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NCT 127 Return as a Five-Piece with 'Piñata' Video Ahead of 'BLINGY' Album

Kiran MachadoPublished 3d ago3 min readBased on 5 sources
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NCT 127 Return as a Five-Piece with 'Piñata' Video Ahead of 'BLINGY' Album
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NCT 127 dropped the music video for 'Piñata' on Tuesday, August 11, the first taste of their seventh studio album, 'BLINGY,' which arrives August 24 at 6PM KST. The track was released through SM Entertainment and Virgin Music Group, and the two-minute-forty-three-second clip went up on the group's official YouTube channel the same day Billboard.

'BLINGY' runs nine tracks and is NCT 127's first full-length album in two years. Their previous studio effort, 2024's 'WALK,' debuted at No. 117 on the Billboard 200 — the main US album chart that ranks the week's most-consumed releases across sales and streaming.

The album also marks a new configuration for the group. 'BLINGY' is NCT 127's first release as a five-member unit of Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Jaehyun and Haechan. Doyoung and Jungwoo are currently completing South Korea's mandatory military service, the country's requirement that pulls most young men away from civilian careers for roughly 18 to 21 months. The remaining roster has shifted further over the past two years: Taeil was removed from the group in 2024, Mark parted ways with SM Entertainment in April 2026, and Winwin exited in July 2025 after his contract concluded.

Fans will get an early listen before release week. NCT 127 are headlining KCON LA on Friday — the annual Korean-culture convention and concert in Los Angeles — where they will preview material from 'BLINGY.' The day after the album drops, the group will host the 'NCT 127 7th Album [BLINGY] Comeback Live Party' on August 25, performing all nine tracks and sharing behind-the-scenes stories from the recording process.

For a group that has cycled through membership changes, military absences and label departures in quick succession, a nine-track album with a coordinated live rollout is a concrete signal of what the current five can do on a stage and on a release schedule. Whether 'BLINGY' climbs higher on the Billboard 200 than 'WALK' did is a question the chart will answer the week of August 24.

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