NewJeans, one of the world’s most popular recording acts in 2023, open their account for 2024 with the double drop of “How Sweet” and “Bubble Gum”.
Arriving at the stroke of midnight, the two new cuts are housed on the four-track How Sweet EP, which includes instrumental versions of both songs.
The K-pop girl group – comprising Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein – has exploded since their debut in July 2022. Six of its eight released singles have reached No. 1 or No. 2 on South Korea’s dominant streaming measure, the Circle Digital Chart. The act has impacted on several Billboard charts as well, including three top 10 hits on the Global 200 and four on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, five entries on the Billboard Hot 100 and six top 10s on World Digital Song Sales. The highest-reaching single was “Super Shy,” which peaked at No. 2 on World Digital Song Sales last July, and featured (along with “OMG”) in a lively medley the quintet performed for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.
Recently, the five-some collected artist of the year and song of the year at both the Melon Music Awards and MAMA Awards; the act came in at No. 8 on the IFPI’s list of biggest-selling global recording artists of the 2023 (ahead of Bad Bunny and Lana Del Rey, respectively); and they’re the reigning Billboard Women in Music Group of the Year.
Along the way, writes Paul Thompson for Billboard’s NewJeans cover story, published in February, the group “has smashed expectations in K-pop, helping lead a new era of female influence in a genre long dominated by male groups. While it was once accepted industry wisdom that only boy bands could build a core fandom and widespread commercial success (selling both albums and concert tickets), NewJeans is part of a girl-group generation that has done both, shifting the paradigm of what achievement entails for young female groups.”
“How Sweet,” a classy, electro-pop number, and “Bubble Gum,” a production-perfect R&B dream, can be streamed in full below.
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