, sleek synths and a brassy beat. The song was written by Cho Yoon-kyung, Jam Factory and Shin Jin-hye, and produced by LDN Noise, Deez, and Adrian McKinnon.

Chart performance

"Touch" entered at number 69 on ''Billboard''s

K-pop Hot 100 The K-pop Hot 100 is a music singles chart in South Korea, launched by ''Billboard'' in conjunction with ''Billboard'' Korea () on August 25, 2011. It is the second Asian ''Billboard'' chart after the Japan Hot 100. The chart used the same multime ...

, on the week ending April 1, 2018. A week later, the song peaked at number 54. The song failed to enter Gaon's main single chart, but entered the component Download chart at number 31.

Charts

References

{{NCT (band) 2018 singles 2018 songs NCT 127 songs SM Entertainment singles Song recordings produced by LDN Noise