On February 6 (local time), media outlet CNN Style revealed their exclusive interview with NewJeans – who now go by the new name “NJZ”.
Talking about the new name “NJZ”, which was officially announced on February 7 (KST), Hanni disclosed that the rebrand was a way of “turning this rough period of time into something more exciting“.
“We are working a lot to resolve everything so that we can go… back to normal,” Hanni said via the phone. She also added that the group does not want its legal dispute with record label ADOR to be the focus of their careers. Meanwhile, ADOR did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the dispute.
Meanwhile, Danielle told CNN that at the moment, the members “completely lost all trust” in ADOR, adding, “We believe we will win this battle against HYBE and ADOR.” It is known that the lawsuit between the girl group and their former agency is set to be heard this April.
In the meantime, NJZ said it is focused on making and performing new music, which is described as having a “very unique and different sound” by Haerin. Hanni also stated, “There’s nothing holding us back anymore”.
Hanni also expressed fondness for their original name, NewJeans, saying, “Even though we have to leave our previous name behind us for a bit, we’re not fully moving on from it. And we don’t want to either, because (being NewJeans) was still a very special period of time to us, and it’s something that our fans also probably hold really dear.”
Finally, Hanni teased about their upcoming releases, hinting that they will “experiment with different types of performances” and stating that their comeback is definitely going to be very different to the image that NewJeans debuted with, which has grown to be familiar with peple.
“Beforehand, we were very focused on being the kind of ‘girl next door’… So, we’re going for a (look that’s) a lot more sharp, a lot more bold,” she shared, adding, “And fashion wise: We love wearing streetwear and non-gendered kind of clothing. I think that concept and aspect is going to play a really strong role in our (new) fashion as well.”
