K-Pop never sleeps, and novelty is always around the corner— new groups, new faces, new styles and new concepts. This is always true, but I would argue that is especially relevant now that the generations are moving from the 3rd to the 4th and the playing field is still pretty much open for the taking.
One of these novelties — or, if you wanna use the official K-Pop fandom term, “rookies” — are the members of the new girl group NewJeans. The label that manages them is ADOR Entertainment, a subsidiary of HYBE Corporation and so a part of HYBE Labels— the same as massive K-Pop acts like BTS and TXT. So the foundations are definitely promising.
The group’s official debut is scheduled for August 1st, with the publication of their first EP. But as part of a unique debut strategy ADOR Entertainment released two singles, “Attention” and “Hype Boy”. The first was meant as an overall presentation of the group, while the second is meant to introduce each of the five members— since the music video has different versions for each of them (not really, technically, since two members are featured in a single video).
The R&B, chill sound of the singles, the stunning visuals — “Attention,” for example, was entirely filmed in location in Spain — and the cute, fresh charisma of the five members have taken the Internet by storm and have predictably made the hype around these rookies skyrocket. So that’s a marketing strategy well-done.
And you know what else is well-done? NewJeans’s concept, which is peak Y2K excellency with low-rise baggy jeans, butterfly clips, oversized T-shirts, sporty shorts, spaghetti straps and pretty much everything else you can find ruling supreme over TikTok.
While detailed information about each of the members is still pretty scarce — they are a technically pre-debut group still, even the biggest K-Pop database KProfiles lists them as such — there is definitely something that can be said about the five members of NewJeans— so here’s your official guide to HYBE Label’s newest girl group.
MINJI
Minji, full name Kim Minji, was born in May of 2004 and is the oldest in the group. Her Western and Chinese zodiac signs are Taurus and Monkey respectively, and her representative emoji — something that’s quite popular among K-Pop groups — is the bear. We have actually all seen Minji before— together with Hanni, she appeared in the music video for BTS’s “Permission to Dance”.
HANNI
Hanni Pham, stage name Hanni, was also born in 2004— October, which means that she’s a Libra and was born in the year of the Monkey just like Minji. Hanni is the first Vietnamese idol signed under HYBE— technically, she’s the first Vietnamese-Australian, since she was born in Vietnam and raised in Melbourne. Her representative emoji is the rabbit. Some fun facts that have popped up around the Internet and have been collected by KProfiles include the fact that Hanni can play the ukulele and used to be a massive Directioner.
DANIELLE
Danielle Marsh, Korean name Mo Jihye and stage name Danielle, was born in April of 2005 in South Korea to a Korean mother and an Australian father — and she was in fact partly raised there. Her Western and Chinese Zodiac signs are Aries and Rooster, and her representative emoji is the dog.
HAERIN
Haerin, real name Kang Haerin, was born in May of 2006. Her representative emoji is the mouse, while her Western and Chinese Zodiac signs are Taurus and Dog. Before becoming a trainee, Haerin used to be a performer of pansori, a unique form of South Korean musical storytelling that traditionally features a singer and a drummer. That is where she earned her nickname of “voice fairy”.
HYEIN
The maknae of the group, Lee Hyein was born in April of 2008. Her Western and Chinese Zodiac signs are Taurus and Rat respectively, while her representative emoji is the baby chick. Even though she’s very much Gen Z, Hyein has revealed she has a very “Millennial” hobby— she’s a huge Potterhead and owns multiple editions both in English and Korean, of the books as well as official reproductions of the characters’ wands in the movies.
So far all five members are listed as vocalists and dancers, with no further indications as to who might be the main or lead. They might not have one— more and more 4th get groups choose to skip “official” positions altogether and use “go with the flow”. It’s not that unheard of under HYBE either— TXT famously don’t have set positions in their group, switching them up with each comeback to better fit the style of the song.
There also doesn’t seem to be an established rap line— and judging from the songs that have already been released, it seems like the quintet chose to opt out of this apparently quintessential part of the K-Pop scene as well. Then again, nothing is written in stone in K-Pop— it’s one of the many great things about it. One could argue that sometimes forcing a group that is clearly fine without a rap line to have one just because the “K-Pop rules said so” is actually damaging to the group itself in the long run.
What’s certain is that NewJeans plans to stay in the game for a very long time, as testified by their group name. ADOR Entertainment’s CEO and head producer — as well as Chief Brand Officer of HYBE Corp — Min Heejin explained in a press release reported by Nylon that: “Pop music is a culture that is very close to our daily life, so it is like the clothes we wear every day. Just as jeans have withstood the test of time and found popularity among many regardless of their age and gender, NewJeans aspires to become an icon of generations— one you never grow tiresome of putting on”.
So, all that’s left to do is anticipate their debut— and then follow a career that has all that it needs to become monster rookies in no time.
(image: HYBE Labels)
