NewJeans are one of the most powerful girl groups in the fourth-generation K-Pop group lineup. Just a few years into their debut, they have cemented their place as one of K-Pops most popular groups.
The group put out their first single, “Attention,” in July 2022, which was followed by a four-track EP in August. This debut marked a shift from the usual K-Pop structure for multiple reasons. One, their sound was very different from the industry trend, which hit the mark right away. Two, their retro concept was so deeply tied with everything else that, from styling to even their website, followed the theme to the tee.
But something that really took people aback was how abrupt the debut was. Normally, before a K-Pop group debuts, the label releases multiple teasers of the song, often giving separate teasers to separate members of the group. That way, the public is intrigued and also accustomed to the members before they officially debut. But with NewJeans, this pattern was not followed.
NewJeans dropped “Attention” on July 22, literally out of nowhere. Though there were rumors in the air about HYBE debuting a new girl group under Min Hee Jin‘s label, there were no official announcements made before the group’s debut.
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This made NewJeans stand out quite a lot in the saturated girl group market. Netizens praised Min Hee Jin for launching her group so creatively, but it turns out that it was the group’s maknae Hyein who originally came up with the idea!
In an interview with KIIS FM, the group’s member Hanni revealed that before their debut, Min Hee Jin would meet up with the members and discuss the project at length with them. She always asked for their individual input, and that’s when Hyein gave her the idea of debuting without a teaser.
Before we debuted, we met up with her (Min Hee Jin) a lot to speak about how we would like to come out as a debut, with the album and everything…She asked us, ‘Do you guys want a teaser?’, like ‘How would you tease your debut?’ and then Hyein was like how about no teaser? And then she got caught onto that.
— Hanni
The group also got behind the idea of making a surprise debut, as Danielle noted that it helped them attract the attention of their audience.
We wanted to make our debut a huge surprise. I think the unexpected component actually helped present our fresh style to many listeners.
— Danielle
Fans are not only proud of Hyein for coming up with the ingenious idea but also happy to see that the label has given the group creative freedom over their careers from the get-go.
