{"id":5573,"date":"2025-05-21T10:33:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T10:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/?p=5573"},"modified":"2025-05-21T10:33:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T10:33:59","slug":"a-newjeans-discography-a-brief-history-and-power-play-behind-newjeans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/2025\/05\/21\/a-newjeans-discography-a-brief-history-and-power-play-behind-newjeans\/","title":{"rendered":"A NewJeans Discography: A brief history and power play behind NewJeans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Album I – New Genes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ushering in a new era of Kpop<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

K-pop, otherwise known as Korean pop music, has exploded as a global phenomenon, rapidly evolving through several \u201cgenerations\u2019. The first generation of K-pop emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth culture where South Korean artists drew inspiration from Western hip-hop, R&B and rock. The second generation featured artists akin to Girls\u2019 Generation and Big Bang, paving the foundation for Hallyu, <\/em>the \u201cKorean Wave\u201d that marked the initial rise in popularity of Korean pop-culture within neighboring Asian countries such as China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, \u201cGangnam Style\u201d by PSY went viral, becoming the first music video to ever reach 1 billion views on Youtube. Whilst some argue \u201cGangnam Style\u201d defined the third generation, others believe it was groups such as BTS, EXO, TWICE and BLACKPINK which also exploded into global recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22, 7, 22<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few groups represent the shift into the fourth generation as strikingly as NewJeans. Debuting on July 22, 2022, NewJeans gained massive traction with the sudden release of their song \u201cAttention\u201d. Immediately, it was clear they were different from other groups. No promotion, no information about group members. The only teasers to the group\u2019s debut – three animated music videos of \u201c22\u201d, \u201c7\u201d and \u201c22\u201d. The initial music video itself, a clear message of who NewJeans are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Genes of Kpop.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Album II – NewJeans<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NewJeans didn’t only redefine how K-pop groups debut, but also changed how albums themselves are listened to. Conventionally, K-pop albums have grand debuts and slither down the charts week by week; NewJeans\u2019 debut album, on the other hand, only found itself growing in streams. It’s interesting to see how their songs such as \u201cDitto\u201d and \u201cOMG\u201d broke into the Billboard Hot 100 chart, not during the debut week, but only within the following two or three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NewJeans synthesized their own formula – authenticity\u00a0and storytelling. Each group member is down to earth,\u00a0genuinely caring for each other and their fanbase. Indeed, it’s the infectious energy and fun they bring to their\u00a0choreography and performances which offer a refreshing\u00a0contrast to the almost robotic, precision based\u00a0choreographies of some other groups. And just as the name \u201cNewJeans\u201d alludes to the\u00a0timeless nature of jeans, the group has carved\u00a0a timeless image into the history of K-pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Album III – NJZ<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the Scenes: Artist vs Agency<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From behind the dreamy aesthetic and musical success sprouted an unexpected dispute, a battle for creative control, extending beyond NewJeans\u2019 record label ADOR into the upper echelons of their parent company, HYBE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cracks in NewJeans\u2019 relationship with their label became impossible to ignore, with tensions at a boiling point when the group live streamed on Youtube, directly addressing their dissatisfaction with ADOR\u2019s management. The group proceeded to boldly announce the termination of all five member\u2019s contracts, rebranding as \u201cNJZ\u201d and describing the psychological impacts of remaining under ADOR\u2019s control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADOR launched legal action, arguing members were still contractually bound and thus not allowed to operate independently. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in their favour in March of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Album IV – ???<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future of NewJeans as a group remains uncertain, with the group announcing a hiatus after the \u201cmental and emotional toll\u201d of the legal battle. Regardless, the case shed light onto the rigid structures imposed upon idols, the near total control often imposed upon branding, creativity and style. With only single three albums released in their young career, fans are left pondering<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will NewJeans ever return with a fourth?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n

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K-pop, otherwise known as Korean pop music, has exploded as a global phenomenon, rapidly evolving through several \u201cgenerations\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5573"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5575,"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5573\/revisions\/5575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}