Why I think NewJeans will be big one day

I am not a kpop fan, in fact I don’t know much about it but recently I have stumbled across a new rookie group called NewJeans and it caught my attention. I am not a fan of them nor do I really like their songs, but I intuitively sense that they have something unique which might make them big one day and even on the international stage. I don’t think it’s their looks, songs or talent but their vibes or energy, their role in the missing gap and the directors talent. I decide to write about it because I feel this would make a good study case. Let’s see if my prediction of them being a big icon will come true!

To begin, let me introduce what I currently know about them. They are a one years old kpop rookie group with a member of 5 girls. They are relatively young comparing to other girl groups. Apparently, they already have brand deals with big corporation at this early stage of their career which is unusual but also show a promising sign. There style of music is more of a y2k style. Anyways, here are list of formula I feel will make them big one day:

1. A sense of authenticity & originality:

I think what made them first stood out for me is how there is a sense of originality and authenticity about them. Notice I did not say they are original or authentic because I am sure they aren’t but there is a sense of this from their personality. Perhaps another word would be genuine. It is just a visceral gut feeling of originality which I also sense from big brand like Coca cola or the sitcom Friends.

To why I sense this, I am not exactly sure. But I feel that the director had probably chosen members who are naturally comfortable and happy with being themselves, and they perfectly match with the happy, chilled and laid back Y2K theme, which brings a genuine and authentic feeling that I feel is very powerful and alluring. There isn’t a sense of mismatch and trying to moulded into an imagine that I sense from other groups. The member’s character match perfectly match the vocals, song, style and theme. And all the members just naturally connects and becomes in sync with each other. So there is basically a sense that things fall into place perfectly and it’s just meant to be – a sense of being genuine and authentic which is rare.

I feel that the sense of authenticity is the result of the keen and careful eyes of the director who has the ability to choose the right type of members in terms of character and appearance. A bit like a chef who knows what ingredients to choose and what blends well together and match the theme.

2. A genuine chilled & happy vibes:

The element of having a sense of authenticity and originality that I had mentioned above is a good segue to the point that you can’t help but to feel that the members are genuinely happy when they perform. It is either that they are good actress or they are genuinely happy, and I think it’s the later. I guess you can see the members are having a great time from their subtle smiles, gestures, eye contact with each other and just their overall body language. I don’t feel this genuine happy vibe coming from other groups as it feels like they are more focused on perfect performance or trying to appear cute or seductive instead of just having a great time.

It was not just their performance but also their shows on YouTube. Their comical interactions each other and seeing them being silly & goofing around with each other seems to have brought smiles to the viewers. There were many comments that describe them as being a sunshine.

I later discovered that they are able to be this way thanks to their producers giving them space to be themselves. Unlike other groups that focus more on discipline and moulding them in a certain way, the producer for NewJeans purposely give them space to be themselves and let them just have fun and be happy. This was a smart move because the producer probably understood the power of being genuinely happy as it can be so infectious and this will naturally attract people because who doesn’t want to feel happy? Perhaps them being genuinely happy is the secret to their success?

3. Happy vibes was perfect for the pandemic period:

I feel that one of their reason of their success was because of good timing. During the pandemic period, when the public’s sentiment was trying to recover from a miserable and depress period of time, having a group that displayed a genuinely chilled and happy vibe was exactly what the public needed. I would also like to include that the coming of age theme added to the happy factor too. The youth brings a sense of life, hope, fresh and a happy period of our lives. This was perhaps what the public had yawned for, especially during the pandemic period.

So the public was sick & tired of being miserable and were ready to embrace anything that brings a sense of positive, happy and youthful vibes. NewJeans just happened to provide what the public were looking for. Had NewJeans been create at another time, I don’t believe it would have been this successful.

4. The nostalgic Y2K factor:

One of the factor for their success is because the Y2K concept was able to appeal to a huge number of population who had lived through that period of time. I mean, they even use Powerful Puff girls as their mascot! Adults who had lived through that time and especially seeing how different the world has become (perhaps how crazy the world has become now) will naturally gravitate to a things that brings back a sense of nostalgia when times felt more normal and happier to them. The urge for nostalgia probably became more of a thing during the pandemic lockdown because people were had time to reflect and reminiscent the happier Y2K period.

There’s also the nostalgic yet new feeling factor. The songs are new but also feel nostalgic, so the older audience can enjoy a new fresh new track and also experience a sense of familiar nostalgic touch and not become sick and tired of a song. This fresh adapted style also appeal to the younger generation who had not lived during that period of time. Being appealing to large demographic of audience, both the young and the older generation, were able to draw a bigger fan base which contributed to their success. This was definitely a smart move from the producer side when deciding on what sort of concept to give NewJeans. I guess even the name NewJeans is a giveaway because Jeans are old vintage style but it is New.

5. Embracing the imperfect but real culture:

One of the charms of NewJeans is probably how they don’t seem to embrace the perfect girl culture like other kpop groups. They don’t have the “it-girl”, “princess” or “queen” vibe, but on the contrary they embrace the average “girl next door” image. I feel this is a smart move for many reasons. Other than getting the attention from being different from other girl groups that tries to be perfect, they seem more relatable and it makes them feel more like a friend than a perfect “idol” to adore. I really think this was a smart move because that was a gap that had been unfulfilled in the kpop industry (I assume).

They seem to embrace this idea of imperfection in their dance performances too. The producer encourage them to dance how they want to dance within the parameter of their choreography routine, which I feel is really smart from the producer side. They can freely add their own style and characteristic into their dance routine, so it makes the dance feel more natural and gives a sense of being different yet also being perfectly in sync together. This is different from other kpop group that trained the members to follow the choreography meticulously without room to individually express themselves.

So just having a more free approach that embrace that it is OK to not be perfect, allows members to be more natural and real. And I really feel this speaks to the public attitude in recent years, when growing number of people seem tired of the perfect unrealistic standards and prefer something more real and genuine that reflects the reality of life. More people are tuning into vlogs than watching hollywood, and more people are watching alternative media than following the mainstream media. NewJeans seems to represent this movement but in the kpop industry, which is revolutionary.

6. The likable friend factor:

I feel that Bunnies/Tokkis (name for NewJeans fan) will definitely continue to grow strongly. One of the reason for this is because NewJeans portray themselves as a down-to-earth and relatable friend, unlike the typical perfect idol image (queen or princess image) , it-girl or girl crush image like other groups that has a distance feeling. They are like those girls in school everyone wants to be friends with, because they are always having fun, goofing around and just having a great time. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be friends with people who wears teddy rucksack whilst going that silly train dance in OMG mv?

I feel this is actually a powerful thing in this day and age when people are living in solitude lifestyle, and is more prone to being parasocial. So NewJeans and along with their regularly vlogs/shows content uploaded on YouTube provides that that sense of friendship some people may wish they had in real life. So fans are probably more likely to see them more than just an idol to adore, and see them as a personal friend who they feel obliged to support and cheer them on, because their win would feel like your win. The tribe psychology.

I feel that whoever had selected the members for NewJeans must have put a lot of thought into it. Selecting members who they felt are down-to-earth, humble, and relatable, but also cheerful and happy. These members were mostly to be raised in stable & happy homes. And equally important, they had to choose members who would likely to get on well together to create a real dynamic sense of friendship.

7. Using social media for leverage:

NewJeans heavily uses social media to increase the exposure time with their fans to maintain parasocial relationship. They have regular live chat and shows/vlogs uploaded on YouTube. The producers understood that importance of social media nowadays, especially for the younger generation. In the competitive modern landscape, simply producing good music or being pretty isn’t enough. The fanbase becomes more demanding and wants regular interact with their idol and to feel they are really involved with the lives of their idols. The producer were smart to incorporate social media aspect as a mandatory activity and it suits perfectly with members naturally being friendly and likeable.

8. Easy to listen & having international appeal:

I have heard there had been unsuccessful attempts to export kpop to the west because the western audience simply did not appreciate the type of music Koreans would enjoy. However, I feel that NewJeans will be the first kpop group to really enter the western music market as the response from international fans has been positive so far. I feel the success in the west got to do with having two international members, having easy to listen to music, having lyrics that smoothly & naturally interchange between Korean and English and simply being more tailored for the western style. Also, to hit the sweet spot of appealing to both Koreans and the West audience is actually difficult to do. Whatever they are doing, it is simply working and their both the Korean and international fanbase will only grow.

9. Being different & standing out factor:

I believe that the major factor why NewJeans had been successful so far and will continue to be is because the director or producer understood the power of being different and standing out. Everything so far had been different and it had given the group success. For instance, their debut did not having any promotion, their music videos just randomly popped up and they became a big hit. People were curious who the new group is and the surprise factor really did seem to work.

But it is not just their standing out marketing strategy, but pretty much a lot of things they do are unique and different, i.e. concept, dance performance, Y2K fashion, and creative music videos. Having the down-to-earth & girl next door image makes them stand out from the typical it-girl or girl crush image. Having a creative storyline in their music video i.e. in Ditto part 1 & 2, are not common in other groups that primarily focused on visual effects and dances. How the director let them be more free to express themselves in their performance, which contrast with the disciplined & meticulously perfect performance of other groups. Just being different and standing out really seems to be giving NewJeans the upper hand.

The future prospect of NewJeans:

Currently, I feel that NewJeans had experience success because everything seems to have fallen into place perfectly like magic. Everything seems to be going well, from their music production, concept, timing, marketing strategy and just generally having a good creative team behind the process.

But how far will this train of success go and how great will their success be? From what I see, if NewJeans are to continue with their quality of work, I see greater success for the next five years or so. They are likely to become iconic figure – the face of what a international kpop group. But they will need to work really hard now because their concept are based on being young, carefree and happy go which will lose it’s impact when they grow older within the next five years or so.

Of course their will be future potential competition that may attempt to copy the NewJeans formula but I feel that it is not likely to succeed NewJeans. The reason being is because I already see NewJeans becoming that iconic figure can’t be easily replaced. Their competition may have better music production and doing better on the charts but I don’t think they can take that iconic role.

Another factor to consider is that NewJeans are not the type of group that relies on the artist individual talent. It relies on the whole team, every members of the group as well as the creative director and producers. If one component is missing or broken, the chance of future great success may not come true. This can be seen as a weakness or a strength, I don’t know. But overall, I feel a promising future for NewJeans because it is very difficult to replace them, they are the pioneer of how to reach kpop to the west and the momentum so far is so strong. I don’t seem NewJeans going anywhere soon.

My personal opinion of NewJeans:

Although it may seem as though I am a big fan of NewJeans because I’ve written this post, in actuality, I am not a fan. I may occasionally play their music if I have to rearrange things at home and need an upbeat music to get me out of a lazy funk. If anything, I guess you could say I might be a fan of the creative director or producers of NewJeans because I admire how they masterfully executed their plans and managed the group so well. In general I am not a fan of kpop, although I do like some old Korean ballad songs. NewJeans make a great study case because it provide a blue print on how to be successful in this modern landscape not only in the music industry but the general social media industry.

How do I feel about NewJeans? I see them in a positive light. I appreciate that the younglings are using the Y2K genre that I grow up listening to. It is nice to go through a bit of nostalgic memory lane from time to time. All the members of the group seems pleasant, genuine and good natured. I feel they make better role model than other groups that I feel are toxic (it-girl attitude or body objectification). I have a feeling they will grow up into decent human beings.

Of course I have my own criticism towards them, but it mainly got to do with poor decisions on the side of the management team. For instance, one of the music isn’t appropriate for their age; they are too young to be representing luxury designer brand tailored for older rich women; and they over did it with music for commercial products like the coke zero music which seems just silly. But overall, I see them more positive than negative.

Conclusion:

Although I am not knowledgeable about the kpop industry, from what I’ve seen so far, I definitely see NewJeans being successful in the future and even becoming an iconic figure. It is not often that magic happens, when everything seems to perfectly fall into place with the right members, the right team and at the right time.

Right now, they have a good foundation or infrastructure. They are under one of the biggest entertainment company (Hybe). They have secure top brand deals at such an early stage which shows big companies see their talent. They are managed by very smart & competent director and producers, and all the members have satisfactory skills and charisma.  So they are in a pretty good shoe. It would be interesting to come back to this post in the future and see if my prediction have come true or not.