ISTJ (album)

ISTJ is the third studio album by South Korean boy band NCT Dream. Released on July 17, 2023, by SM Entertainment through Kakao Entertainment, the album consists of 10 tracks and is supported by the singles "Broken Melodies" and "ISTJ".

Background and release
On June 13, 2023, SM Entertainment announced that NCT Dream would be making a comeback with a new studio album, ISTJ, on July 17, seven months after their previous release, Candy. The album also follows the conclusion of the group's The Dream Show 2: In A Dream concert tour. ISTJ was confirmed to have 10 tracks, including the lead single "Broken Melodies", which was released on June 19. NCT Dream began promotions for ISTJ with performances of "Broken Melodies" on music programs such as M Countdown, Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo.  A preview and track video of the song "Poison" was released on July 7. The title track, "ISTJ", served as the second single, was released on the same day as the album. The song was accompanied by a colorful music video, which features the group members being transported to "MBTI World".

The name of the album refers to one of the 16 Myers–Briggs Type Indicators, a personality type characterized by introversion, sensing, thinking and judging.

Composition
The opening and title track, "ISTJ" is a hip hop dance song, expressing desire to deviate from the stereotypes of MBTI personality types. Specifically, the song is written from the perspective of an ENFP individual and directed towards an opposite-personality ISTJ individual. The second track, and the lead single, "Broken Melodies" is a solemn pop song, with the accompanying music video featuring calls at a phone booth and depicting the struggles of a long-term relationship. "Yogurt Shake" is a sweet melodic song characterized by harmonic vocals. The fifth track, "Blue Wave", is a bright and rhythmic pop song, acting as a sequel to "Dive into You", a song from a previous album, Hot Sauce. It also features sounds of a pan flute and fast-paced lyrics. "Poison" is a sensual R&B song, conveying contradictory feelings of love, while "SOS" is a powerful hip hop dance song characterized by synth sounds. "Pretzel" is a futuristic hip hop song, featuring electronic synths, while "Starry Night" features sounds of an acoustic guitar and trap beats. The final song of the album, "Like We Just Met" is a slow ballad written by all members of the group and expresses the group's desire to stay with their fans forever.

Commercial performance
On July 17, the album's preorders surpassed 4.2 million copies, a new record for NCT Dream. In the first week of release, the album sold over 3.65 million copies, becoming the third highest selling album in its first-week in South Korea. It also marked the third-largest sales week for albums in South Korea, according to the sales numbers on the Hanteo Chart. In the United States, "Blue Wave" became NCT Dream's first number one on Billboard's Hot Trending Songs.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)'s Global Music Report for 2023, ISTJ was the sixth most-consumed album across all formats, and the third best-selling album worldwide, having sold 4.6 million units.