Over the last couple of years, arguably no new K-Pop group has been on the kind of run that NewJeans has been on. They seemingly came out of nowhere in mid-2022, and have since become one of the most popular artists in the genre/industry. NewJeans is a five-member group consisting of Minji, Hanni, Hyein, Haerin, and Danielle. They burst onto the scene in July of 2022 with their highly successful single ‘Attention,’ and followed it up with the even more popular tracks ‘Cookie’ and ‘Hype Boy.’ NewJeans began 2023 with the single album ‘OMG,’ with its B-Side, ‘Ditto,’ becoming the longest chart-topping song of the Circle Digital chart and also becoming the group’s first song on the Billboard Hot 100. They followed up their glorious debut with their EP Get Up in the summer of 2023; its lead single, ‘Super Shy,’ was an international sensation. It was their highest charting track in the Billboard Hot 100 and Global 200, and it cemented them as one of the top up-and-coming groups in K-Pop. The success of ‘Super Shy’ and the other tracks from Get Up ended up garnering NewJeans a ton of awards, and even landed them a spot at Lollapalooza, making them the first K-Pop girl group to perform at the festival. NewJeans has had all of this success despite pretty minimal promotion from their record label, ADOR. A lot of their success has come from word of mouth instead of from paid promoting opportunities, which has made their success all the more impressive. It is not tough to see why the world had been captivated by NewJeans, though. All of their members are incredibly talented and unique. The music they make feels inspired by the 1990s but still feels so current, and their riveting choreography has led to many viral videos. NewJeans recently just released a new single ‘How Sweet,’ along with its accompanying B-side ‘Bubble Gum.’(the group also recently put out two new Japanese singles titled ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Right Now’ as well, but I am covering the previous singles in this write-up, as I will cover these shortly). Below, I wanted to briefly talk about these new enticing tracks from NewJeans, as they are the latest example of why this group has been taking the world by storm in the way that they have. Please let me know in the comments below how you feel about these tracks from NewJeans, and also comment on the names of any other K-Pop songs or artists I should look into!

I will say that it feels like NewJeans has certainly found their niche and sound. They know what they are good at, and they keep leaning into it majorly. This is not a negative thing by any means; there is nothing wrong with sticking to your guns and perfecting the things you know you’re great at. ‘How Sweet’ has a sound that is very similar to most of the tracks from NewJeans that have become big so far. You can very easily see how this one closely relates to songs like ‘Ditto’ and ‘Super Shy.’ Like those, ‘How Sweet’ has a sound and overall energy that closely resembles retro 1990s Garage music. This song makes me think of a lot of the music by artists like Ghost Town DJs and Sweet Female Attitude. The melody for this track is so pleasant and ethereal; it makes me feel like I am levitating when I hear it. The fast-paced and glitchy beat ‘How Sweet’ is soft and punchy at the same time. There is something about this track that is so soothing but also makes me want to dance. All of the vocals on ‘How Sweet’ are great, but I would say Danielle and Hanni especially stand out on this one. I really love the speaking/raping parts from Danielle, as they give the song such a fun and quirky attitude. Hanni’s delicate tone fits so nicely on ‘How Sweet’ and adds to the warmth of the track. ‘How Sweet’ does not stir the pot as far as what one would expect from NewJeans, but it is very good for what it is regardless. ‘Bubble Gum’ is an additional track that feels inspired by the 1990s, albeit a slightly different style of music from that era than the last track. Instead of being inspired by Dance or Garage music, this song has a more laid-back Boom-Bap feeling. When I hear this one, I think of the music from Mariah Carey or even TLC. I really like this slight switch-up in tone and style for NewJeans, as it shows they can make more relaxed and not as high-energy singles(as most of their music to this point has been pretty bold). The keyboard-driven melody for this song is so light and charming, and the beat is so groovy. There are times in the track where the beat on ‘Bubble Gum’ slightly changes tempo, giving the song a cool texture. As nice as the instrumental is, the thing that stands out about ‘Bubble Gum’ is the vocals. Haerin, Hyein, and Minji sound so great on this track. The high and dainty pitches and tones that Haerin and Hyein sing with make the song feel so floaty and delightful, and the rapping that Minji provides gives the track a bit of emphasis that it benefits from. ‘Bubble Gum’ is a welcomed change in sound from NewJeans that shows off the group’s range. With these two new singles,(and the other two I mentioned in the intro), NewJeans has once again proved they are as big as anyone in K-Pop right now and that they are going to continue to shine.