Neo Zone

[3] Neo Zone contains various musical genres from hip hop, R&B, funk, to electro-pop, which aimed to create a soundscape that broadened the group's sonic vision.

The repackage gave the group their sixth number one title on the Gaon Album Chart, and rose cumulative sales of the record to over 1.2 million copies.

The group originally planned to embark on their first U.S. arena tour; titled "Neo City – The Awards" from June 6, 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

After wrapping up promotion activities in the United States by the end of November 2019, SM Entertainment uploaded a music video for "Dreams Come True" onto the group's official channel, along with the release announcement for NCT #127: Neo Zone on January 27, 2020.

SM Entertainment announced on April 7 that a repackage version of the album, titled NCT #127 Neo Zone: The Final Round would be released sometimes in May 2020.

[18] A 22-second music video teaser for "Punch" was released onto the group's native label YouTube channel on May 17, 2020, three days prior to its official premiere.

After returning from a song session in the United States during sometimes in 2018, Deez participated in another SM songwriting camp, where he produced the uptempo track "Love Me Now" in "about four hours".

With "Dreams Come True", the composers originally had NCT 127's 2018 single "Touch" in mind, with British production team LDN Noise creating a basic loop.

Deez and songwriter Bobii Lewis then wrote additional arrangement; including piano and musical variations, bridge and main Moog lines to complete the track first.

Co-produced with American producer Dem Jointz and SM songwriter-producer Yoo Young-jin (whom worked with the group during their recording session), the song was originally prepared to "gird the loins" for "Cherry Bomb 2.0", with the outcome being "stronger" than the 2017 single.

Member Taeyong and Mark were said to have recorded their rap parts in one-take to their preferences, and proceeded to arrange all the qualified cuts later with the album's producers.

In addition to his initial composition contribution, Deez also took part as the vocal director for "White Night", a collaboration between American producer Harvey Mason Jr. (former member of The Underdogs), The Wildcardz production team and SM songwriter Kenzie.

[21] Described as a "diversified selection" of mainly hip-hop and "slinky" R&B cuts with strong 1990s influence, the 13-track album also includes elements from funk, trap, noise-pop, metal, dance-pop and EDM music.

[25][4] It was proceeded by the album's lead single "Kick It", a "powerful" hip-hop dance record with heavy metal guitar riff and R&B elements throughout the song.

"Sit Down" is described as a "thunderous", "rare strong song" and hailed as the most straight-up hip-hop moment of the album, with 90s R&B vibe included.

It was continued with "White Night", a "traditional" R&B ballad track which invokes "jazz piano-laden" soul influence which became a favorite of member Taeil.

The final track "Dreams Come True" saw the group collaborate again with LDN Noise and Deez for a "classic, nostalgic" R&B throwback with jazzy piano melody that recalls both the visual and sonic aesthetics of '90s boy band R&B ballads.

[3] Following the repackage confirmation by the group's home label on April 7, 2020, the title of four new additional songs to the original 13-track release were revealed: "Punch", "Non Stop", "Make Your Day" and "序曲; Prelude".

The interlude was among the last additional work to be created before the initial release of Neo Zone, and was eventually performed live during the group's promotion cycle for "Kick It".

"[39] Promotion for the album started with the group's first performance for the then-unreleased "序曲; Prelude" and "Kick It" as NCT 127 The Stage through their official channel on March 5, 2020.

[59] According to Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum of Consequence of Sound, the album presents the group at their best, as it "checks off all the boxes when it comes to playing to their strengths, which include vocal versatility, a diversified selection of hip-hop and R&B jams, and giving fans a fun, good time".

[60] In a Rolling Stone article by Tim Chan, the writer praised the album's ability to "seamlessly slide in and out of genres" and "experimenting" for making the group become a stand-out.

[28] Vandana Pawa of Teen Vogue said that the group "feels more fully-evolved" and "more choosy" than ever, along with the confidence in their presentation through the release of Neo Zone, further indicated the boy band's broader vision for a "dynamic, passionate" presence.

With the repackage edition's sales combined, Neo Zone became the first million-seller album for NCT 127 in South Korea, having sold over 1,2 million copies as of May 2020.

[70][71] Additionally, Neo Zone was the eighth best-selling physical release in the States as of June 2020, having sold an estimated total of 196,000 copies.

American singer Bazzi co-wrote "Boom" for Neo Zone .