NewJeans May be Removed from Music Shows and Award Ceremonies Despite Packed Schedules?
On December 13, the Korea Music Content Association (hereinafter referred to as KMCA), issued an official statement against NewJeans and Min Hee-jin.
In the statement, KMCA announced that they are considering to exclude NewJeans from updates on Circle Chart – a platform that gather information on physical and digital sales of artists in Korea. Additionally, they also threaten to supply data about NewJeans to Korean music shows, alongside major Korean music award ceremonies.
This means that it’s possible for NewJeans to no longer be considered as candidates for the aforementioned shows and awards, despite their huge success in 2024.
On the other hand, it was previously revealed that NewJeans will be attending the year-end stages of Korea’s three major networks (KBS, SBS, MBC). However, after the members didn’t use the group name and logo when they appeared at YOASOBI’s concert in Korea, there is significant curiosity about whether they will once again refrain from mentioning “NewJeans” on these stages.
According to the music industry, NewJeans will participate in all three networks’ year-end stages. The group will perform at the 2024 Music Bank Global Festival in Japan on Dec 14th, SBS’s Gayo Daejeon on Dec 25th and MBC’s Gayo Daejejeon on Dec 31st.
On Aug 1st, 2022, NewJeans delivered a shocking debut stage with triple title tracks led by “Attention”. They sustained their momentum last year with hits like “Ditto”, “OMG” and “Hype Boy”, sweeping various No.1, 2 and 3 rankings. Ultimately, they crowned 2023 as “the year of NewJeans” by winning the grand prizes at the 2023 MAMA Awards and the 2023 Asia Artist Awards (AAA).
However, earlier this year, the fallout from a conflict between former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and HYBE directly impacted NewJeans. Despite releasing several hit songs, including “Supernatural”, “How Sweet” and “Bubble Gum”, their performance was not on par with their earlier success, falling behind groups like aespa.
Amid these circumstances, NewJeans, who had previously expressed dissatisfaction with ADOR and HYBE’s management, declared the termination of their exclusive contract with ADOR on Nov 28th, escalating the conflict to its peak. In a press conference, the group announced “The five of us will terminate our exclusive contract at midnight on Nov 29th”, marking their separation from ADOR. However, since ADOR holds the trademark rights to the name “NewJeans”, the group is unlikely to use the name for the time being.
At the time, NewJeans stated, “The five of us may not be able to use the name ‘NewJeans’ for now, regardless of our will. We will work to fully secure the rights to the name.” Yet, during Yoasobi’s concert at the Inspire Arena in Incheon on Dec 7th, the group omitted their name, leaving fans feeling disappointed.
As NewJeans prepares for their year-end performances in mid to late December, attention is focused on whether they will omit their group name again during these stages.