NewJeans Archive is our series of articles that ensure the identity of the group, its history and all context related to legal procedures are kept public for people to read.
Following a court ruling that NewJeans must stay under ADOR until 2029. ADOR kicked out Member Danielle and sued her for Millions of Dollars, with Member Minji still in discussions for her contract. (All factual details on that will be published later)
Under a completely New Producer. ADOR confirmed that the group is set to comeback with 'New Musical Narrative' completely scrapping the group's original ideas and purpose. (Source
We believe that in our timeline and the path the current ADOR is taking NewJeans in is one that wipes the history and values of both the group and the company itself.
It is definitely going to be a New 'Fresh' start in a way that is close to impossible to execute with the public's feelings right now.
The First Part is an Introduction to what NewJeans is, the idea behind it the values and a small look at their generational run in just 2 years of their career.
Through this introduction we look at the very start. It is very short and gives a proper idea of what we're getting into with this Documentary series.
NewJeans debuted as 5 members Danielle, Hanni, Minji, Haerin & Hyein on July 22nd, 2022 becoming the fastest growing K-pop group in history breaking the historic record for the fastest K-pop group to reach 7 billion streams on Spotify in just 1,214 days, shattering BTS's record of 1,870 days.
Under Min Hee-jin's ADOR the launch of the group was very rushed but it worked well:
First teaser for the group: July 1st, 2022
Debut: July 22nd with Single 'Attention' The "Hype Boy," "Hurt" and "Cookie" videos followed on July 23, July 25.
EP Release: August 1st, 2022
Their first TV stage was on Mnet's M Countdown on August 4, where they performed all three lead singles. The EP drew over 444,000 pre-orders in four days, a record for a girl group debut album, and sold 311,271 copies in its first week.
ADOR was a HYBE subsidiary led by producer Min Hee-jin. Their name is a pun on "new genes" meant to signal a new generation of pop. Their sound drew on 1990s and 2000s styles, including Y2K-style fashion. They quickly became a global phenomenon.
The Relationship of NewJeans Members and their Producer Min Hee-jin was very tight from the start. They knew that together as a team they were dominating the world. The Idea of introducing 'New Genes' that would dominate the K-pop industry was working.
The Members debuted between the ages of 14-18 years old with no experience in the music industry itself. Seeing their success come so fast they had a special relationship with their Producer that cannot be described easily. In a sense it is of comfort and safety, like a mother and child.
As they won many global awards, they would always thank the CEO for her contribution.
This part is very Important and is the core explanation of the attachment that NewJeans Members have to Min Hee-jin.
On the Adult & Business World's Side, ADOR's CEO at the time Min Hee-jin owned 18% of the Company with HYBE owning 80% and other executives owning 2%.
This means that though Min Hee-jin has created something never seen before, HYBE was still in control of it all.
The Members being very young were out of the loop for this part and kept going with their career.
Their List of Awards includes:
Asia Artist Awards:
- 2022 Performance of the Year (Daesang)
- 2022 Rookie of the Year – Music
- 2023: Asia Celebrity Award
- 2023: Best Choice Award
- 2023: Fabulous Award
- 2023: Hot Trend Award
- 2023: Singer of the Year (Daesang)
- 2023: Song of the Year "Ditto" (Daesang)
- 2024: Artist of the Year – Music (Daesang)
- 2024: Best Artist Award – Music
- 2024: Best Performance "How Sweet"
Asian Pop Music Awards
- 2022: Top 20 Songs of the Year (Overseas) "Hype Boy"
- 2023: Best Group (Overseas)
- 2023: Top 20 Albums of the Year "Get Up" (Overseas)
- 2023: Top 20 Songs of the Year "Super Shy" (Overseas)
Billboard Music Awards:
- 2023: Top Global K-Pop Artist
Billboard Women in Music:
- 2024: Group of the Year
Circle Chart Music Awards
- 2024: Artist of the Year – Digital "Ditto"
- 2024: Artist of the Year – Global Streaming "Super Shy"
- 2024: Artist of the Year – Streaming Unique Listeners "Ditto"
- 2024: Music Steady Seller of the Year "Hype Boy"
The Fact Music Awards
- 2023: Artist of the Year (Bonsang)
- 2023: Listener's Choice Award
- 2024: Artist of the Year (Bonsang)
- 2024: Musinsa Popularity Award
- 2024: TMA Popularity Award
- 2024: World Best Performer Award
- 2024: Worldwide Icon Award
Golden Disc Awards
- 2023: Digital Song Bonsang
- 2023: Rookie Artist of the Year
- 2024: Digital Daesang
- 2024: Digital Song Bonsang
Hanteo Music Awards
- 2023: Rookie of the Year
- 2024: Artist of the Year (Bonsang)
- 2025: Artist of the Year (Bonsang)
iHeartRadio Music Awards
- 2024: Best New K-pop Artist
Japan Gold Disc Awards
- 2024: Best 3 New Artists – Asia
- 2024: Song of the Year by Streaming – Asia "OMG"
Japan Record Awards
- 2023: Excellent Work Award (Songs of the Year) "Ditto"
- 2023: Special Achievement Award
- 2024: Excellent Work Award (Songs of the Year) "Supernatural"
The K-Billboard Awards
- 2022: Hot Rookie Award
K-Global Heart Dream Awards
- 2023: K-Global Best Music Award
Korea Grand Music Awards
- 2024: Grand Artist (Daesang)
- 2024: Best Artist
Korean Music Awards
- 2023: Best K-pop Album "New Jeans"
- 2023: Best K-pop Song "Attention"
- 2023: Rookie of the Year
- 2024: Best K-pop Album "Get Up"
- 2024: Best K-pop Song "Ditto"
- 2024: Song of the Year "Ditto"
MAMA Awards
- 2023: Artist of the Year
- 2023: Best Dance Performance Female Group "Ditto"
- 2023: Best Female Group
- 2023: Song of the Year "Ditto"
- 2024: Fans' Choice Female
Melon Music Awards
- 2022: Best New Artist
- 2022: Top 10 Artist
- 2023: Artist of the Year
- 2023: Best Female Group
- 2023: Millions Top 10 Artist "Get Up"
- 2023: Song of the Year "Ditto"
- 2023: Top 10 Artist
- 2024: Millions Top 10 Artist
- 2024: Top 10 Artist
MTV Video Music Awards Japan
- 2023: Best Buzz Award
Music Awards Japan
- 2025: Best K-pop Song in Japan "Ditto"
Seoul Music Awards
- 2023: Rookie of the Year
- 2024: Bonsang Award
- 2024: Best Song Award "OMG"
Seoul Tourism Awards
- 2023: Hallyu Star Award
Spikes Asia Awards
- 2024: Brand or Product Integration into Music Content "ETA" (Bronze)
The Group attained more awards than the ones Listed with around 78 wins and 159 nominations.
Min Hee-jin's Plan from the Start
Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin plays a key role in NewJeans' entire story, since the group's debut she wasn't shy at expressing that she always wanted to form a Label of her own. She told Billboard (Source):
"I had this vision of the ideal label for a long time while working in the industry: A label that puts out all kinds of radically different music! And I wanted to create a label with a brand-new look that did things never seen in the K-pop scene before. The kind of music I’m going for is something that hasn’t really been attempted in the K-pop scene, so an independent label was essential to push ahead with this. ADOR is an open door into the world of Min Hee-Jin, the producer. The name ADOR, [standing for] “All Doors One Room,” represents my dreams and determination in that regard."
She continues that HYBE had no idea what was going on and ADOR was always independent up until the Group's debut on July 22nd:
"ADOR is a label that started with guaranteed autonomy, so it has no ties with HYBE’s management. They actually didn’t have any knowledge about anything we were going to release up until the first music video was released on July 22. [Laughs.] That was a strategy we used to put all the focus purely on their music, since the buzz around “Min Hee Jin’s girl group” was already so high. That’s how confident I was in the four tracks on the EP, which is also the reason why we decided to have three lead singles. I’ve always felt that it’s such a pity how it’s the lead singles that get all the attention."
Min also revealed that during the Filming of Music Videos she wanted to be as anonymous as possible:
"we wanted to film somewhere remote where we could be anonymous—so much so that we even kept our company and the group’s name secret while filming with the local crew"
The CEO made the girls co-write the lyrics of their first songs 'Attention' and 'Hype Boy'
Danielle thanked CEO Min saying: "This is our first album, so CEO Min gave us plenty of opportunities to participate, including to try writing lyrics! It was an opportunity for us to think for ourselves, learn, and unleash our creativity. I’m so thankful I was given the honor of participating in the process."
NewJeans Members' thoughts on Min Hee-Jin (Source):
MINJI: I knew all about CEO Min’s work and loved what she made, but I had no idea she was so closely involved with their direction. I wanted to know all about her before meeting her for the first time and that’s when I found out. I was so surprised! Working with CEO Min was beyond what I ever imagined. She can take anything we dream up and make it real.
HANNI: I knew about CEO Min through Plus Global Auditions and her previous work she did at SM, and just being able to work alongside her is amazing! I feel very valued as a person and she always emphasizes the importance of our opinions. Having the opportunity to train and debut under her wing and ADOR is something I couldn’t have ever dreamed of! The creative freedom she gives us is very uplifting and really helps us as a group to think carefully about how we should practice and represent ourselves the way we want to. She is always unconditionally supportive and loving towards us, and really is like my mom who lives in Korea!
NewJeans Members Introduce their group and members in their own words:
MINJI: All five of us are friends and they’re all precious to me. I feel like I can have a conversation with HANNI by just looking at her eyes. She’s always caring for the people around her and considerate towards them. DANIELLE’s bright smile just warms my heart and at times she is like an older sister you can learn things from. HAERIN is the most honest person in the world, so I feel like she’s someone I can trust and lean on. She’s really thoughtful, too. Everything about HYEIN is amazing. She says she doesn’t see it, but that’s actually one of the best things about her. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.
HAERIN: All five members have their own characteristics that make them special, but what first comes to mind is how good DANIELLE is at embodying emotions when she sings. She has the power to draw the listener in with her ability to express intricate emotions through the lyrics of any song.
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We will be updating the series occasionally on our page.
Thank you for reading.
