New Jeans is the debut extended play (EP) by the South Korean girl group NewJeans. It was released on August 1, 2022, by ADOR, a subsidiary of Hybe Corporation. Produced by Min Hee-jin, 250, and Park Jin-su, the EP draws from synth-pop, hip hop, and R&B and infuses elements of musical styles from the 1990s and 2000s decades. The songs "Attention", "Hype Boy", and "Cookie" were released as singles.

New Jeans
Blue square with a rabbit in the background and the blue word "NWJNS" in the bottom
Digital cover
EP by
ReleasedAugust 1, 2022 (2022-08-01)
Recorded2022
StudioHybe Studio (Yongsan, Seoul)
Genre
Length12:47
Language
  • Korean
  • English
LabelADOR
Producer
NewJeans chronology
New Jeans
(2022)
OMG
(2023)
Singles from New Jeans
  1. "Attention"
    Released: July 22, 2022
  2. "Hype Boy"
    Released: July 23, 2022
  3. "Cookie"
    Released: August 1, 2022

Music critics generally complimented the EP's musical styles and considered it a solid debut effort. Rolling Stone ranked it among the best albums of 2022 in their year-end list. In South Korea, New Jeans debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart and has achieved a Million certification from the Korea Music Content Association. It additionally charted in Croatia, Germany, Hungary, and Japan.

Background and release

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The lineup for NewJeans was reportedly finalized in March 2022 under ADOR (All Doors One Room), a subsidiary record label of Hybe Corporation. The group was created under the direction of Min Hee-jin, a former visual director at SM Entertainment at chief brand officer (CBO) at Hybe's predecessor, Big Hit Entertainment.[1][2] On July 22, 2022, "Attention" and its music video were released without prior announcements regarding the group's lineup.[3] The single was followed by the announcement of their debut self-titled extended play (EP), which contains four tracks and two of which would be released as further singles.[4][5]

Pre-orders for the EP opened on July 25.[5] "Hype Boy" was released as the second single on July 23, with a 50-second clip revealing the members and four additional music videos customized for each member being released on the same day.[6] Two days later, a music video for the track "Hurt" was released.[6] On August 1, the group released the final music video the third single, "Cookie", following the digital release of the EP on the same day.[5] The EP was distributed physically on August 8.[6] Min explained that having three singles for a four-track EP was because of how "confident" she was in the music and how "it's such a pity how it's the lead singles that get all the attention".[7]

Musical styles

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New Jeans incorporates musical styles of the 1990s and 2000s decades,[8] predominantly pop and R&B.[9][10] Kim Do-heon, a music critic writing for the Korean Dispatch, characterized the EP as a coalition of synth-pop and hip hop/R&B.[11] The songs are instrumented by mellow beats and atmospheric synthesizers.[9] "Attention" has a minimal 2000s R&B instrumentation with key changes between major and minor chords.[12] "Hype Boy" is an upbeat future bass song[13] with elements of 1990s R&B[14] and moombahton in its rhythms.[15] "Cookie" is a pop-R&B track with pulsing synthesizers, a fluttering bassline, and faint 808 kicks;[8] its bridge incorporates Jersey club elements.[10] The closing song, "Hurt", is a mellow R&B track backed by groovy drums.[8][16]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM     [17]
NME     [18]

Carmen Chin of NME gave three out of five stars, stating that "with their musical ability and the label's bold artistic vision, NewJeans have managed to lay some solid groundwork for a bright future as trailblazers".[8] Joshua Minsoo Kim of Pitchfork wrote, "NewJeans' launch has been the most elaborate campaign in K-pop this year", stating that the EP is "a plush and stylish collection of '90s and '00s-indebted R&B production".[10] In December 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it as number 46 in their list of best 100 albums of 2022, describing the EP as "a unique sound and fresh visual component, leaning heavily into a Nineties pop aesthetic that suits this band well and guarantees replays".[19]

Year-end lists for New Jeans
Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 25 Best K-Pop Albums of 2022 15 [20]
EBS Top 100 Korean Albums (2004–2023) Included [21]
Idology The 20 Albums of the Year Included [22]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2022 46 [23]
Uproxx The Best K-pop Albums of 2022 Included [24]

Awards and nominations

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Awards and nominations for New Jeans
Year Ceremony Award Result Ref.
2022 Asian Pop Music Awards[note 1] Best New Artist (Overseas) Nominated [26]
Melon Music Awards Album of the Year Nominated [27]
2023 Circle Chart Music Awards New Artist of the Year – Physical Nominated [28]
Korean Music Awards Album of the Year Nominated [29]
Best K-pop Album Won [30]

Commercial performance

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On July 28, it was announced that pre-orders of New Jeans exceeded 444,000 copies, breaking the record for the highest number of stock pre-orders for any Korean girl group debut album in history.[31] After the release of New Jeans, all tracks immediately ranked high on major South Korean domestic music charts such as Melon, Genie, Bugs!, and Vibe.[32] On the first day of its release, the EP achieved 2.06 million streams on Spotify Korea, the most for any K-pop girl group that debuted in 2022. Singles "Attention" and "Hype Boy" placed in the top two of Korean Spotify's Daily Top Songs chart for two consecutive days, while "Cookie" ranked third on the second day of release.[33][34] Overseas, the three singles managed to enter the real-time charts of Line Music, Japan's largest music site.[35] On the first day of release alone, New Jeans sold over 262,800 combined copies, breaking the record set by labelmate Le Sserafim's Fearless, which recorded 175,000 first-day album sales in May earlier same year.[36]

Promotion

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Following the release of New Jeans, NewJeans held a live countdown on YouTube on the same day to introduce the extended play and communicate with their fans.[37] On August 4, they held their debut stage on Mnet's M Countdown, where they performed all three lead singles.[38] The promotions continued through Music Bank on August 5, where they performed "Attention",[39] and Inkigayo on August 7, where the quintet performed "Attention" and "Cookie". A pop-up store on The Hyundai, Seoul to commemorate the release of New Jeans is scheduled to open from August 11 to 31 and sell official merchandise of New Jeans and ADOR.[40]

Track listing

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Track listing for New Jeans
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Attention"
  • 250
  • Duckbay
2503:00
2."Hype Boy"
  • 250
  • Ylva Dimberg
2502:59
3."Cookie"
  • Gigi
  • Ylva Dimberg
Park Jin-su3:55
4."Hurt"
  • Gigi
  • Amanda Lundstedt
  • 250
  • Amanda Lundstedt
2502:57
Total length:12:52

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for New Jeans
Region Certification Certified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA)[57] Million 993,562[56]
South Korea (KMCA)[59]
Weverse Album
Platinum 445,610[58]

Release history

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Release history for New Jeans
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various August 1, 2022 ADOR [60]
August 8, 2022 CD [61]
United States March 23, 2023
[62]

Notes

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  1. ^ Hosted by the Hong Kong Asia Pacific International Group and Sunway Records, the Asian Pop Music Awards bases its winners on the "Asian Pop Music Chart" which opened in September 2019.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Chin, Carmen (March 25, 2022). "HYBE subsidiary ADOR's upcoming girl group set to debut in 'the third quarter of the year'". NME. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  2. ^ Jun, Harry; Kim, Jae-hun; Park, Sanha; Jin, Chae-min; Cha, Woo-jin, eds. (April 15, 2022). "A Rare Peek into Min Hee-jin's World". BeAttitude. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  3. ^ Herman, Tamar (July 28, 2022). "NewJeans, new K-pop group, have YouTube, TikTok abuzz – here's everything you need to know about them". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Hicap, Jonathan (July 21, 2022). "HYBE's label ADOR debuts first K-pop group NewJeans". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Chin, Carmen (July 22, 2022). "HYBE's latest girl group NewJeans make their much-anticipated debut with 'Attention'". NME. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Yeo, Gladys (July 25, 2022). "New Hybe girl group NewJeans unveil music videos for 'Hype Boy' and 'Hurt'". NME. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (September 21, 2022). "Meet NewJeans: HYBE's Global Breakout Girl Group Where 'Everything Was Riding on Secrecy'". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Chin, Carmen (August 4, 2022). "NewJeans – New Jeans review: HYBE's latest girl group go against the grain in an uneven debut". NME. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  9. ^ a b San Juan, Ratziel (October 13, 2023). "NewJeans' 2nd EP, Get Up, Is Short But Sweet". Billboard Philippines. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Kim, Joshua Minsoo (August 2, 2022). "NewJeans: 'Cookie'". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Kim, Do-heon (July 28, 2023). [김도헌의 음감] 뉴진스, 2분 30초의 마술 [[Kim Do-heon's sense of pitch] New Jeans, 2 minutes and 30 seconds of magic]. Dispatch (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023 – via Naver.
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  20. ^ Jeff, Benjamin; Joe, Lynch; Jessica, Oak; Glenn, Rowley (December 20, 2022). "The 25 Best K-Pop Albums of 2022: Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
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  22. ^ 결산 2022 : ③올해의 앨범 20선 [Closing 2022 : ③20 Albums of the Year]. Idology. January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
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  25. ^ "2020亚洲流行音乐大奖结果出炉 林俊杰获5奖成最大赢家". VCT News (in Chinese). December 28, 2020. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  26. ^ "【APMA 2022】亚洲流行音乐大奖2022年度入围名单" [[APMA 2022] Asian Pop Music Awards 2022 Shortlist] (in Chinese). December 13, 2022. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2022 – via Weibo.
  27. ^ Choi, Hye-jin (November 26, 2022). "'MMA2022' 임영웅, 5관왕 영예..아이브 4관왕·뉴진스 신인상 '걸그룹 강세' [종합]". Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  28. ^ "The Rookie of the Year". Circle Chart Music Awards. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  29. ^ Hicap, Jonathan (February 9, 2023). "K-pop group NewJeans bags most nominations at Korean Music Awards". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  30. ^ Koh, Seung-hee (March 5, 2023). "'뉴진스 프로듀서' 250, 한국대중음악상 4관왕...뉴진스는 3관왕" ['New Jeans Producer' 250, 4 Korean Music Awards...New Jeans wins 3 crowns] (in Korean). Herald Biz. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023 – via Naver.
  31. ^ Moon, Wan-sik (July 28, 2022). "뜨겁다! 뉴진스, 데뷔 앨범 예약판매 3일만 선주문량 44만장 돌파" [Hot! New Jeans, debut album pre-order sales exceed 440,000 copies in just 3 days]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  32. ^ Kim, Min-ji (August 6, 2022). "민희진 감성 통했다…뉴진스, 화제성·스코어 다 잡은 파격 데뷔 [N초점]" [Min Hee-jin's emotions were passed through... New Jeans, a shocking debut with all the hot topics and scores [N Focus]]. News1 (in Korean). Retrieved August 6, 2022 – via Naver.
  33. ^ Lee, Jae-hoon (August 4, 2022). "뉴진스, 스포티파이서 올해 데뷔 K팝 걸그룹 신기록 행진" [New Jeans set a new record for a K-pop girl group debuting this year on Spotify]. news. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  34. ^ Jeon, Hyo-jin (August 4, 2022). "뉴진스, 스포티파이 신기록…올해 신인 걸그룹 중 최고치 [공식]" [New Jeans, a new record on Spotify Highest among new girl groups this year [Official]]. sports club. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  35. ^ Lee, Yoo-na (August 2, 2022). "[Y이슈] 뉴진스, 걸그룹 데뷔곡 3년 만 최고 기록...음원차트 장악" [[Y Issue] New Jeans, girl group debut song record high in 3 years... Dominate music charts]. YTN. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  36. ^ "[Daily Ranking: August 8th] NEWJEANS's 'NEWJEANS: The 1st Mini Album, BLUEBOOK VER.' Places 1st". HANTEONEWS. August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  37. ^ Park, Jun-hee (August 1, 2022). "Hybe indie label ADOR launches first group NewJeans" (in Korean). The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022 – via Naver.
  38. ^ Park, Sung-hoo (August 4, 2022). "뉴진스, '엠카' 데뷔 성공적… 영상 조회수도 폭발" [NewJeans successfully debuted 'M Countdown'... Video views exploded]. JTBC (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022 – via Naver.
  39. ^ Shim, Mi-kyung (August 5, 2022). "[뮤직뱅크] 뉴진스, 솔직한 자연스러움에서 나오는 독보적인 컬러 ♪Attention" [[Music Bank] New Jeans, a unique color that comes from honest naturalness ♪ Attention]. KBS Entertainment (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022 – via Naver.
  40. ^ Park, Soo-in (August 5, 2022). "뉴진스, 더현대 팝업 스토어 오픈 '신인아이돌 최초'" [NewJeans Opens The Hyundai Pop-up Store ‘The First Rookie Idol’]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 6, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022 – via Naver.
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  56. ^ Accumulated sales for New Jeans (Bluebook ver.) through July 2023
  57. ^ "South Korean album certifications – NewJeans – New Jeans" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  58. ^ Accumulated sales for New Jeans (Weverse ver.) through July 2023
  59. ^ "South Korean album certifications – New Jeans – New Jeans (Weverse)" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  60. ^ "앨범 정보 NewJeans 1st EP 'New Jeans'". Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Melon.
  61. ^ "NEWJEANS: 미니앨범 1집, BLUEBOOK VER". Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Hanteo.
  62. ^ "NewJeans - NewJeans 1st EP 'New Jeans' (CD)". Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Target.