Girl group NewJeans takes burden of success on its chin

K-pop

Published: 29 Mar. 2023, 17:30 Updated: 25 Apr. 2023, 16:55

Girl group NewJeans takes burden of success on its chin

Girl group NewJeans pose for photos before an interview with the local press on March 29 at the newly-opening Apple Gangnam retail store in southern Seoul. [APPLE KOREA]

The huge expectations that build with each successful release from girl group NewJeans are indeed burdensome — but it’s also what keeps them grateful and motivated to keep going, members said in their first-ever press conference on Wednesday.

“First and foremost, we are grateful for all the love and attention we’ve got,” Haerin said at a press event for the newly-opening Apple Gangnam retail store in southern Seoul as a part of a collaboration between the K-pop band and Apple.

“We couldn’t really tell what was different with just the five of us,” she said, “but the cheers we got at festivals and other events really made us realize how much we’re being loved.”

Girl group NewJeans has been one of the hottest names in K-pop scene ever since its blowout debut last July with “Attention” (2022). Since then, every track and project it has released has generated a huge buzz around the world with tracks such as “Hype Boy” (2022), “Ditto” (2022) and “OMG” (2023) storming music charts in and outside of Korea.

The group's members are already landing jobs as ambassadors of luxury fashion houses such as Chanel and Gucci and their collaborations with brands helped to sell out major products at McDonald’s and LG Electronics.

The collaboration with Apple comes as a special thank you to fans, NewJeans said.

“We’ve received so much love and attention since our debut and we’ve always been wanting to pay back in any way we can,” Minji said. “We wanted to give fans a special experience and teamed up with Apple because providing our music in a newly-made space like this would do just that.”

Starting this Saturday, visitors to the Apple Gangnam store can enjoy a Today at Apple session featuring a special edition of NewJeans' hit single, "OMG (Apple Music Edition)." The 15-minute sessions will run at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from April 1 for a limited time.

The track is available for streaming only on Apple Music.

Girl group NewJeans pose for photos before an interview with the local press on March 29 at the newly-opening Apple Gangnam retail store in southern Seoul. [APPLE KOREA]

Girl group NewJeans may be the hottest girl group in town, but it’s been less than a year after its debut and it still hasn’t held an official concert. The spatial audio feature available on Apple’s latest gadgets will give the closest sensation to what it would be like in real-life performance, according to Haerin.

“We want people to think that they are communicating with us in a special way while they’re here,” she said. “We want to give an especially lively and refreshing experience for fans who come to the Apple Gangnam store.”

NewJeans opened the Tokyo Girls Collection fashion festival earlier this month and is also set to perform at Lollapalooza 2023 in Chicago this summer.

“We can’t wait to meet Bunnies in person,” said Hanni, referencing the girl group’s fan club. “There are various ways for us to communicate such as the Phoning [service], but we’re trying our best to come and meet everyone in person.”

When asked how to define NewJeans as a group, Haerin called it “the clouds.”

“Just like how people see different things in the same cloud, we hope to become a group where a lot of people view us in many different ways,” she said.

“I personally think of the word family when I think of NewJeans,” Danielle added. “We’re a very free and comfortable group. Personally, I feel at home with NewJeans and I wish everyone else can feel at home with NewJeans too.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]