[3] They are known for their versatility in music, vocal and rap abilities, and powerful performances, and have been cited as K-pop's "most experimental boy band" due to their concept of having limitless members.

On April 17, 2023, a new fixed sub-unit featuring members Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo debuted as NCT DoJaeJung with the extended play (EP) Perfume.

[8] Although each sub-unit promotes separately, NCT has united four times as a group to record four full-length albums: Empathy (2018), Resonance (2020), Universe (2021), and Golden Age (2023).

[12][13] Chenle was active on the Chinese music scene as a singer from 2009 to 2015; he released three albums and headlined a concert in China.

In 2011, Yuta participated in the singing competition "Juice Winter Collection" in Japan, while Ten competed on the Thai TV show Teen Superstar under the name TNT.

Taeyong released the short rap track "Open the Door" in July 2014 and featured on Red Velvet's second single "Be Natural" in October of the same year.

Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin and Jisung were Mouseketeers on Disney Channel Korea's The Mickey Mouse Club.

[21][22] The same day, they had their first live performance in China at the 16th Music Feng Yun Bang Awards alongside Chinese rookies Kun and Winwin.

In January 2018, Taeil, Doyoung, and Jaehyun released the single "Timeless" under NCT U as part of the SM Station project.

[46] NCT topped Billboard's Emerging Artists chart on May 5, marking the first time that a K-pop act had led the list.

On December 31, 2018, SM Entertainment announced NCT's fourth sub-unit, WayV (Chinese: 威神V; pinyin: Wēi shén V) under Label V.[55] The unit would be based in China and consists of seven members: Kun, Winwin, Ten, Lucas, Hendery, Xiaojun and Yangyang.

[56][57][58] Their debut single album, The Vision, was released digitally and included a Chinese version of NCT 127's "Come Back" and an original song titled "Dream Launch".

On December 13, NCT U (consisting of Taeil, Doyoung, Jaehyun and Haechan) released "Coming Home" as part of the SM Station X project.

After wrapping up album promotions for their EP Reload in April, NCT Dream abandoned their original concept in which members "graduate" from the sub-unit upon reaching age of majority (20 in Korean age reckoning, 19 internationally) and continued as seven members, with Mark returning to the lineup.

1 garnered more than 1.1 million stock pre-orders ahead of release, making it NCT's first million-selling album without repackaging.

The single combines the tracks "Make a Wish (Birthday Song)", "90's Love", "Work It", and "Raise the Roof" from their second studio album and features all 23 members.

[64] They held their first concert as a full group, titled NCT: Resonance "Global Wave", on December 27 through Beyond Live, which attracted more than 200,000 viewers.

[citation needed] On February 3, 2023, SM Entertainment announced their producing strategy for 2023, where it was revealed that the group's next unit, NCT Tokyo,[a] will be debuting in the third quarter of 2023.

[71] On March 8, SM Entertainment announced that members Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Jungwoo would debut as a fixed sub-unit, named NCT DoJaeJung.

[74] On May 24, Sungchan and Shotaro departed from NCT to join SM Entertainment's new boy group Riize.

[82] On October 2, Jungmin departed from NCT New Team for health reasons, with the unit's final lineup consisting of six members.