Frankie Scoca and Park Jin-su produced "New Jeans" and wrote it with Erika de Casier, Fine Glindvad Jensen, Gigi, and NewJeans member Haerin. The track incorporates influences from eclectic dance styles such as UK garage, Jersey club, jungle, and drum and bass in its rhythms and instruments. The lyrics are about the members' awareness of the attention on them and reference American duo Outkast's 2001 single "So Fresh, So Clean". Music critics complimented the production and dubbed it as the EP's mission statement.
Following the release of their first single album, OMG, in January 2023, ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin first revealed in an interview with South Korean magazine Cine21 that NewJeans was preparing a new album.[1] In April 2023, Min stated in an interview with Billboard that the group had finished recording in early April.[2] South Korean media outlets reported that the album would be released in July 2023, preceded by one of its B-side tracks set to be released on July 7.[3] In June 2023, ADOR announced that NewJeans would release their second extended play (EP), Get Up, and revealed that its first lead single, "Super Shy", and one of the B-side tracks, "New Jeans", would be released on July 7, 2023, via YG Plus.[4][5]
"New Jeans" was composed by Erika de Casier, Fine Glindvad Jensen, and producers Park Jin-su and Frankie Scoca.[5] Inspired by UK garage and Jersey club,[6] the percussion-driven track is based on jungle and drum and bass rhythms and incorporates "fluttering" harps.[7][6][8] It features stuttering vocal chops and a "skipping" production.[9] The lyrics were written by de Casier and Jensen, along with Gigi and group member Haerin. "New Jeans" expresses the group's desire to keep carving their own path and experimenting with new music, also referencing in the lyrics "So Fresh, So Clean" (2001) by American duo Outkast.[6][10]
Reception
"New Jeans" peaked at number 12 on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart in the issue dated July 16–22, 2023.[11] In the United States, it debuted at number 5 and 16 on the World Digital Song Sales and the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, respectively, in the issue dated July 22, 2023.[12][13] The song also entered charts in Canada (82) and Australia (98).[14][15] "New Jeans" debuted at number 32 on the Billboard Global 200 in the chart issue dated July 20, 2023.[16]
In her five-star review of the EP, NME's Rhian Daly called the song a "subtle mission statement – a vow to keep carving out their own lane".[10] Writing for Billboard, Starr Bowenbank said "New Jeans" is a "chill, laidback" track,[7] while Sara Delgado of Teen Vogue described it as a "quasi-jingly number" with a "simple yet catchy hook and impeccable mixing that makes demo-esque layers feel maximalist".[6]
Music video and live performances
NewJeans collaborated with The Powerpuff Girls for the music video.
The music video for "New Jeans" was released a few hours before the track. It was directed by Youngeum Lee and created in collaboration with American franchise The Powerpuff Girls to commemorate its 25th anniversary.[17] The video starts with NewJeans discussing what superpowers they would like to have, when they suddenly transform in animated characters version of themselves designed like The Powerpuff Girls and rendered in different animation styles, spanning from 2D animation to video game-style "pixelated" animation to 3D animation.[18] Baek Seolhui, columnist for Weverse Magazine, applauded the Powerpuff Girls collaboration which they deemed congruent to the group's Y2K fashion styles and "natural" teenage-girl sensations.[19]
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
References
^Lim, Soo-yeon (January 21, 2023). [인터뷰] 민희진 어도어 대표 ① "나는 공식을 깨고 싶은 사람" [[Interview] Min Hee-jin, CEO of Adobe ① "I'm a person who wants to break the formula"]. Cine21 (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
^Kim, Na-yeon (July 14, 2023). '뮤직뱅크' (여자)아이들, 샤이니 꺾고 1위..뉴진스→엑소 컴백[종합] ['Music Bank' (G)I-dle beats Shinee to win 1st place.. New Jeans → Exo comeback [Comprehensive]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Naver.
^Kim, No-eul (July 16, 2023). '인기가요' 뉴진스, 청량하고 산뜻한 컴백 "'슈퍼샤이' 에너지 넘쳐" ['Inkigayo' New Jeans, refreshing and refreshing comeback "'Supershy' overflowing with energy"]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Naver.
