NJZ (NewJeans) Profile – Successful Artists Embroiled in Conflicts (2025 Updated)
NewJeans (뉴진스), now known as NJZ, is a girl group is originally managed by the famous artistic director Min Hee Jin – the person behind the success of many famous Korean idols, under the HYBE subsidiary ADOR. However, after Min Hee Jin’s conflict with ADOR and HYBE, NJZ (NewJeans) unilaterally declared the termination of their contract with ADOR, and is currently active independently.
As the trademark for NewJeans is owned by HYBE, NJZ hosted a contest to choose their new stage name for upcoming activities. On February 7, 2025, the girl group officially announced that they will be active as NJZ, revealing a new logo and teasing the release of new music.
Biography of NewJeans
NewJeans (뉴진스), now NJZ, consists of 5 members: Minji (민지), Hanni (하니), Danielle (다니엘), Haerin (해린), and Hyein (혜인).
On July 22, 2022, Hybe unexpectedly released the MV for the title song “Attention” from the group’s debut album. What surprised and impressed the public was that instead of releasing teasers to promote, they released an MV with meticulous investment in content and form. This helped NewJeans gain a large fan base even before their official debut. Not stopping there, Hybe continued to release the MVs “Hybe Boy” (July 23, 2022) and “Hurt” (July 25, 2022) to promote the group. These are all 3 songs from the group’s debut album.
Meaning of the group name – NewJeans
Regarding the group name NewJeans, creative director Min Hee Jin shared: “Popular music is a cultural aspect that is very close to daily life, so it is like the clothes you wear every day. In particular, jeans are an item that everyone loves, regardless of gender or age. Taking the idea from jeans that still exist forever. ‘NewJeans’ contains the aspiration and determination to become a new symbol of the times like the jeans you find every day and never get bored of wearing.”
Meanwhile, the new name, NJZ, is believed to be a twist on an acronym of the original name, NewJeans.
NewJeans Fandom
On October 29, 2022, on NewJeans’ Instagram page, a post suddenly appeared announcing the name of NewJeans’ fandom. From that official post, NewJeans’ fandom is named “Bunnies (버니즈)” – little bunnies. In Korean it is called 토끼 (Tokki) and the icon used by the members for Bunnies is .
Official SNS channels of NewJeans (NJZ)
- Youtube: NewJeans
- Instagram: newjeans_offcial (owned by HYBE)
- Twitter: NewJeans_ADOR
- TikTok: @newjeans_official
Official SNS channels of NJZ
TikTok: @NJZ_official
YouTube: @NJZ_official
Instagram: @njz_official
X(Twitter): @NJZ_official
In addition, the company also launched a new app dedicated to NewJeans called Phoning.
NewJeans’ Discography
- EPs
- New Jeans (2022)
- Get Up (2023)
- Remix albums
- NJWMX (2023)
- Single Albums
- OMG (2023)
- How Sweet (2024)
- Supernatural (2024) (Japan)
- Digital Singles
- Ditto (2022)
- Super Shy (2023)
- Promotional singles
- Zero (2023)
- Bubble Gum (2024)
- Right Now (2024) (Japan)
- Features
- Jon Batiste – “Be Who You Are (Real Magic)” (with JID and Camilo) (2023)
- OSTs
- Gods (2023) (English)
- A Time Called You OST (“Beautiful Restriction”) (2023)
- My Demon OST (“Our Night Is More Beautiful Than Your Day”) (2023)
Endorsements (Notable)
NewJeans is currently collaborating with the following brands:
Fashion:
- Levi’s: Global Brand Ambassador
- Chanel: Minji: Global Brand Ambassador
- Gucci: Hanni: Global Brand Ambassador
- Louis Vuitton: Hyein: Brand Ambassador
- Burberry: Danielle: Global Ambassador
- Dior: Haerin: Brand Ambassador
- YSL Beauty: Danielle: Global Brand Ambassador
- Armani Beauty: Hanni: Global Brand Ambassador
- Calvin Klein
- STONEHENgE
Others:
- McDonald’s Korea
- CocaCola
- SK Telecom
- Lotte Zero
- Shinhan Bank
- Hyundai Department Store Duty Free
Please note: This list may change over time, as NewJeans may collaborate with new brands in the future.
NewJeans’ Achievements
2022
- Next Leader Award – The Fact Music Awards
- Hot Rookie Award – The K-Billboard Awards
- Best New Artist – Melon Music Awards
- Top 10 Artist – Melon Music Awards
- (Daesang) Performance of the Year – Asia Artist Awards
- Rookie of the Year – Asia Artist Awards
- Top 20 Songs of The Year – Asian Pop Music Awards
- Digital Song Bonsang – Golden Disc Awards
- Rookie Artist of the Year – Golden Disc Awards
2023
- Asia Celebrity Award – Asia Artist Awards
- Best Choice Award – Asia Celebrity Award
- Fabulous Award – Asia Celebrity Award
- Hot Trend Award – Asia Celebrity Award
- Singer of the Year (Daesang) – Asia Celebrity Award
- Song of the Year (Daesang) – Asia Celebrity Award
- Top Global K-Pop Artist – Billboard Music Awards
- New Artist of the Year – Digital – Circle Chart Music Awards
- Listener’s Choice Award – The Fact Music Awards
- Artist of the Year (Bonsang) – The Fact Music Awards
- Digital Song Bonsang “Attention”
- Rookie Artist of the Year – Golden Disc Awards
- Rookie of the Year – Hanteo Music Awards
- Excellent Work Award (Songs of the Year) “Ditto” – Japan Record Awards
- Special Achievement Award – Japan Record Awards
- K Global Best Music Award – K Global Heart Dream Awards
- Best K-pop Album – Korean Music Awards
- Best K-pop Song “Attention” – Korean Music Awards
- Rookie of the Year – Korean Music Awards
- Artist of the Year – MAMA
- Best Dance Performance Female Group “Ditto” – MAMA
- Best Female Group – MAMA
- Song of the Year – MAMA
- Artist of the Year – Melon Music Awards
- Best Female Group – Melon Music Awards
- Millions Top 10 Artist – Melon Music Awards
- Song of the Year “Ditto” – Melon Music Awards
- Top 10 Artist – Melon Music Awards
2024
- Artist of the Year – Asia Artist Awards
- Best Artist Award – Asia Artist Awards
- Best Performance – Asia Artist Awards
- Group of the Year – Billboard Women in Music
- Artist of the Year – Digital (Circle Chart Music Awards)
- Artist of the Year – Global Streaming (Circle Chart Music Awards)
- Artist of the Year – Streaming Unique Listeners (Circle Chart Music Awards)
- Artist of the Year – Streaming Unique Listeners (Circle Chart Music Awards)
- Frontier Award – Edaily Culture Award
- Content of the Year – Esports Awards
- Artist of the Year (Bonsang) – The Fact Music Awards
- Musinsa Popularity Award – The Fact Music Awards
- TMA Popularity Award – The Fact Music Awards
- World Best Performer Award – The Fact Music Awards
- Worldwide Icon Award – The Fact Music Awards
- Digital Daesang – Golden Disc Awards
- Digital Song Bonsang- Golden Disc Awards
- Artist of the Year (Bonsang) – Hanteo Music Awards
- Song of the Year by Streaming – Asia (Japan Gold Disc Awards)
- Best 3 New Artists – Asia (Japan Gold Disc Awards)
- Excellent Work Award (Songs of the Year) – Japan Record Awards
- Grand Artist & Best Artist – Korea Grand Music Awards
- Best K-pop Album, Best K-pop Song, Song of the Year – Korean Music Awards
- Millions Top 10 Artist, Top 10 Artist – Melon Music Awards
Fun Facts about NewJeans:
- Meaningful Name: Their name “NewJeans” represents their aspiration to become a timeless symbol, like the ever-popular jeans that people love regardless of age or gender.
- Record Breakers: They hold the record for having the most PAK (Perfect All-kill) songs on the Melon Music Chart with their song “Ditto,” even surpassing their seniors, BTS.
- First Vietnamese Idol: Hanni, the Vietnamese-Australian member, is the first Vietnamese idol under HYBE Labels.
- Multi-lingual Member: Hanni speaks English, Korean, and Vietnamese fluently.
- Shy Bunnies: Despite their stage presence, they are known for their shy personalities, earning them the nickname “Super Shy” girl group.
- Bunny Love: Their official fandom name is “Bunnies” (Tokkis in Korean). Their adorable light stick even resembles a white bunny.
- Dedicated Leader: Minji, the leader, is known for her dedication to the group and always taking care of the younger members.
- Creative Maknae: Hyein, the youngest member, enjoys songwriting and drawing, showcasing her artistic side.
- Inspiring Others: They are quickly gaining recognition as role models for young girls, inspiring them to follow their dreams with confidence.
- App for Fans: HYBE launched a dedicated app called “Phoning” for fans to connect with NewJeans through exclusive content and interactive features.
Controversies
By April, HYBE and Min Hee-jin, who is the main producer of NewJeans, engaged in an internal conflict. During this, Min Hee-jin held a shocking press conference where she accused that HYBE was trying to copy NewJeans while forming girl group ILLIT, leading to intense debate.
Later on in the middle of the same year, NewJeans’ song, “Bubblegum”, faced plagiarism accusations, as netizens spotted similarities between the track and a 1982 song titled “Easier Said Than Done”.
The case is still ongoing, with HYBE vehemently denying Hanni’s claims. Meanwhile, the parents of NewJeans insisted otherwise, even bringing up further evidence.
As of October 16, NewJeans’ Hanni attended the Nation Assembly Inspection regarding workplace bullying, where she continued to press on the issue of being ostracized at HYBE.
However, it was later decided that NewJeans’ Hanni was not workplace bullying.
The girl group’s constant exposé and allegations against HYBE has led to worries about their future, and these concerns have been somewhat proven right as all plans for NewJeans in the 4th quarter of 2024 vanished from HYBE’s report.
As Min Hee-jin ended up resigning from HYBE and ADOR and unfollowing NewJeans on SNS, however, the girl group’s future remains vague.
