NewJeans at the UL:KIN show at Seoul Fashion Week SS 24 on Sept. 5, 2023.
Hanna Lassen/Getty Images
While performing at ComplexCon in Hong Kong, popular K-pop girl group NewJeans – who recently renamed themselves NJZ – announced “this might be our last performance for a little while.”
The ComplexCon show marked their first appearance after a March 21 ruling by a Seoul court granted their estranged management company ADOR, a subsidiary of K-pop mega-label HYBE, a preliminary injunction prohibiting the girl group from “organizing their own appearances and [conducting] any independent activities — from making music to signing advertising deals,” per the BBC.
Accusing ADOR of misconduct and mistreatment, NewJeans announced that they were leaving the company in November. In turn, ADOR sued NewJeans over the firm’s contractual rights over the group. Still, NewJeans pressed forward, teasing “Pit Stop” last week. They performed “Pit Stop” live for the first time in Hong Kong, but mostly sang solo covers. According to Billboard, group member Danielle sang TLC’s “No Scrubs,” Minji sang UPSAHL’s “Smile For The Camera,” Haerin sang “Dontcha,” Hyein sang SWV’s “Use Your Heart” (recently sampled in Kendrick Lamar’s “Heart Pt. 6”), and Hanni sang Ghost Town DJ’s “My Boo.”
At the end of their hour-long set, they read a statement in English and Korean warning of a hiatus. “This stage means so much to us and every single one of you who gives us strength just by being here. It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment.”
Read their full statement at ComplexCon:
“This stage means so much to us and every single one of you who gives us strength just by being here. It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment.
Honestly, we’ve known from the start that this journey wasn’t going to be easy and even though we accept the court’s ruling and this whole process, we had to speak up to protect the values that we believe in, and that was a choice that we don’t regret at all. We surely believe that standing up for our dignity, our rights and everything we deeply care about is something we had to do, and that belief will not change.
We understand and know that today’s news might be disappointing or upsetting but it was not an easy decision for us to make either. But at the moment for us, it’s about protecting ourselves so that we can come back even stronger.
There was a lot that we had to go through … things that really we only know about. But even [through] all that, there are so many things that we wanted to share with you guys and so many fun plans that we are excited to announce. But right now, though, it feels too hard to keep going at this pace, and as strong as we are trying to stay, it has honestly taken a bit of mental and emotional toll on us. However, this doesn’t mean that we are going to give up. We will keep pushing forward no matter what, and coming to Hong Kong and receiving all this love and support from you guys at ComplexCon gave us so much strength.
Right now, our hearts are a little bit worn out, and it feels a bit too hard to keep going at this pace. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to give up; we’re going to keep going. With this decision we’ve made, we’re respecting the court’s decision, and for now, it’s just us taking a step back to pause, take a breath and gather our hearts and ourselves before moving forward.
To everybody who has been believing in us and supporting us through everything from the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and we love you so, so, so, so much, and we can’t express how grateful we are, and we promise, no matter what the circumstances we will meet again soon.”
From Rolling Stone US.