Agreed. They probably believed that Hybe doesn't care about them and wouldn't take anything they say seriously. And so they wanted the public to know that Hybe are mistreating them and being negative to them. People do these things when they feel unheard and disrespected and disregarded. Which I imagine Hybe are masters at making people feel.
@@HailToTheMeep Because this video is about Hybe, MHJ and NJ. SM and many other companies are like Hybe or even worse. In fact, almost all companies/businesses in the world operate in an evil way to varying degrees. Many knowingly, and many companies unknowingly because they have been brainwashed into believing what they are doing is okay and "just how business is and how things have to be". That is why a collective consciousness shift is needed. And that shift is happening now even if it doesn't appear to be so.
And that would be wrong of them…if they were ethical they would work to compromise with them not make life harder for speaking up…but what company is ethical. We can’t expect the bare minimum from them.
@@dmitrykim3096 Maybe because New Jeans are young and naive. And if what they say about MHJ is true, then they have been manipulated and fooled by MHJ.
MHJ said during a interview on KBS on the 11th,same day as the live,that she had told the girls not to do the live. Dannille had said MHJ didn't know about the live. Everyone is treating the girls like they would break. Okay I understand the girls are young,and talented ,but they need to grow up. They can't keep living in a bubble,expecting to get their way, you can't threatened your bosses,much lest tell them they were not going to listen to what they say. All I can say is WOW! They might have just looked at the end of their career.
Good and clear report on this matter! Sadly there is so much misinformation spreading about the feud between MHJ and BSH/HYBE, especially on the English speaking internet. So big props for sticking to the facts and doing your best to show both sides in the conflict.
I think that what's going to happen is: Everybody loses MHJ will become toxic, no other label with sufficient funds will want to touch her. NJ will be put into the dungeon and left there to rot and slowly going broke. I don't even know if the members could go out and work at a convenience store or go to school under their 7 year contract. Hybe loses out on their investment that they put into NJ and loses in their stock price. The fans lose out if they've bought a light stick or photo cards. Ador employees could be laid off. Illit might be the only ones that benefit. Could it all have been 5D chess by Illit?
Those are reasonable and logical conclusions. I believe that everyone will lose in the short term. However I believe that the New Jeans girls will win in the medium or long term. If the negative things they say about MHJ are true then she will definitely be experiencing a lot of difficult times ahead. If the evidence against her is untrue then she will be fine medium or long term. In my opinion Hybe deserves to lose out because they are not good and decent in their actions. This is true of many companies. Karma is a very real thing and anything positive or negative that we think, say or do always returns to us. It's a big part of why there is so much suffering and conflict in the world at the individual and collective level. That is why I predict the NJ girls are going to be fine and do very well. Whereas Hybe and many companies will experience great difficulties and suffering unless they change. Everything is playing out exactly how it should. Just like it did with Loona and BBC. It's a transition period and not everything is going to be pleasant in the short term. It takes a while for things to resolve to something better. Maybe even years.
I do think that everyone loses in this drama. Really horrible to see NewJeans' career potentially ending because of this. I really hope that it doesn't. Maybe Illit does benefit from this. If NewJeans goes on hiatus, they and Le Sserafim will get a lot more of the spotlight as HYBE's premiere female groups.
I believe everyone loses short term. But I believe New Jeans will win long term. And I believe Hybe loses in both the short and long term unless they make big positive changes in how they treat their idols and how they operate.
@@brianlittrell797 well I think we are having a real example of this happening as we speak. If the new fifty fifty works out, then we know new jeans will have a good shot at coming back.
I like what you had to say. I’m interested in seeing what NJ is planning to do now that MHJ declined HYBE offer. Reality check…MHJ has made NJ a liability for HYBE. It’s business…
Thanks for taking the time to watch the video! As for what NJ will do now that HYBE shot down bringing back MHJ as ADOR CEO, there's few options that NJ could do. It looks like NJ may just sit out and do ads and CFs instead from their recent activities. But if they want to continue their music career, they have to work with the new ADOR CEO, Kim Joo-young. The girls will need to compromise with HYBE, no matter how much they dislike their label. Because right now, there's no investor that's willing to buy out NJ and spend $300+ million to do so. It's sad for both parties, as HYBE has a clearly unhappy group, and NJ's image and success may fall off if they start boycotting their label and not doing anymore music or events.
Sorry, ladies. That CEO decision is way above your pay grade. At this point your ex-manager has burned so many bridges, that there is no way she is coming back. If you want to risk your careers and go with your ex-manager, good luck with that. Sounds more like Hybe has grounds to sue the ex-manager trying to interfere with a contract among other things if these things are true. If you're going to pull that trigger, you better have all your receipts in order. Otherwise, this is going to end up in Fifty Fifty territory. If the girls thought going public was going to force Hybe to do anything, they are most likely very wrong. If anything, it probably guaranteed the opposite if there was any chance at all at this point. Frankly if the ex-manager really cared about the girls, she would've told them to stay out of all this and not risk their careers. It looks more like she is using the group as a tool for her own benefit in more ways than one. Great job to Popsori for this rather detailed video on this.
Agree with you. Keeping ties with ex-manager Min Hee-jin will be bad for NewJeans. I totally understand why the girls adore Min Hee-jin. And to be fair, HYBE is not all innocent in all this too. I do have some serious gripes about them. But by refusing to work with new ADOR CEO Kim Joo-young, NewJeans' career is in serious danger of ending. Like you said, you gotta have all your receipts if you want to be on the "winning side," since this won't just be seen by the public, but in court as well. Like you also said, this is heading towards Fifty Fifty territory, where calling out your own label will most likely backfire. Taking it to the extreme with NewJeans demanding Hybe to reinstate Min Hee-jin is both disrespectful and shocking. I do think Min Hee-jin tried to keep the girls from doing a press conference or going live, but the group by then, were going to spill the tea regardless. If I were Min Hee-jin, after the press conference, I would tell them not to risk their careers, even if it meant Min Hee-jin is eventually kicked out of Hybe entirely. Thanks so much for watching!
I would never side with Hybe on any matter. They are not a good and decent company. I have no doubt Hybe has treated them very poorly since MHJ was replaced. Obviously nothing the girls say is going to make Hybe change. The only thing that companies care about is money and power. It seems that MHJ is very bad for the girls as well. It's unfortunate NJ are not signed to a better company. None of this mess would have happened at JYP or Dreamcatcher Company for example. The girls would be happy and treated well. I have nothing against BTS in case your mind is going there. BTS are good and decent persons. It's Hybe that is very problematic. And probably MHJ too. The girls are caught in between that fight. They will be fine though. Hybe won't be fine. Something they are going to find out to their surprise and the surprise of many. Unless they have a change of leadership.
I can understand your take as well. To put this out there, I wouldn't say Hybe is anywhere near clean in this mess either. I think both sides - Min Hee-jin and Hybe - are at fault. NewJeans shouldn't have done the ultimatum towards HYBE's CEO either. With that said, I do think there's some truth in NewJeans' livestream. How much is the truth remains to be seen. From a "can NewJeans salvage their career," the best play is for them to work with the new ADOR CEO. Unless they have smoking gun receipts, it will be very hard for NewJeans to get out of ADOR/HYBE without paying a huge sum. But if NewJeans can't or refuses to work with HYBE, they should try to find as many receipts and a solution to get out of the label. One thing is for sure though: HYBE's stocks are hurting because of this fiasco. Losing a huge, 4th gen female group is a huge blow towards the label.
@@Popsori The biggest mistake was taking this public and making an ultimatum. It was a noob move and guaranteed the company would not comply. The girls are young and have no experience in this kind of thing, so of course they would make this mistake. However, there should be some adult telling them this was a really bad idea. After the whole Fifty Fifty fiasco and false claims, I think people are going to be even more skeptical without proof. About MHJ, I'm very skeptical of her. She seemed to go out of her way to create as much drama as she could to get her way. It's the kind of behavior someone trying to cover something up looks like as they try to distract attention in one direction hoping people don't look too closely where they should actually be looking. Either way, NJ and MHJ have made this much worse and pretty much made it impossible for Hybe to see it their way. Too much over emotionalism rather than hard facts to prove their case to the public and to Hybe themselves. Is Hybe innocent? Probably not, but that actually doesn't matter when it comes to tactics and contracts. If you go in claiming big bad agency but your own hands are unclean, you don't exactly have the moral high ground.
I agree that NewJeans taking this drama public and making an ultimatum is a huge mistake. I think if they didn't do this or id that behind-the-scenes and talked with Hybe, public support would be even higher for the girls. The girls are indeed, young, and have no experience in corporate politics, so they did what they thought was right. Yet, a sense of professionalism still needs to be there. No one in their right mind at their 9-to-5 would go up to the CEO and demand something from them. MHJ and other adults needed to check the girls and discourage them even further from doing said livestream. With the livestream now done, I think Hybe won't negotiate any longer. Over emotionalism, like you said, got the best of NewJeans sadly. On the other hand, Hybe isn't innocent either. I do think there's some truth in NewJeans' livestream with corporate politics going on. But until more details becomes unveiled, we won't know. But I do agree that when it comes to contracts, you (NewJeans) can't demand things when that label hasn't broken their end of the deal (Hybe).
I genuinelly think Min Heejin has completely groomed these kids and it's so sad to see. And grooming isn't inherently sexual, for the record. Despite Min Heejin's questionable past and taste in media, there's no evidence of her doing anything sexually inappropriate to NewJeans, so I'm not acusing her of anything in that regard. Grooming can also happen when an adult, often in a position of power, takes vulnerable kids/teens and creates a concerningly close bond with them so they can finantially exploit them, because it's easier to use them if they trust you and see you as family or a really close friend. Them saying Min Heejin is more than a producer to them, that she's a member of the group, when added to what we already know of their relationship (the sleepovers, the texting, the confiding in eachother, etc) really shows the envirionment Min Heejin has created around them. Only she can protect them from Hybe, she's the only one looking out for them, etc. That us vs them mentality was simply a way to make them rely on Min Heejin and isolate them. I think both Hybe and Min Heejin were at fault with everything, and honestly that isn't my main concern here anymore. To me, it's still obvious that this is corporate drama that was made public and the girls got caught up in it. My problem with the livestream is that the way these girls are coming to Min Heejin's defence is typical grooming victim behaviour. When you point out that the groomer has done something wrong or has wronged them in any way, they're programed, in a way, to immediately defend the groomer. They often don't care about consequences for them because, in their eyes, the one person that has their back and has helped them so much is being unjustly attacked. It happens time and time again, and I've seen it happen myself with a girl I know for a fact was groomed, so this stream to me is heartbreaking because it unfortunately confirms my suspicions. And this isn't to say that Min Heejin doesn't care at all for the girls, she probably does, but I think her trying to get NewJeans not to do the conference and the stream was more to ensure she could still keep them as an innocent party publicly, so consumers would still support them. She knows that as soon as NewJeans pick a side, the public will see them as an involved party and there will be people boycotting and not supporting them, which means she can't profit off of them as much as she wants. It also means now Hybe has a reason not to fund and promote the group as much, which will affect the group considerably, not to mention legal action Hybe could take against the girls themselves if they see fit. Again, I'm sure she doesn't want the girls to get hate or get their careers ruined, but her being against them speaking out feels more like her trying to reduce damages to their brand than someone trying to keep them safe.
nj really digged their own grave with that live. i cant imagine what hybe would say. i also heard that bbangsaz was proud of the live... unpopular opinion, but something is really sketchy about nj... i also believe that mhj and hybe are both at fault.. and i cant help but not side with nj, even though they're the victim...
I actually believe Hybe and MHJ are both at fault here. I believe Hybe has behaved negatively towards New Jeans and so I believe NJ did a good thing with that Live. Even if it hurts their careers for years. I see Hybe facing many difficulties in the coming years unless positive changes are made in how they treat their idols and how they operate. New Jeans will be okay in the long run but it might take them a while to get to the place they want to be. Which is probably not going to happen with Hybe. That's my opinion.
Everybody got something to say about this, but at the end of the day, NJ deserves so much better. NJ's opinions matter regardless of people taking sides without really knowing the behind-the-scenes details of the situation.
I agree with this. As with any major drama or controversy, everyone will have their take. There's a lot happening behind-the-scenes that we all don't know. I say that without definitive proof, receipts, and testimony, such as the LOONA case against BBC, it's hard to say what's true in the NewJeans case. With that all said, I think NewJeans, even with their ill-advised livestream and ultimatum, deserves so much better.
Sad business. Spoiling a great brand group over corporate politics. MHJ was recruited bcoz her great track record & she delivered a great group in NJ. It is effectively the failure of HYBE if they couldn't do what YGE did with Teddy.
Definitely, I think it's a sad, horrible thing that a great group (NewJeans) gets destroyed over corporate politics. While I think MHJ could have done a much better job in guiding the girls, HYBE is not clean in this either. I put the blame on both parties, with a little bit on NewJeans as well for their sudden ultimatum during their livestream.
NJ might have taken the decision, bcoz they know that HYBE has decided to push LSF & Illit at their cost. Even if they give up MHJ, HYBE has indicated that NJ is effectively done/dungeoned etc So better they risk backing MHJ, than be reduced to irrelevance by HYBE. It is a gamble. They can't work with the new CEO, bcoz of the trust deficit. HYBE should just take the money & give up control on ADOR, that's more profitable to the shareholders
I actually heard of that theory too, where HYBE wanted to "Dungeon" NewJeans to push LSF and Illit more. Since I didn't have concrete proof though, I didn't put that in the final video. I'm hoping a resolution to buy out NewJeans' contract happens, because right now, the girls only have two options: 1. Return to ADOR and work with the new CEO 2. Get their contracts bought out and leave HYBE With #1, like you said, the trust factor is shattered, so I don' think they can go back. If there was still some trust left, I can see NJ doing this route and it would be the smart play. But yeah... without trust, this option is dead. With #2, I hope there's a big investor willing to buy them out. Or if they find enough evidence against HYBE, their contracts become voided and they can leave without any penalties. Really curious to see what happens on Sept 25 and beyond.
Dungeon means a cave or prison room. In K-pop terms, dungeon is used when a label doesn't make new music for a group for a long time. We don't hear much from this group. This is called "putting that group in the dungeon," as that K-pop company put that group in a prison and can't be heard. A common term is "YG dungeon," where YG Entertainment put their groups there. These groups haven't released music in a year or longer. With the "Hybe dungeon," Hybe could stick NewJeans in there, where NewJeans may not get new music or promotions in a long time.
I disagree that Newjeans is the biggest 4th gen female group. The biggest 4th gen female group is still Aespa, and the 2nd is ITZY. Newjeans is 3rd, and IVE is 4th.
Hmmm.. I would respectfully disagree. From a pure numbers and sales standpoint at both concerts and K-pop stores, I can see Aespa and perhaps IVE topping NewJeans, since NewJeans debuted just two years ago in 2022. Itzy would fall behind all three groups, including NewJeans, numbers wise, measured per capita (meaning per year, NewJeans outsells Itzy. We have to use per capita/year, since NewJeans is a much newer group). But when you go outside the sales numbers, as in appealing to the casual, non-hardcore-K-pop fans, NewJeans tops all groups easily. To most casuals and non-fans, NewJeans is what got them back into K-pop. From the numerous surveys and data points I have working within the industry, NewJeans is the number 1, 4th gen female group in the West and US, by far. I talk to numerous fans that have to choose and budget which female group to see that month or few months, due to K-pop concerts being expensive. From data and talking to hundreds of K-pop fans in this past year, nearly all fans would hands-down prioritize NewJeans as their one concert in several months over all others. NewJeans is often requested as the top female group in the West at anime cons, gaming events, and K-pop tours. I think if a group can have significant impact outside the hardcore K-pop fandom, such as NewJeans, it's a great indicator if they're the biggest group in their era. I believe NewJeans to be just that.
Haha, fair enough! I do like me some Le Sserafim a ton! I play "Perfect Night" daily. Yet, I would still put NewJeans as the top 4th gen female group for the reason I said in one of my earlier replies (i.e. pulling non-K-pop fans/casuals back into K-pop, the highest demand female group in the US/West from data, etc.)
Everyone is gangsta until @popsori brought the datas and facts. I can't argue about the datas with a professional journalist. What i want to argue is 1) Aespa and ITZY are already a established group. So everybody (not everybody but seem like everybody) already know them. And people still remember their higher hype few years ago, although their hype right now is lower than Newjeans. But like you said, popularity is not about the hype and the sales but how much people know you. 2. Because Aespa and ITZY came from big company. If you said NJ is bigger, The implication are either A. You said big 3 previledge is not a big factor now. While I believe it's still big factor or B. Hybe is already bigger than big 3 company. 3. Newjeans vibe is like GFRiend, a darkhorse. You believe they are the best but you know they not gonna be the biggest one because they are not mainstream enough. And you want them to be more famous, but in your heart you don't want them to be more famous, because you want to keep them for yourself in your room. So, you could feel special. Hi guys. I love a special and unique group named Newjeans, i don't follow trend to stand mainstream K-Pop group like Aespa. You must don't know NewJeans, because i have a higher taste of music than you guys.
I like talking in-depth about K-pop with you and everyone else here! And before I respond, thanks for being chill and keeping this conversation mature :) As for your points: 1) Oh, for sure that Aespa and ITZY are established groups. No doubt. I actually attend the ITZY concert in the SF Bay Area months ago. Although it had a lot of people, it wasn't as packed or had insane ticket prices the way that the IU concert did. Or even IVE. 2) I would say B, that HYBE is bigger than the other 3 "Big 4" companies (SM, JYP, YG). The Big 3/4 privilege is so real haha! 3) I see what you're saying with NewJeans being a darkhorse like GFriend. But NewJeans is known even to the casuals and non-K-pop fans. For instance, I talk to a lot of gamers and content creator friends on Twitch and RUclips that only listen to the mainstream groups, like BTS and Blackpink. Yet, nearly all their followers love NewJeans when their songs play on their livestreams. The same goes for anime fans. Then when it comes even to the hardcore K-pop fans, NewJeans is beloved. I talk to a lot of K-pop store owners here in California and NewJeans routinely is in the top 3 (and top 5 at worst) female groups for sales. I've taken several polls of fans here and they consistently rank NewJeans in their top 3 female groups - the others are usually Le Sserafim, Twice, IVE, or LOONA (and its spinoffs). At Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2023, NewJeans was the headliner and according to my friends that went, it was insanely packed during NewJeans' set. There's video of their performances that also show how crazy packed their performances were at the music festival. From all that, I would say NewJeans is very much mainstream in just two years. I do think both the sales/MV views numbers, as well as NewJeans' impact outside of the K-pop bubble, shows just how impactful they are.
Risky move from them, HYBe can make their life so much harder
Agreed. They probably believed that Hybe doesn't care about them and wouldn't take anything they say seriously. And so they wanted the public to know that Hybe are mistreating them and being negative to them. People do these things when they feel unheard and disrespected and disregarded. Which I imagine Hybe are masters at making people feel.
@@HailToTheMeep Because this video is about Hybe, MHJ and NJ. SM and many other companies are like Hybe or even worse. In fact, almost all companies/businesses in the world operate in an evil way to varying degrees. Many knowingly, and many companies unknowingly because they have been brainwashed into believing what they are doing is okay and "just how business is and how things have to be". That is why a collective consciousness shift is needed. And that shift is happening now even if it doesn't appear to be so.
And that would be wrong of them…if they were ethical they would work to compromise with them not make life harder for speaking up…but what company is ethical. We can’t expect the bare minimum from them.
@@diannaa.62 yep hybe is not ethical and not sure why the girls rely on that
@@dmitrykim3096 Maybe because New Jeans are young and naive. And if what they say about MHJ is true, then they have been manipulated and fooled by MHJ.
MHJ said during a interview on KBS on the 11th,same day as the live,that she had told the girls not to do the live. Dannille had said MHJ didn't know about the live. Everyone is treating the girls like they would break. Okay I understand the girls are young,and talented ,but they need to grow up. They can't keep living in a bubble,expecting to get their way, you can't threatened your bosses,much lest tell them they were not going to listen to what they say. All I can say is WOW! They might have just looked at the end of their career.
Good and clear report on this matter! Sadly there is so much misinformation spreading about the feud between MHJ and BSH/HYBE, especially on the English speaking internet. So big props for sticking to the facts and doing your best to show both sides in the conflict.
I think that what's going to happen is: Everybody loses
MHJ will become toxic, no other label with sufficient funds will want to touch her.
NJ will be put into the dungeon and left there to rot and slowly going broke. I don't even know if the members could go out and work at a convenience store or go to school under their 7 year contract.
Hybe loses out on their investment that they put into NJ and loses in their stock price.
The fans lose out if they've bought a light stick or photo cards.
Ador employees could be laid off.
Illit might be the only ones that benefit. Could it all have been 5D chess by Illit?
Those are reasonable and logical conclusions. I believe that everyone will lose in the short term. However I believe that the New Jeans girls will win in the medium or long term.
If the negative things they say about MHJ are true then she will definitely be experiencing a lot of difficult times ahead. If the evidence against her is untrue then she will be fine medium or long term.
In my opinion Hybe deserves to lose out because they are not good and decent in their actions. This is true of many companies.
Karma is a very real thing and anything positive or negative that we think, say or do always returns to us. It's a big part of why there is so much suffering and conflict in the world at the individual and collective level.
That is why I predict the NJ girls are going to be fine and do very well.
Whereas Hybe and many companies will experience great difficulties and suffering unless they change.
Everything is playing out exactly how it should. Just like it did with Loona and BBC. It's a transition period and not everything is going to be pleasant in the short term. It takes a while for things to resolve to something better. Maybe even years.
I do think that everyone loses in this drama.
Really horrible to see NewJeans' career potentially ending because of this. I really hope that it doesn't.
Maybe Illit does benefit from this. If NewJeans goes on hiatus, they and Le Sserafim will get a lot more of the spotlight as HYBE's premiere female groups.
I believe everyone loses short term. But I believe New Jeans will win long term. And I believe Hybe loses in both the short and long term unless they make big positive changes in how they treat their idols and how they operate.
@@brianlittrell797 well I think we are having a real example of this happening as we speak. If the new fifty fifty works out, then we know new jeans will have a good shot at coming back.
If NewJeans wins long term, that would be the biggest "comeback anime arc" I've seen in K-pop. I'd root for them!
Good commentary and welcome back. 👍
Thanks! It's great to be back.
And most importantly, thank you for watching the video :)
I like what you had to say. I’m interested in seeing what NJ is planning to do now that MHJ declined HYBE offer. Reality check…MHJ has made NJ a liability for HYBE. It’s business…
Thanks for taking the time to watch the video! As for what NJ will do now that HYBE shot down bringing back MHJ as ADOR CEO, there's few options that NJ could do.
It looks like NJ may just sit out and do ads and CFs instead from their recent activities. But if they want to continue their music career, they have to work with the new ADOR CEO, Kim Joo-young. The girls will need to compromise with HYBE, no matter how much they dislike their label. Because right now, there's no investor that's willing to buy out NJ and spend $300+ million to do so.
It's sad for both parties, as HYBE has a clearly unhappy group, and NJ's image and success may fall off if they start boycotting their label and not doing anymore music or events.
Sorry, ladies. That CEO decision is way above your pay grade. At this point your ex-manager has burned so many bridges, that there is no way she is coming back. If you want to risk your careers and go with your ex-manager, good luck with that. Sounds more like Hybe has grounds to sue the ex-manager trying to interfere with a contract among other things if these things are true. If you're going to pull that trigger, you better have all your receipts in order. Otherwise, this is going to end up in Fifty Fifty territory. If the girls thought going public was going to force Hybe to do anything, they are most likely very wrong. If anything, it probably guaranteed the opposite if there was any chance at all at this point.
Frankly if the ex-manager really cared about the girls, she would've told them to stay out of all this and not risk their careers. It looks more like she is using the group as a tool for her own benefit in more ways than one.
Great job to Popsori for this rather detailed video on this.
Agree with you. Keeping ties with ex-manager Min Hee-jin will be bad for NewJeans. I totally understand why the girls adore Min Hee-jin.
And to be fair, HYBE is not all innocent in all this too. I do have some serious gripes about them.
But by refusing to work with new ADOR CEO Kim Joo-young, NewJeans' career is in serious danger of ending. Like you said, you gotta have all your receipts if you want to be on the "winning side," since this won't just be seen by the public, but in court as well.
Like you also said, this is heading towards Fifty Fifty territory, where calling out your own label will most likely backfire. Taking it to the extreme with NewJeans demanding Hybe to reinstate Min Hee-jin is both disrespectful and shocking.
I do think Min Hee-jin tried to keep the girls from doing a press conference or going live, but the group by then, were going to spill the tea regardless. If I were Min Hee-jin, after the press conference, I would tell them not to risk their careers, even if it meant Min Hee-jin is eventually kicked out of Hybe entirely.
Thanks so much for watching!
I would never side with Hybe on any matter. They are not a good and decent company. I have no doubt Hybe has treated them very poorly since MHJ was replaced. Obviously nothing the girls say is going to make Hybe change. The only thing that companies care about is money and power. It seems that MHJ is very bad for the girls as well. It's unfortunate NJ are not signed to a better company. None of this mess would have happened at JYP or Dreamcatcher Company for example. The girls would be happy and treated well. I have nothing against BTS in case your mind is going there. BTS are good and decent persons. It's Hybe that is very problematic. And probably MHJ too. The girls are caught in between that fight. They will be fine though. Hybe won't be fine. Something they are going to find out to their surprise and the surprise of many. Unless they have a change of leadership.
I can understand your take as well. To put this out there, I wouldn't say Hybe is anywhere near clean in this mess either. I think both sides - Min Hee-jin and Hybe - are at fault.
NewJeans shouldn't have done the ultimatum towards HYBE's CEO either.
With that said, I do think there's some truth in NewJeans' livestream. How much is the truth remains to be seen.
From a "can NewJeans salvage their career," the best play is for them to work with the new ADOR CEO. Unless they have smoking gun receipts, it will be very hard for NewJeans to get out of ADOR/HYBE without paying a huge sum.
But if NewJeans can't or refuses to work with HYBE, they should try to find as many receipts and a solution to get out of the label.
One thing is for sure though: HYBE's stocks are hurting because of this fiasco. Losing a huge, 4th gen female group is a huge blow towards the label.
@@Popsori The biggest mistake was taking this public and making an ultimatum. It was a noob move and guaranteed the company would not comply. The girls are young and have no experience in this kind of thing, so of course they would make this mistake. However, there should be some adult telling them this was a really bad idea. After the whole Fifty Fifty fiasco and false claims, I think people are going to be even more skeptical without proof. About MHJ, I'm very skeptical of her. She seemed to go out of her way to create as much drama as she could to get her way. It's the kind of behavior someone trying to cover something up looks like as they try to distract attention in one direction hoping people don't look too closely where they should actually be looking. Either way, NJ and MHJ have made this much worse and pretty much made it impossible for Hybe to see it their way. Too much over emotionalism rather than hard facts to prove their case to the public and to Hybe themselves. Is Hybe innocent? Probably not, but that actually doesn't matter when it comes to tactics and contracts. If you go in claiming big bad agency but your own hands are unclean, you don't exactly have the moral high ground.
I agree that NewJeans taking this drama public and making an ultimatum is a huge mistake. I think if they didn't do this or id that behind-the-scenes and talked with Hybe, public support would be even higher for the girls.
The girls are indeed, young, and have no experience in corporate politics, so they did what they thought was right. Yet, a sense of professionalism still needs to be there. No one in their right mind at their 9-to-5 would go up to the CEO and demand something from them. MHJ and other adults needed to check the girls and discourage them even further from doing said livestream.
With the livestream now done, I think Hybe won't negotiate any longer. Over emotionalism, like you said, got the best of NewJeans sadly.
On the other hand, Hybe isn't innocent either. I do think there's some truth in NewJeans' livestream with corporate politics going on. But until more details becomes unveiled, we won't know.
But I do agree that when it comes to contracts, you (NewJeans) can't demand things when that label hasn't broken their end of the deal (Hybe).
good recap of recent events
Rip news jeans bye bye like old 50/50
I genuinelly think Min Heejin has completely groomed these kids and it's so sad to see. And grooming isn't inherently sexual, for the record. Despite Min Heejin's questionable past and taste in media, there's no evidence of her doing anything sexually inappropriate to NewJeans, so I'm not acusing her of anything in that regard. Grooming can also happen when an adult, often in a position of power, takes vulnerable kids/teens and creates a concerningly close bond with them so they can finantially exploit them, because it's easier to use them if they trust you and see you as family or a really close friend. Them saying Min Heejin is more than a producer to them, that she's a member of the group, when added to what we already know of their relationship (the sleepovers, the texting, the confiding in eachother, etc) really shows the envirionment Min Heejin has created around them. Only she can protect them from Hybe, she's the only one looking out for them, etc. That us vs them mentality was simply a way to make them rely on Min Heejin and isolate them.
I think both Hybe and Min Heejin were at fault with everything, and honestly that isn't my main concern here anymore. To me, it's still obvious that this is corporate drama that was made public and the girls got caught up in it. My problem with the livestream is that the way these girls are coming to Min Heejin's defence is typical grooming victim behaviour. When you point out that the groomer has done something wrong or has wronged them in any way, they're programed, in a way, to immediately defend the groomer. They often don't care about consequences for them because, in their eyes, the one person that has their back and has helped them so much is being unjustly attacked. It happens time and time again, and I've seen it happen myself with a girl I know for a fact was groomed, so this stream to me is heartbreaking because it unfortunately confirms my suspicions.
And this isn't to say that Min Heejin doesn't care at all for the girls, she probably does, but I think her trying to get NewJeans not to do the conference and the stream was more to ensure she could still keep them as an innocent party publicly, so consumers would still support them. She knows that as soon as NewJeans pick a side, the public will see them as an involved party and there will be people boycotting and not supporting them, which means she can't profit off of them as much as she wants. It also means now Hybe has a reason not to fund and promote the group as much, which will affect the group considerably, not to mention legal action Hybe could take against the girls themselves if they see fit. Again, I'm sure she doesn't want the girls to get hate or get their careers ruined, but her being against them speaking out feels more like her trying to reduce damages to their brand than someone trying to keep them safe.
nj really digged their own grave with that live. i cant imagine what hybe would say. i also heard that bbangsaz was proud of the live... unpopular opinion, but something is really sketchy about nj... i also believe that mhj and hybe are both at fault.. and i cant help but not side with nj, even though they're the victim...
I actually believe Hybe and MHJ are both at fault here. I believe Hybe has behaved negatively towards New Jeans and so I believe NJ did a good thing with that Live. Even if it hurts their careers for years. I see Hybe facing many difficulties in the coming years unless positive changes are made in how they treat their idols and how they operate.
New Jeans will be okay in the long run but it might take them a while to get to the place they want to be. Which is probably not going to happen with Hybe. That's my opinion.
Everybody got something to say about this, but at the end of the day, NJ deserves so much better. NJ's opinions matter regardless of people taking sides without really knowing the behind-the-scenes details of the situation.
I agree with this. As with any major drama or controversy, everyone will have their take. There's a lot happening behind-the-scenes that we all don't know.
I say that without definitive proof, receipts, and testimony, such as the LOONA case against BBC, it's hard to say what's true in the NewJeans case.
With that all said, I think NewJeans, even with their ill-advised livestream and ultimatum, deserves so much better.
Also, I want a break down of the new fifty fifty
That's a planned video enqueue right now :)
Sad business. Spoiling a great brand group over corporate politics.
MHJ was recruited bcoz her great track record & she delivered a great group in NJ.
It is effectively the failure of HYBE if they couldn't do what YGE did with Teddy.
Definitely, I think it's a sad, horrible thing that a great group (NewJeans) gets destroyed over corporate politics.
While I think MHJ could have done a much better job in guiding the girls, HYBE is not clean in this either. I put the blame on both parties, with a little bit on NewJeans as well for their sudden ultimatum during their livestream.
Gen Z are a risky group
I just don't want newjeans to disband 😢😢😢😢😢 I love them too much
NJ might have taken the decision, bcoz they know that HYBE has decided to push LSF & Illit at their cost.
Even if they give up MHJ, HYBE has indicated that NJ is effectively done/dungeoned etc
So better they risk backing MHJ, than be reduced to irrelevance by HYBE.
It is a gamble.
They can't work with the new CEO, bcoz of the trust deficit.
HYBE should just take the money & give up control on ADOR, that's more profitable to the shareholders
I actually heard of that theory too, where HYBE wanted to "Dungeon" NewJeans to push LSF and Illit more. Since I didn't have concrete proof though, I didn't put that in the final video.
I'm hoping a resolution to buy out NewJeans' contract happens, because right now, the girls only have two options:
1. Return to ADOR and work with the new CEO
2. Get their contracts bought out and leave HYBE
With #1, like you said, the trust factor is shattered, so I don' think they can go back. If there was still some trust left, I can see NJ doing this route and it would be the smart play. But yeah... without trust, this option is dead.
With #2, I hope there's a big investor willing to buy them out. Or if they find enough evidence against HYBE, their contracts become voided and they can leave without any penalties.
Really curious to see what happens on Sept 25 and beyond.
what does dungeon mean?
Dungeon means a cave or prison room.
In K-pop terms, dungeon is used when a label doesn't make new music for a group for a long time. We don't hear much from this group. This is called "putting that group in the dungeon," as that K-pop company put that group in a prison and can't be heard.
A common term is "YG dungeon," where YG Entertainment put their groups there. These groups haven't released music in a year or longer.
With the "Hybe dungeon," Hybe could stick NewJeans in there, where NewJeans may not get new music or promotions in a long time.
I disagree that Newjeans is the biggest 4th gen female group.
The biggest 4th gen female group is still Aespa, and the 2nd is ITZY.
Newjeans is 3rd, and IVE is 4th.
Hmmm.. I would respectfully disagree. From a pure numbers and sales standpoint at both concerts and K-pop stores, I can see Aespa and perhaps IVE topping NewJeans, since NewJeans debuted just two years ago in 2022.
Itzy would fall behind all three groups, including NewJeans, numbers wise, measured per capita (meaning per year, NewJeans outsells Itzy. We have to use per capita/year, since NewJeans is a much newer group).
But when you go outside the sales numbers, as in appealing to the casual, non-hardcore-K-pop fans, NewJeans tops all groups easily. To most casuals and non-fans, NewJeans is what got them back into K-pop.
From the numerous surveys and data points I have working within the industry, NewJeans is the number 1, 4th gen female group in the West and US, by far.
I talk to numerous fans that have to choose and budget which female group to see that month or few months, due to K-pop concerts being expensive. From data and talking to hundreds of K-pop fans in this past year, nearly all fans would hands-down prioritize NewJeans as their one concert in several months over all others.
NewJeans is often requested as the top female group in the West at anime cons, gaming events, and K-pop tours.
I think if a group can have significant impact outside the hardcore K-pop fandom, such as NewJeans, it's a great indicator if they're the biggest group in their era. I believe NewJeans to be just that.
@@Popsori I would disagree further! Le Sserafim is the top 4th gen girl group. Nobody else is as brave or shakes up the medium like them.
Haha, fair enough! I do like me some Le Sserafim a ton! I play "Perfect Night" daily.
Yet, I would still put NewJeans as the top 4th gen female group for the reason I said in one of my earlier replies (i.e. pulling non-K-pop fans/casuals back into K-pop, the highest demand female group in the US/West from data, etc.)
Everyone is gangsta until @popsori brought the datas and facts.
I can't argue about the datas with a professional journalist.
What i want to argue is
1) Aespa and ITZY are already a established group. So everybody (not everybody but seem like everybody) already know them.
And people still remember their higher hype few years ago, although their hype right now is lower than Newjeans.
But like you said, popularity is not about the hype and the sales but how much people know you.
2. Because Aespa and ITZY came from big company.
If you said NJ is bigger,
The implication are either
A. You said big 3 previledge is not a big factor now.
While I believe it's still big factor or
B. Hybe is already bigger than big 3 company.
3. Newjeans vibe is like GFRiend, a darkhorse.
You believe they are the best but you know they not gonna be the biggest one because they are not mainstream enough.
And you want them to be more famous, but in your heart you don't want them to be more famous, because you want to keep them for yourself in your room.
So, you could feel special.
Hi guys. I love a special and unique group named Newjeans, i don't follow trend to stand mainstream K-Pop group like Aespa. You must don't know NewJeans, because i have a higher taste of music than you guys.
I like talking in-depth about K-pop with you and everyone else here! And before I respond, thanks for being chill and keeping this conversation mature :)
As for your points:
1) Oh, for sure that Aespa and ITZY are established groups. No doubt.
I actually attend the ITZY concert in the SF Bay Area months ago. Although it had a lot of people, it wasn't as packed or had insane ticket prices the way that the IU concert did. Or even IVE.
2) I would say B, that HYBE is bigger than the other 3 "Big 4" companies (SM, JYP, YG).
The Big 3/4 privilege is so real haha!
3) I see what you're saying with NewJeans being a darkhorse like GFriend. But NewJeans is known even to the casuals and non-K-pop fans.
For instance, I talk to a lot of gamers and content creator friends on Twitch and RUclips that only listen to the mainstream groups, like BTS and Blackpink. Yet, nearly all their followers love NewJeans when their songs play on their livestreams. The same goes for anime fans.
Then when it comes even to the hardcore K-pop fans, NewJeans is beloved. I talk to a lot of K-pop store owners here in California and NewJeans routinely is in the top 3 (and top 5 at worst) female groups for sales. I've taken several polls of fans here and they consistently rank NewJeans in their top 3 female groups - the others are usually Le Sserafim, Twice, IVE, or LOONA (and its spinoffs).
At Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2023, NewJeans was the headliner and according to my friends that went, it was insanely packed during NewJeans' set. There's video of their performances that also show how crazy packed their performances were at the music festival.
From all that, I would say NewJeans is very much mainstream in just two years.
I do think both the sales/MV views numbers, as well as NewJeans' impact outside of the K-pop bubble, shows just how impactful they are.