By Bruce Nie; Staff Writer
Rookie South Korean pop group NewJeans has quickly established itself as a premier girl group since their unorthodox debut in 2022 took the K-pop scene by storm. They had little promotion and featured one of the youngest lineups to ever debut (the oldest member being 18 and the youngest, 14). Their first self-titled album called “New Jeans” only features four tracks. Yet, this unconventional approach to a debut seemed to have paid off, as NewJeans became an overnight sensation as their EP sold over 300,000 copies in its first week. Instead of bombastic drops or over-the-top beats, the album had a rather subdued feeling and focused mainly on the talented group’s vocals. Coupled with minimalist instrumentation reminiscent of 2000s R&B, each one of the 4 tracks was fresh, sounding unlike anything else we’ve previously heard in K-pop.
Still, their discography was small, and many were skeptical if their “gimmick” could be carried onto any further tracks without sounding stale. Then, on December 19th, 2022, NewJeans put these concerns to bed with their pre-release single “Ditto.” Debuting at number one on South Korea’s Circle Digital Chart and peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Global 200 chart, NewJeans became only the 4th Korean group to make it into the top 10. Again, critics praised NewJeans’ simplistic production choices and the song’s focus on the vocal and lyrical aspects. Then more recently, on January 3rd, 2023, NewJeans’ first single album “OMG” was released and was met with even more critical and commercial success than their first EP, with over 1,000,000 copies sold in South Korea alone. The new title track of the same name debuted at number 2 on the Circle Digital Charts, only behind NewJeans’ very own “Ditto.”; it also peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Global 200. Again, “OMG” was praised for its minimalist approach to K-pop and R&B inspired beat, but critics also appreciated how much more energetic and bouncy the newest NewJeans track felt compared to the more atmospheric “Ditto.”
However, one of the most important factors of NewJeans’ success, especially overseas, is in Ditto’s and OMG’s embrace of their English-speaking audience and accessibility on social media. Both these tracks feature large parts of the chorus sung in English, and coupled with the catchiness and easy yet iconic choreography, NewJeans has blown up on TikTok, amassing over 5.1M followers and over 130 million likes on their videos. On top of that, their songs have also been used over 1 million times on TikTok, with 680k just coming from their two most recent songs alone. In 2023, one of the most important factors to a song’s success is its ability to go viral as a sound on TikTok, and it’s clear that NewJeans understands this and takes full advantage by producing a catchy chorus with lyrics that anyone can sing along to.
Despite debuting barely over half a year ago, NewJeans has become a trendsetter, achieving success never seen before in such a new and young group; they’ve changed the landscape of K-pop entirely, making songs that steered away from the excessive noise that K-pop has almost become synonymous with. Their focus on simplicity, vocal performance, and lyrical ingenuity allowed for a fresh sound completely new to longtime K-pop listeners, while their catchiness and striking choreography drew in new overseas fans. Relatable lyrics and addictive choruses gave their songs virility on TikTok, as people danced along to their simple choreography. NewJeans’ success critically, commercially, and on social media set a new golden standard for K-pop.
