NewJeans – Attention + Hype Boy + Hurt + Cookie

Min Hee Jin spent 17 years at SM as a creative director for pretty much every artist at SM Ent. Last year, HYBE established a brand-new sub-label named ADOR, to be headed by her, as Chief Brand Officer (CBO). And that’s the name she came up with?

Oh well, concepts and songs are interesting, and they dropped a LOT of MVs… by surprise. And some of them are still unlisted, you have to watch the intro video to reach them. Neat.

More context here.

Profiles here and here. Yep, they are super young.

NewJeans – Cookie

NewJeans – Attention

NewJeans – Hype Boy

NewJeans – Hype Boy (MINJI ver.)

NewJeans – Hype Boy (HANNI ver.)

NewJeans – Hype Boy (HYEIN ver.)

NewJeans – Hype Boy (DANIELLE&HAERIN ver.)

NewJeans – Hurt

A fun website gives more insight to each song:

NewJeans first EP review

NewJeans has debuted at last! The most hotly anticipated new artist of the year,
NewJeans is the first out of ADOR (All Doors One Room) and was commonly known as MIN HEE JIN’s Girl Group before their official name was revealed and even before any of the members were known.

NewJeans’ first EP, New Jeans, poses the question, What direction should the group take to make good music?

NewJeans’ music bucks the standard K-pop formula; the album is rooted in pop,
but it doesn’t conform to any one particular style. The EP presents a sophisticated brand of pop—easy listening anywhere, anytime—and has been produced in a way that focuses on the members’ natural voices without overengineering their sound. The all-teenager lineup of NewJeans exudes a pure, effortless charm, and the four tracks off the album are brimming with the kind of energy reserved exclusively for youth. With a casual listen, it seems like every track dives into the kind of young love everyone the same age as the NewJeans members experiences, but when taken as a whole the EP looks at how life is for today’s teens, each song telling a different story and approaching them from a distinct musical angle, going beyond personal narratives to paint a collective portrait as well. The fact that New Jeans comes with a practically unprecedented three lead singles is a strong hint toward the direction the album takes.

NewJeans takes an honest, uncontrived approach to their sound. Producer MIN HEE JIN has always created innovative artist brands by going against the grain of the K-pop industry to set trends rather than follow them, and says that “pop music, like clothing, is a part of culture that is inseparable from our everyday lives.”

Just as jeans have withstood the test of time and found popularity among everyone everywhere, here’s to New Jeans becoming an icon of a generation—one you keep coming back to daily and never tire of putting on! With that aspiration in their hearts, and their new genes engineered into the era, this marks the start of NewJeans.

NewJeans first EP song review

Attention. (Lead Single)
With a groovy je ne sais quoi highlighted by a bustling beat, this song confidently boasts its thrilling feeling through key changes that jump between major and minor. The track opens with a hip, rhythmic vibe and melts seamlessly into a chorus with full, rich harmonies.

[NewJeans Commentary]
This song’s about acknowledging to yourself that you like somebody and feeling proud and owning the excitement that comes along with it, and announcing that you’re looking for attention. It perfectly sums up what NewJeans is all about.
—
Composition: 250, Duckbay (Cosmos Studios Stockholm)
Lyrics: Gigi, Duckbay (Cosmos Studios Stockholm), Danielle
Instrumental and Programming: 250

Hype Boy. (Lead Single)
Every part of this moombahton/electropop mash-up, including the unique pre-chorus, puts the members’ distinct vocals front and center.

[NewJeans Commentary]
I think this song shows what makes us chic and different, and it holds your attention to the very end. I hope you can feel how different it is from “Attention.” Oh, right! And the song is a combination of several different ideas, so it’s up to you what you want to take away from it when you’re listening and watching! And make sure you let me know what you think, okay?
—
Composition : 250, Ylva Dimberg
Lyrics: Gigi, Ylva Dimberg, Hanni
Instrumental and Programming: 250

Cookie. (Lead Single)
The minimal hip hop beat and cute lyrics show oddly endearing
self-assurance—with a hint of tension. Dance pop with fat synths and a twist on the Jersey club sound.

[NewJeans Commentary]
If you listen to this while you’re dieting, you’ll want to drop everything and bake cookies, no matter how much you hate to do it.
I really like you …! But it’d make me so happy if you made the first move. Guess I’ll have to make you? I gotta tempt you with something! How about this cookie?
—
Composition: Jinsu Park, Ylva Dimberg
Lyrics: Gigi, Ylva Dimberg
Instrumental and Programming: Jinsu Park

Hurt.
A sad, lovely R&B track backed by groovy drums and smooth, bittersweet vocals, particularly those during the chorus, which give the impression the members are performing a cappella.

[NewJeans Commentary]
At last! The only non-single track on the album. I wanna say the singles are all connected to this one. In movies, the most complicated and difficult-to-capture feelings shown on screen for me are a secondary character’s unrequited love.
“Hurt” is exactly like that, except it’s not all about feeling sad!

—
Composition: 250, Amanda Lundstedt
Lyrics: Gigi, Amanda Lundstedt
Instrumental and Programming: 250