‘Hurt’ might be remarkable as a stand-alone single, but when sandwiched between songs that boast more melodic variation, it ends up falling through the cracks.Īnd finally we come to ‘Cookie’, an R&B-pop song with a bubbly cadence that has become the most controversial entry on the mini-album. There are no climaxes or dynamic vocal changes, only one-note grooves. This mellow track is a slow, emotionally charged offering that opts for a consistent groove and in doing so risks repetitiveness. ‘Hurt’ serves a lightweight interlude, a brief respite from the energy of the preceding song. As they point out in the chorus, “ ’Cause I know what you like, boy / You’re my chemical hype boy / Open my eyes to see old days gone like a dream / Hype boy, all I wanna, hype boy, gonna tell ya.”
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Rather than invoking the slow-jam nostalgia of ‘Attention’, ‘Hype Boy’ instead invokes contemporary reimaginations of 2000s sounds with its tropical touches and future bass, but the way these elements are arranged make for a dreamy, almost hazy atmosphere. ‘Hype Boy’ ups the ante with comparatively frenetic synths and instrumental distortions, but doesn’t divert from NewJeans’ commitment to making their voices the crux of the mini-album. The rest of ‘New Jeans’ continues to flesh out the group’s Y2K vision. The palpable ease to the song’s delivery feels like a breath of fresh air. The lack of bombast lends more focus to the heart of the song: NewJeans’ vocal ability. ‘Attention’ paradoxically charms by being more subdued than the approach one expects from K-pop’s fourth generation, anchoring itself on a groove and keeping its early 2000s R&B-influenced instrumentation minimal. But as NewJeans prove with their new four-track record, they have what it takes.Ĭomprising members Hanni, Hyein, Haerin, Danielle and Minji, NewJeans were introduced to the public with zero warning – their first single and EP opener, ‘Attention’, was released on YouTube with an accompanying video well before ADOR shared any information about the members themselves. 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.” This lofty ambition clearly demands some degree of ingenuity, especially in a space that often prefers proven formulas and tradition. As Min Hee-jin, the chief executive of HYBE’s independent label ADOR, explained in a press release: “Pop music is a culture that is very close to our daily life, so it is like the clothes we wear everyday. The first step in understanding the NewJeans ethos is to dive into the meaning of their moniker.
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Nearly everything about the five-piece’s debut so far aims to frame them as innovative dark horses among the industry’s latest wave of superstar hopefuls. Novel musical takes on oft-attempted nostalgic callbacks. NewJeans, the latest girl group to join HYBE’s ranks, were primed from the beginning to go against the K-pop grain.