Jeno’s Shocking Comments On NCT’s Popularity Spark Heated Debate
NCT Dream’s Jeno has stirred intense debate online after sharing unexpectedly blunt thoughts about the group’s popularity ahead of their upcoming university festival performances.
The SM Entertainment boy group is set to perform at two major university festivals this coming week — Chung-Ang University’s 2025 Spring Festival on May 23 and Dongguk University’s Spring Grand Festival on May 28.
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🎑 Chung-Ang University 2025 Spring Festival : LUCAUS🗓️ 250528
🎑 Dongguk University 2025 Spring Grand Festival : DIRVANAArtist Lineup: NCT DREAM 🩵 pic.twitter.com/Ttklei7ko4
— Ⓙ archive (@jjarchiv) May 17, 2025
These performances are typically seen as an informal gauge of a group’s mainstream popularity, with crowd participation — especially singalongs — often reflecting how well-known their songs are among the general public.
i was trying to get a video of aespa singing next level at their university festival but the crowd went crazy this day 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/xBlYC4Wr1j
— aespa vocals (@aevocaels) July 13, 2024
[theqoo – hot] #NewJeans receives praises for their vocals after netizens hear the Cookie crowd chant at Sejong University Festival todayhttps://t.co/1rmwPxVQ0I pic.twitter.com/a6pcqWBVm8
— NJZNEWS🇰🇷 (@newjeansnews_) May 30, 2024
But ahead of the upcoming events, Jeno surprised fans with a series of honest messages on the fan communication platform Bubble. His words revealed a mix of self-doubt and bluntness, sparking debate online about the group’s public reach and Jeno’s own self-perception.
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In his messages, Jeno wondered whether people would even know NCT’s songs well enough to sing along — something he himself seemingly considers essential to a successful university performance.
Jeno: I’m kind of worried haha
Jeno: Do people even know our songs..?
Jeno: When I think of a university festival, the crowd singing along is the most important part..
His brief but loaded statements quickly went viral, especially on Korean forums like Pann. While some fans found his honesty refreshing and relatable, others expressed concern over what they saw as a lack of confidence.
Jeno really has no confidence.
— Viral Pann post
Still, many pointed out that it wasn’t so much insecurity as it was realism — acknowledging that while NCT has a strong fanbase, their songs may not have the mainstream recognition needed to prompt loud crowd responses at non-fandom focused events.
- “It’s very realistic.”
- “Honestly, I’d take this over someone with an inflated ego.”
- “I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence, he just knows his place way too well. That Doyoung clip is famous too, where he says, ‘How many people even know our songs?’ And even if people chant along, it’s mostly for songs like Kick It. Sure, fans in the idol scene know Regular, Simon Says, and other lesser-known tracks, but there aren’t any songs that the general public would sing along to. Doyoung knows it, and so does NCT. They’re just really self-aware.”
- “It’s kind of amazing how he’s saying all this so openly.”
- “What’s his deal, though? No one notices because his image is so ‘nice,’ but he says a lot of brutally honest stuff that makes people uncomfortable, even to his own members. I’ve never seen someone like Jeno who’s just brutally honest about everything.”
