On February 7, the NewJeans members shared on their social media accounts, “Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein will be embarking on an exciting new journey as NJZ in 2025. Please look forward to it!” Alongside this announcement, they also posted a group photo. Additionally, they revealed plans to release a debut song under the new name on March 23.
Previously, the five members had stated that they were seeking a new temporary group name and invited fans to participate in the naming process. As a result, they decided on the name NJZ.
The announcement sparked a variety of responses from netizens. Some reacted negatively, saying, “Isn’t this just an abbreviation?,” “It doesn’t sound great,” “Could this lead to legal issues?” and “What does it even mean?” Meanwhile, others welcomed the change, commenting, “So we can pronounce it as ‘NJZ’ (엔제이지)?,” “It still feels like NewJeans, so I actually like it,” “Excited for their fresh start. I support them,” “It’s a perfect fit,” and “Thank you for coming back so soon, NJZ!”
Meanwhile, NewJeans and their agency, ADOR, have been embroiled in a legal dispute over their exclusive contracts since last year. In response to the name change, ADOR told Xports News, “We deeply regret that the members made this decision unilaterally before any legal ruling has been made on the validity of their contracts with ADOR.”
The agency added, “We will do everything we can to protect the brand value of NewJeans. We also want to reiterate that we are always open to meeting with the members or their legal representatives to clear up misunderstandings and discuss the group’s future activities.”
