Kick It (NCT 127 song)

After wrapping up promotional activities in the United States by the end of November 2019, SM Entertainment uploaded a music video for "Dreams Come True", along with the release announcement for Neo Zone on January 27, 2020.[1] The label further confirmed that member Jungwoo would return to the group following his hiatus since August 2019.[2] On February 12, a "timeline" video for the album was posted on the group's social media accounts, including a release schedule and confirmation of the title of the lead single as "영웅 / 英雄 (Kick It)".[3] Following video previews of other album tracks, the music video teaser for "Kick It" was uploaded on the official SM Town channel on March 3, 2020.[4][5] The full video premiered one day later and was released digitally alongside the rest of Neo Zone on March 6, 2020.[5][6]

Directed by South Korean director Oui Kim, the music video for "Kick It" has a martial arts theme.[14] Set in the "Neo Oriental" mood virtual space of "Neo Zone", the video tells the story of overcoming trauma, while seeing the members reborn as powerful "heroes", living up to the song's original Korean title.[15] The martial arts, action movie-influenced choreography was created by choreographer Koosung Jung, who revealed that member Taeyong also contributed some of the "action scenes" to the overall performance.[16] Three other versions were made available on the NCT 127's Youtube channel, including a visualiser version on March 8, vertical version on March 16 and choreography-only performance video on March 19.

Following the music video release, the group shared their first performance for "Kick It" as NCT 127 The Stage through their official channel on March 5.[6] One day later, the group had their first music show performance on Music Bank, followed by promotions on Show! Music Core and Inkigayo.[17] NCT 127 eventually earned their first Music Bank trophy for the track on March 27, 2020.[18] Along with other album tracks, "Kick It" was part of the group's setlist for Beyond the Origin, an online live concert via streaming service Beyond Live on May 17, 2020.[19]

As part of the group's promotions in the United States, the song was first performed on March 10 at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where NCT 127 became the very first K-pop act to perform at the event.[20][21] It was reported that the group would embark on their first U.S. arena tour, Neo City – The Awards, to promote the single and Neo Zone album starting from June 6 at New York City's Madison Square Garden; the tour was subsequently postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown.[22][23][24]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
IZM[25]

Following its initial release, "Kick It" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Giving the song three stars out of five, writer Hwang Sun-eob of IZM noted the song was "going too hard", but complimented its "level of balance" with both the rapping and singing performance of the group.[25] Tamar Herman of Billboard magazine called the track "high-energy", while Amber Miley from The Kraze agreed on how this song is the "signature sound" of the group.[9][26] Jeff Benjamin of Forbes magazine also praised the noise-pop influence of the song as "impactful", while noting its R&B influence that "set the stage" for Neo Zone.[27]

Another review from SoundDigest called the track "rambunctious", while writer Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum from Consequences of Sound noted the song's metal influence and the "darkness, anthemic" return to some of their early releases.[28][29] Writer Vandana Pawa of Teen Vogue gave the song a positive review, citing "Kick It" as a representation of both the group's sonic origin and development in the near future.[30] In an interview with the song's producer Deez, music critic Kim Young-dae said the song was a "masterpiece" that continued the legacy of "Cherry Bomb," while not being "as complicated" as the 2017 single. He also praised the song as "dynamic" and "more airtight and dense" with "thick texture and soulful verse of sophisticated harmony."[7]

"Kick It" saw an improvement in chart performance compared to the group's previous releases, debuting and peaking within the top five of all digital real-time music charts in South Korea and reaching number one position on Bugs and Naver.[36][37] With one day of tracking, the song debuted at number 68 on Gaon Digital Chart in the week of March 7, 2020, before peaking at number 21 the following week.[38][39] It became the group's first top-thirty entry on the chart. "Kick It" also landed atop the Gaon Download Chart for two weeks, becoming the group's first to do so.[40][41] The song ranked at number 36 on the monthly Gaon Digital Chart for March and at number 131 in the 2020 mid-year issue.[42][43] On the K-pop Hot 100, the song became the group's first top-ten entry, reaching a peak of number nine, following 46-spot jump from the week prior.[44]

Elsewhere, the song debuted at number three on the US Billboard World Digital Songs chart, NCT 127's eighth top-five entry and third to debut and peak at the same position, following "Cherry Bomb" (2017) and "Superhuman" (2019).[45] It also became their fourth appearance on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and third on the New Zealand's Hot 40 Singles Chart, peaking at number eighty-four and number thirty-eight, respectively.[46][47]

With the EDM label ScreaM Records announcing their iScreaM project on May 4, 2020, remixes for "Kick It" were released on May 8, 2020. It was the first single of the project, containing three different remixes by American DJ Valentino Khan, Minimonster and labelmate Hitchhiker (who also helped produce the track "Mad Dog" on Neo Zone).[48]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Kick It.[52]