NewJeans

Fourth-generation girl group NewJeans burst onto the K-pop scene in 2022 like a comet—bright and bold, dropping the surprise debut single “Attention” and capturing everyone’s, well, attention. MINJI, HAERIN, HANNI, DANIELLE, and HYEIN quickly became the definition of teen-girl cool, channeling Y2K nostalgia and R&B-inflected bedroom pop beats into a musical experience both fresh and retro. Subsequent breezy earworms include 2022’s “Hype Boy” and “Ditto” and 2023’s “OMG,” “Super Shy,” “Cool With You,” “ASAP,” and “ETA.” In 2023, NewJeans made their US live debut at Lollapalooza, becoming the first female K-pop act to perform at the festival. The group’s name is meant to evoke the timeless fashion of a pair of dungarees, while also suggesting the quintet has promising “new genes” for the global pop scene. “Look, it's a new me/Switched it up, who's this?/NewJeans,” the girls sing in the breakbeat bop “New Jeans,” which sees the members transforming into Powerpuff Girls-esque characters in the accompanying music video. They make becoming superheroes look easy.