NCT's Mark. Credits: iMBC via Getty.

NCT’s Mark says he is “putting every ounce of my soul” into upcoming solo album

“There isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not working on this album or not thinking about this album”

by · NME

NCT’s Mark has opened up about working on his upcoming solo album, which is due for release in February 2025.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mark spoke about his role as a member of NCT subunits NCT 127 and NCT Dream. During the interview, the K-pop rapper also discussed his work as a soloist and opened up about his upcoming debut album.

While discussing the difference in sounds of the two sub-units, he shared: “I’m actually preparing for my solo album right now. The toughest thing about this was that I realised that there wasn’t a specific genre that I couldn’t really pull off.”

Mark explained that this made it “harder” for him to decide on the direction of his solo project. “For 127, for Dream and for my solo album, they’re all genres that I really like to do. I think that’s one of the biggest talents that I have in a way,” he said.

The rapper then explained that he would counter this by thinking of the message that he wants to include in his music. “I think that kind of helps me narrow all those genres down,” he said.

“I am putting every ounce of my soul into this album, no joke,” he continued, adding that he expects to release the record in February. “There isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not working on this album or not thinking about this album. It’s going to be an album that I’m not going to have any regrets on, but I’m just really, really working hard on it.”

Back in May, Mark released his solo single ‘200’ shortly after SM Entertainment announced plans for him to drop an album in February 2025. “It will candidly show off his own world of music which has been expanded through his previous music endeavours,” he said at the time.

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Meanwhile, NCT Dream made a comeback earlier this week with their fourth studio album ‘Dreamscape’ alongside its title track ‘When I’m With You’. The group have just wrapped up the European leg of their ‘The Dream Show 3: Dream( )scape’ world tour, and will close the tour with a three-night encore concert in Seoul later this month.