predictions on what nct would do individually in the future after their peak idol years/in their solo careers; a thread

foreword

i classified them to 4 general categories: artist, musician, performer, entertainer. the senior artists i will mention will be used for career comparisons only; don't be offended. shotaro and sungchan will be excluded from this bc they just debuted

taeil - musician. his passion and main interest is music; a key vocalist of the company, so he'll probably stay under sm. he could produce music for other artists in the company and become a vocal trainer. will release a lot of ballads as a soloist. comparable to chen from exo

johnny - entertainer. he has various interests like dj-ing, hosting, photography, fashion, etc. that's good for him, but it's harder to predict what path he'll take in the future. he might be a producer under sm, or probably leave sm and go back to america and start a business

taeyong - artist. an artist in every sense, his career's future is probably the most solid among nct. he'll be the first member to get a solo; will probably stay under sm and be a producer/director/choreographer, like boa or yunho of tvxq

yuta - entertainer. yuta will probably leave sm and go back to japan and take on the entertainment industry there; singing, modelling, maybe even acting. since 127 has established a career in jp, he'd be well-known there alr

kun - musician. i just know kun will make it big in china as a soloist. music is his main interest; he'll probably leave sm and produce and write his own music (he has a degree on this after all), and venture into acting too. comparable to luhan of exo

doyoung - entertainer/musician. another key vocalist of the company, he'll probably stay under sm and venture into various roles in the industry like mc-ing, acting, etc., especially since he's already had previous experience in these things. prob similar to kyuhyun of suju

ten - artist. he is invaluable to sm, despite being a foreigner. being an amazing artist and a literal ace like taemin of shinee, he'll probably stay under sm and be a choreographer/director of the company. high probability of getting a solo career right after taeyong

jaehyun - entertainer/musician. an all-rounder, one of the first members bound to get a solo. similar to dy, jh has had many experiences in entertainment but he says music is his passion so he'll prob focus on that while acting/modelling; will stay in sm. similar to yoona of snsd

winwin - performer. high probability of leaving sm and going back to china. a dancer and performer by nature, he'll either: go back to his roots of traditional dance and perform with the national dance company, or focus on becoming an actor/model

jungwoo - entertainer. another wildcard, he'll fit in like a glove in the korean entertainment industry and take on mc-ing, radio dj-ing, hosting on variety shows, also acting. he'll probably release music every once in a while. similar to leeteuk of suju/key of shinee

lucas - performer/entertainer. since he auditioned for modelling in the first place, i think he'll make it big in the fashion industry. he'll also be a constant in many reality and variety shows because of his big personality. hes a trophy for sm so he'll prob stay w/ the company

mark - artist. like ty and ten, he has that company director potential and is invaluable to sm so they prob won't let him leave lol. also another member bound to get a solo early on– it's inevitable. i think he'll focus solely on music and stage production, like beatburgerjae

xiaojun - musician/performer. having a theatrical background, i'm guessing that's what he'll want to do later on his career– perform for the theater and go on broadway or something. hopefully sm gives him opportunities to be casted in musicals. might also be a producer/songwriter

hendery - entertainer. because he wanted to be an actor/comedian in the first place, he'll probably venture into acting later on (esp w/ that face). similar to lucas, he's a natural comedian so he'll probably be on variety shows a lot. will prob make it big in mainland china

renjun - musician. i see a lot of zhoumi in him; he'll probably also be a part of musicals a lot, and release a lot of ballads like taeil. he's a smart dude so his focus won't be in the entertainment industry alone and might take interest in business or smth

jeno - performer. similar to kai of exo, he's a strong performer so he'll probably get a solo too but later than the others. will get a LOT of acting + modelling gigs because those are his roots anyway. also another trophy for sm, so he'll stay with the company

haechan - artist. another all-rounder, and a high probability of getting a solo early on bc he just has that star factor. comparable to baekhyun of exo, he'll get a lot of exposure through music and variety shows. will stay with sm because they'll beg him to stay

jaemin - entertainer. at the top of the list for the idol-turned-actor title. might completely switch lanes to acting, it seems like that's the path he's headed towards esp with that pretty face. he'll still be there for the group reunions though (i think)

yangyang - performer/musician. also another future producer. and an unconventional take, but i think he'll get a solo too in the future and be like lay of exo and produce his own music. he also has that star factor. he'll have a more solid career in china, but might stay under sm

chenle - musician. chenle is a prodigy, i just want him to be free of sm's shackles and be the star he was meant to be in china. he doesn't owe sm anything so he'll probably leave and start his own label

jisung - performer. he's so young and there's so much more left of his idol career but in the future i think he'll be a choreographer/stage director like eunhyuk of suju. will get a solo when the older guys are all in the military. he grew up in sm so he'll most likely stay