[think piece] newjeans' carefully curated vibe will give them the edge in the 4th gen girl group "wars"

    g-idle, ive, newjeans

    aespa, lesserafim, itzy

    stayc

    nmixx



    this is my loose 4th gen girl group hierarchy. its honestly still a free for all for one of these top groups to pull out ahead in the upcoming year or two and solidify themselves as an undisputed number one. or as a top 1 and 2 like bp and twice have been, with their rank at either 1 or 2 at any given time being highly disputed, but both are miles ahead of #3 anyway so.


    but to the main point, i think newjeans has been the first to transcend being either trend chasers or contrived innovators, which is where many kpop companies have pigeon holed their groups. either every cb is trying to align with general kpop trends, even if they're a little old, or there is a push to be extremely different (a la to nmixx's "new genre" or aespa having "ai members")


    as many people said when newjeans debuted, their concept is not revolutionary. y2k doesn't belong to them. they aren't the first to have their music heavily influenced by early 2000s rnb or electropop. yet they still feel "different" and "new" and "fresh" somehow. and i think its because their group image and "vibe" have purposefully peeled away a lot of the glitz and glamor associated with kpop. the members are meant to look more fresh faced and less done up, wearing either street fashion or preppy uniform esque clothing like high schoolers. obviously they still look like kpop idols, but especially in ditto, i felt that their image is very "girls next door". their visuals give that vibe too. the pretty girls from the neighbor, always having fun together.


    i think concepts like ive's and gidle's will also continue to capture a large audience, love dive and tomboy are probably still bigger hits than hype boy where it stands. but i think new jeans have dug out a space for themselves that will allow them to keep their mass appeal in sk, at least for now. their vibe is currently unmatched imo.


    just wanted to put my thoughts into words, feel free to discuss






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    Quote from anti-hero

    I think NewJeans is truly a revolutionary girlgroup, a girlgroup that can’t be compared to another.


    This was my biggest fear when they burst onto the scene.


    They are a threat to everything that Kpop stands for, the next potential cultural reset in Kpop after BP's girl crush wave. In fact, i saw their potential to be the next Blackpink, with Ive playing the role of nation's GG and the current top digimon in Kpop (much like how it was back in 2016-2018 between disruptor Blackpink and nation's GG Twice).


    This Ive vs NJ battle will go on for years, only time will tell if it will end up like Twice vs Blackpink. Idle and LSRFM and maybe one other 4th gen group will play the roles of Gfriend/Red Velvet/MMM, darkhorses who still make waves among Korean GP.

    Quote from reiji

    2023 could be newjeans' year and end up at the top

    i do think new jeans had the best follow up cb timing and it is going to set them ahead as we enter 2023.


    gidle followed up tom boy with nxde during a time when their biggest competitors also released, (ive after like and lesserafim antifragile) and lesserafim ended up winning that battle in the long run with their anti fragile... aespa girls had bad timing/promo with illusion overshadowing it and didn't really keep them as competitive as next level made them. stayc followed up run2 u with beautiful monster which underperformed and now they're promoting in jpn... itzy following up sneakers with cheshire which barely charted... rn newjeans and lesserafim are the main ones keeping their own hype trains rolling to new heights, with gidle and ive right behind them and keeping their success about the same as their previous release.


    2023 will def be interesting

    Quote from BlackpinkHouse

    This was my biggest fear when they burst onto the scene.


    They are a threat to everything that Kpop stands for, the next potential cultural reset in Kpop after BP's girl crush wave. In fact, i saw their potential to be the next Blackpink, with Ive playing the role of nation's GG and the current top digimon in Kpop (much like how it was back in 2016-2018 between disruptor Blackpink and nation's GG Twice).


    This Ive vs NJ battle will go on for years, only time will tell if it will end up like Twice vs Blackpink. Idle and LSRFM and maybe one other 4th gen group will play the roles of Gfriend/Red Velvet/MMM, darkhorses who still make waves among Korean GP.

    Threat, really?

    They are different, doesn’t mean they’re going to thanos snap the entire K-pop verse lol. NewJeans isn’t a girlgroup you can easily replicate either. The budget that went into these MV’s are no joke.


    Also, YGNGG hasn’t debuted yet but I think they will shake things up a lot.

    Quote from BlackpinkHouse

    This was my biggest fear when they burst onto the scene.


    They are a threat to everything that Kpop stands for, the next potential cultural reset in Kpop after BP's girl crush wave. In fact, i saw their potential to be the next Blackpink, with Ive playing the role of nation's GG and the current top digimon in Kpop (much like how it was back in 2016-2018 between disruptor Blackpink and nation's GG Twice).


    This Ive vs NJ battle will go on for years, only time will tell if it will end up like Twice vs Blackpink. Idle and LSRFM and maybe one other 4th gen group will play the roles of Gfriend/Red Velvet/MMM, darkhorses who still make waves among Korean GP.

    but what does kpop "stand for"? the industry has always been characterized as a machine, maximizing profit, minimizing individuality.


    many kpop groups lack real identity. maybe for better, maybe for worse. but i think new jeans shaking things up is needed. they and lesserafim are honestly bringing flavor.

    Quote from aclassyteaparty

    ...

    as many people said when newjeans debuted, their concept is not revolutionary. y2k doesn't belong to them. they aren't the first to have their music heavily influenced by early 2000s rnb or electropop. yet they still feel "different" and "new" and "fresh" somehow. and i think its because their group image and "vibe" have purposefully peeled away a lot of the glitz and glamor associated with kpop. the members are meant to look more fresh faced and less done up, wearing either street fashion or preppy uniform esque clothing like high schoolers. obviously they still look like kpop idols, but especially in ditto, i felt that their image is very "girls next door". their visuals give that vibe too. the pretty girls from the neighbor, always having fun together.


    ...

    this is it! i was wondering too, as much as i love them, i wondered ''how come they're different to me than all those other groups? is it truly the music and the concepts? or is it actually the members?'' this explains it !!

  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from tetetete

    I personally think it's going to be lessarafim at the top because of their stage presence


    Concepts fluctuate, song quality goes up and down but a good performer always delivers

    i 100% agree that lesserafim is a strong contender. i actually liked anti fragile more than attention and cookie, and both of lesserafim's albums are bop after bop.


    but newjeans definitely has more experienced hands working on their concept and image. lesserafim is doing well despite source being a bit of a fck up company. newjeans is doing well because their team and min heejin have a curated image and style for them that is more than kpop buzz words like "girl crush" "sexy concept" "teen crush" ect.


    hope my opinion makes sense. i think both groups will be at the top in the end

    Quote from tetetete

    I personally think it's going to be lessarafim at the top because of their stage presence


    Concepts fluctuate, song quality goes up and down but a good performer always delivers

    Umm, it's true but I disagree, LSF can be at the top but it will be because they have the music and the stage presence, with just stage presence you can't be at the top, look at RV with zimzalabim, or NMXX, or ITZY, a group known for their stage presence and high energy. When people is streaming music isn't watching the group perform.


    And NWJ has the stage presence, just different, they aren't fierce, they just look like teens having fun at the stage while performing, and for the moment I haven't seen a group like that in a long time, now everyone wants to be fierce.

    Quote from tetetete

    I personally think it's going to be lessarafim at the top because of their stage presence


    Concepts fluctuate, song quality goes up and down but [a good performer] IZONE always delivers


    Fixed it for ya.


    Remember that Izone's Ive is the biggest digimon in Korea right now. Izone's Yena is the most successful 4th gen soloist in Korea right now. Izone's LSRFM is the best performing GG right now. And every Izone soloist has sold at least 40k, which is almost unheard of for female soloists, even superstar Chungha sold only 10k for her debut.

    Quote from aclassyteaparty

    i 100% agree that lesserafim is a strong contender. i actually liked anti fragile more than attention and cookie, and both of lesserafim's albums are bop after bop.


    but newjeans definitely has more experienced hands working on their concept and image. lesserafim is doing well despite source being a bit of a fck up company. newjeans is doing well because their team and min heejin have a curated image and style for them that is more than kpop buzz words like "girl crush" "sexy concept" "teen crush" ect.


    hope my opinion makes sense. i think both groups will be at the top in the end

    I kinda agree with this. I feel like for New Jeans, MHJ's concept and genius is basically what's elevating the group to the top (although the members are important too but they take a secondary seat) while for LSFM its more like the members themselves who are carrying it instead of their concept. Although of course both groups are nothing without good music to also go along with them.

    NewJeans is simply a piece of art.
    Ditto is a masterpiece.
    The MV is so haunting, but I can't stop myself from rewatching it and analyze every little detail.

    Le Sserafim has their own niche, but to be on par with NewJeans, they need to take their concept to another level. Everything about Le Sserafim's concept from name, logo, teaser, etc just scream fashion brand, they should go beyond simply selling merch, they should launch serious fashion line. An active group launching a fashion line that align with their concept would be unprecedented because it was never be done before.

  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from babybat

    newbeans doesn't that FEEL like kpop. it's something entirely different from every single kpop group that's come out. and i think that's why they're going to come out on top in the end.

    Either you guys are new to KPOP or something else entirely cause I'm so confused on how people keep saying this when they're not any different than your average KPOP group. The rollout for their music may be pretty different but everything else isn't far off from what most of the industry is doing. Like is MHJ herself paying you guys to say this

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