Despite their strong presence in Korea, global records for NewJeans, one of the top 4th gen girl groups, are currently experiencing a downward trend on the international front.
NewJeans returned on May 24th with their latest release, “How Sweet,”which happened to take place during a contentious feud between HYBE and Min Hee Jin. “How Sweet”includes both the title track and a b-side called “Bubble Gum,”as well as instrumental versions, making a total of four tracks.
Despite the youthful and energetic vibes of the two MVs, the visual concept remained simple. However, due to the HYBE – Min Hee Jin situation, the promotions for NewJeans were somewhat toned down.
Despite the ongoing dispute between HYBE and Min Hee Jin, NewJeans continues to have success in the domestic market. Their song “How Sweet”has debuted at high ranks on various Korean music charts, with both “How Sweet”and “Bubble Gum”currently holding positions at #2 and #3 on MelOn as of May 27th.
Despite maintaining a strong presence in Korea, NewJeans’ global performance has been underwhelming.
Despite reaching #1 on iTunes in 11 countries and territories, NewJeans’ debut single “How Sweet”only made a minor impact on the US music charts, landing at #46 on iTunes US on its release day.
The song “How Sweet”received over 1.64 million streams on its debut day on Spotify, earning the #118 spot on the Global chart. However, this is a marked decrease in comparison to their previous EP “Get Up,”which saw four out of six tracks surpass 2.4 million streams on their first day, setting a record for a 4th generation girl group.
It is worth mentioning that “How Sweet”experienced a drop of almost 20 spots on Spotify, while BABYMONSTER’s “Sheesh”continues to steadily rise on the charts, even though it has been out for almost two months.
The primary indicator of NewJeans’ global success for their song “How Sweet”is the amount of YouTube views it has received. On its initial release day, the “How Sweet”music video only amassed 4 million views. This is significantly lower than the number of views achieved by the accompanying b-side MV “Bubble Gum”in April, which saw approximately 10 million views in its first day. As of noon on May 27th, “How Sweet”has reached 7.5 million views, but its growth has been sluggish.
In 2022, NewJeans made their debut with the hits “Attention”and “Hype Boy.”In just over 5 months, they entered the Billboard Hot 100 with “Ditto,”and in 2023, their song “OMG”surpassed all 4th generation idols’ records on Spotify.
NewJeans’ remarkable achievements cemented their position as the top 4th generation girl group, consistently achieving Perfect All-Kill with each new release and inspiring CEO ADOR Min Hee Jin’s desire for “independence.”
Prior to this, there were discussions surrounding NewJeans’ use of “payola”techniques and playlist promotion to increase their rankings on Spotify. During the “Ditto”era, their songs appeared on approximately 800 playlists, leading fans to question whether HYBE or Min Hee Jin collaborated with Spotify to automatically play NewJeans’ music regardless of user preferences.
Fans discovered on May 27th that HYBE had restricted NewJeans’ “How Sweet”MV on YouTube. This restriction, usually applied in places such as schools and libraries, restricts content considered unsuitable for certain age groups. Fans criticized HYBE, claiming that they deliberately impeded NewJeans.
According to platform experts, “How Sweet”features unsuitable imagery such as a car accident and a cartoon pig with a bloody head. Furthermore, the content is sponsored by a beverage brand that is being boycotted by international fans, particularly in the Middle East.
Despite being accused of setting age limits for MV uploads, HYBE refuted the claims and stated that the issue was due to YouTube’s standards. They also requested clarification from YouTube to address any confusion.
Origin: K14
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