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| ▲ This photo, provided by ADOR, shows NewJeans. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by ADOR, shows NewJeans' pop up store in The Hyundai Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by ADOR, shows NewJeans. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, August 14 (Yonhap) -- Girl group NewJeans is creating a sensation in the music industry by setting an unusual record from the beginning of their debut.
NewJeans sold 262,815 copies only on August 8, the day of its release, setting the record for the highest sales as of the first day of the girl group's debut album.
NewJeans showed strength not only in the album market but also in the music market.
The debut song "Attention" topped the real-time music charts on four sites, including Melon, Genie, Bugs, and FLO, as of 00:00 on Friday. "Attention" is the only song that has swept four real-time music charts among idols' debut songs released over the past five years.
NewJeans, who showed strength in both the music and the album industry, consists of 5 members with Korean, Vietnamese, and Australian members. It is the first girl group launched by HYBE's label, ADOR.
Min Hee-jin, a former art director and CEO of ADOR, directly oversaw the entire production from audition to debut.
Previously, CEO Min Hee-jin was in charge of branding idol groups including Girls' Generation, SHINee, EXO, and f(x) in SM Entertainment, and introduced experimental concepts which allowed her to gain awareness in the music industry.
While there were high expectations for NewJeans even before their debut as it was announced that CEO Min Hee-jin led the group production process, both the group's name and member composition were veiled.
The much-anticipated New Jeans debuted on July 22 as they released the music video for "Attention" on YouTube as a surprise. It was a unique move that deviated from the general publicity method where they revealed some preliminary information such as concept photos and teaser videos beforehand.
On Friday, NewJeans opened a pop-up store in The Hyundai Seoul, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul to promote offline. Hyundai Department Store said that it is the first time for a girl group which has debuted less than a month open a pop-up store.
"K-pop girl groups usually release a lot of teaser contents when they debut, whereas NewJeans surprised many people by unifying various information such as music and fashion," commented Kim Do-heon, a popular music critic.
In addition to the influence of CEO Min Hee-jin and her unusual publicity, experts analyzed that their music style which stimulates nostalgia was a success factor for NewJeans.
In order to give a strong first impression to music fans, rookie girl groups usually release high-pitched music as their debut song, but New Jeans filled their debut album with soft music that emphasizes the melody.
"New Jeans' music is different from idol music trends in that it is not difficult for anyone to listen to, and the melodies fit comfortably in the ears," explained Jung Min-jae, a popular music critic.
In fact, instead of having one member show off their singing ability, NewJeans' songs are made with all the voices of the members calmly harmonizing together.
"It resembles the music of the R&B and hip-hop genres that a lot music fans heard in the 90s," critic Jeong Min-jae said about NewJeans' music. "Because this kind of music was rare for a while, it has come out as new for the young generation and familiar for the older generation."
"I think it's a great result of a K-pop planner who planned very well," said Kim Do-heon critic.
"New Jeans' music has a unique color thanks to the combination of Nostalgia and CEO Min Hee-jin's sketches," he said. "If there were a lot of electronic sound-based music with lots of tension recently, songs like 'Attention' and 'Hurt' by NewJeans showed a style that is close to SES or Fin.K.L from the 90s."
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