Created by SM Entertainment, K-pop group NCT ("Neo Culture Technology") boasts an unlimited number of members who populate multiple sub-units based in various international locales such as Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, and Bangkok. The collective's third spin-off, NCT Dream, was revealed in August 2016 with the single "Chewing Gum." Following a handful of Top Five EPs, they hit number one on the Gaon Albums chart with their 2021 full-length Hot Sauce. In 2022, they again hit number one with Glitch Mode and finished the year with Candy:Winter, a special mini-album.

NCT Dream issued their debut single, "Chewing Gum," in 2016, and it was featured on the EP The First in 2017. Both "Chewing Gum" and follow-up single "My First and Last" were released in Korean and Mandarin versions. The mini-album We Young appeared later in 2017, and We Go Up arrived in 2018, both making Top Five appearances in Korea and on the U.S. World chart. A third "We" set, We Boom, landed in 2019. The following year saw the release of the Japan-exclusive compilation album The Dream, and in 2021 the group issued their first full-length effort, Hot Sauce. The Korean chart-topper was later repackaged as Hello Future. The sub-unit closed out the year by appearing on the NCT project Universe, contributing the track "Dreaming."

In March 2022, the group issued their second studio album, Glitch Mode, notable for Mark's return to the lineup. Upon release, the set topped the Korean charts and landed at number 50 on the Billboard 200, NCT Dream's first appearance on the main U.S. chart. That December they followed with the special mini-album Candy:Winter. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi