Breaking Male Domination, NewJeans Called Bringing New Era Of K-pop

JAKARTA - NewJeans was named this year's Group in the Billboard Women In Music 2024 event. The group, which consists of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein, is considered to have a big influence as a women's K-pop group.

Billboard even said NewJeans had brought a new era in the K-pop music industry, and broke the dominance of men that lasted for years.

Not only as a girl group, NewJeans under the auspices of ADOR is also led by the founder and CEO of the woman, Min Hee Jin. This phenomenon is rare in the South Korean music industry.

Danielle said Min Hee Jin had a big role in NewJeans' achievements so far. He said the relationship between members and CEOs was very close and warm.

"I can't imagine what it would be like if it weren't for our CEO, Min Hee Jin. We were very close to him, and we felt a strong relationship with him. After talking to him, we were inspired and learning a lot. When we went abroad and so on, he would invite us to shop and we had dinner together, and we spent hours laughing and talking about what happened and how we were doing and telling stories, "said Danielle, launching Billboard on Sunday, March 3.

"He's very consistent. He's always wondering about us and worrying about us. He's very friendly and contacted us first, which helps us feel very comfortable being nearby. He gave us advice like a mother did. He's not just a great CEO but also a great human being in general," Hyein said.

Furthermore, members also talked about how they as girl groups can attract many fans, which in the history of K-pop travel, male groups are easier to attract fans than girl groups.

This may have something to do with the fact that the K-pop market is becoming much bigger. That's one of the reasons why we started with so much attention and love from the general public. We've never really set out any specific (purposes), but rather aim to present the performances we love with the songs we love. I think this might help our fans love us from the start," Minji said.

"I agree with Minji. I think that's also because there are so many channels that we can use to communicate with fans and the public," said Haerin.

Regarding their musical style that can be enjoyed by many people, and easy listening, Danielle said that Min Hee Jin really wanted NewJeans to perform songs that were fresher and different, and could be enjoyed by many people.

Despite agreeing with the CEO's thinking, members never thought that their existence would change the style of music on the market.

The music itself always changes. But before we debuted, our CEO told us that he wanted to do something new, something fresh and different. But with that, he wants it, no matter who you are, no matter whose age or gender, you can listen to it and enjoy it," said Danielle.

So in my opinion, easy listening music appears. We don't really think, 'Oh, we're going to change music, that's crazy.' (Everyone laughed). We just wanted to try something new and fun," he said.