Awaken the World saw the participation of various songwriters and production teams that have worked with SM previously, namely Moonshine, Tay Jasper, Adrian McKinnon, Mike Daley, Mitchell Owens, Deez, Dsign Music, Cazzi Opeia, Ryan S. Jhun, Vedo, LDN Noise, MZMC, and others.

[2] Following the release of their second extended play Take Over the Moon and English version of "Love Talk", WayV teased their upcoming album by performing a mashup of their new songs "Bad Alive" and "Turn Back Time" in their May 3 Beyond LIVE, an online-dedicated live concert series jointly organized by SM Entertainment and Naver.

[13] The album opens with the lead single "Turn Back Time", an urban trap song that stands out with powerful bass and beat that seems to be speeding that, embodying the group's ambition to progress towards a larger world stage.

Irregular trap drums and a siren sound overlay the dynamic bassline and melody, giving a sense of power.

[19] The next half of Awaken the World starts with "Only Human", a hip-hop song based on the arpeggio element of the acoustic guitar and the low synth sound.

[21] Full of dancing bass lines and unique elements, the eighth track "Up From Here" is a light song that reflects the refreshing feeling that matches the theme of love.

[22] Including rap lines written by members Hendery and Yangyang, the ninth track "Electric Hearts" is a song that highlights the vivid drumbeat rhythm and synth sound of electronic music.

[23] The album is closed by "Stand By Me", an urban pop song that combines the repeated performance of acoustic guitar and group singing.

[28] On June 18, the group released a Korean version of "Turn Back Time" digitally with an accompanied similar music video with lyrics by Kang Eun-jeong, Oh Min-joo, and Park Seong-hee.

[1][29] An English language version of the track "Bad Alive" and its music video were released on June 29 with lyrics by Wilbart "Vedo" McCoy and Pan Yan Ting.

[30][31] The single managed to rank at number one on QQ Music Daily Digital Sales chart and earned Gold certification hours after it was released.

[34] Due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the album was primarily promoted in South Korea, where the group is currently based.

[35] Promotions for the album started with the group's first performance for "Turn Back Time" as WayV The Stage through their official Weibo and YouTube account on June 11, 2020.

[38] Giving Awaken the World four stars out of five, Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic described the album as "a lively blend of R&B-inspired smoothness, trap-influenced edge, and synth-washed pop polish".

He praised the group's effortless vocal delivery and lush harmonies, as well as their ability to elevate the varied production provided by a team featuring the likes of Moonshine, Dsign Music, LDN Noise, Jack & Coke, and more.

To close his review, Yeung said the album is "one of the best entries in the NCT catalog" and "WayV delivered a confident and addictive full-length debut that more-seasoned groups rarely achieve on their second or even third attempts".