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On June 30, SM Entertainment announced NCT Universe: LASTART, the survival reality show that will determine the new subunit’s members. Fans were surprised to see the notification for the same pop-up from the @SM_NCTUniverse account on Twitter. The reason for their anger and shock was that it was the same account used for the show of the same name, which was hosted by Sungchan and Shotaro, the SMROOKIES introduced in 2020.
NCT Universe premiered in November last year with the aim of the two new SMROOKIES joining the NCT team and exploring Japan and South Korea's promotions, daily activities, and more of all the subunits. However, last month, Sungchan and Shotaro were announced to have been shifted to the new SM Entertainment boy group and removed from NCT.
While the removal of the duo from the team brought intense negative reactions from fans, the agency's use of the same social media accounts for recruiting new members in place of Sungchan and Shotaro was considered extremely disrespectful.
Fans call out SM Entertainment for disrespecting previous SMROOKIES by using the same NCT Universe social media account
The response to NCT Universe: LASTART was chaotic, with fans heavily criticizing the agency. Fans were already upset with SM Entertainment’s decision to move Sungchan and Shotaro (2020 SMROOKIES) from NCT to a new boy group and bring YUSHI and SION, who were reportedly going to debut in the new boy group to NCT.
Adding fuel to the fire, the agency announced information pertaining to the survival reality show via the Twitter account used by Sungchan and Shotaro. The new pre-debut survival show will form the remaining members of NCT’s new subunit. Fans reacted negatively to the news, calling it disrespectful and even demanding that the agency bring back Sungchan and Shotaro to the NCT team
Many also mentioned the previous SMROOKIES, Shohei, Eunseok, and Seunghan’s whereabouts. They said that they did not ask for the survival show but would rather get updates for the new boy group featuring Shohei, Eunseok, Seunghan, Sungchan, and Shotaro.
Meanwhile, fans were also conscious of not sending any kind of hate towards the new SMROOKIES and the contestants of the survival show. However, they repeatedly criticized SM Entertainment for their inability to manage their artists and swap idols. Fans await more information on Sungchan, Shotaro, Shohei, Eunseok, and Seunghan.
SM Entertainment announces premiere date and details for NCT Universe: LASTART
The pre-debut reality show that will decide the NCT New Team members was finally announced on June 30, 2023. The news arrived two days after SM Entertainment introduced two new SMROOKIES, YUSHI and SION. Titled NCT Universe: LASTART, the show aims to show the new creation of the NCT New Team members right from the selection to the debut lineup.
YUSHI and SION have their places confirmed in the NCT New Team. The remaining members will be determined through LASTART. Legendary K-pop idols BoA and Eunhyuk will be joining the show as hosts and judges. Other SM artists will also be guests on the show. The team that will be created from the show will be the last NCT subunit and officially close off the group’s infinite expansion plan.
NCT Universe: LASTART will premiere on July 27, 2023, in South Korea, Japan, and the United States simultaneously.
