NewJeans Confirms Global Popularity with Record Sales and Successful Japanese Debut
Despite facing numerous controversies, the K-pop group NewJeans has solidified their popularity. For two consecutive years, they have achieved the highest album sales among female K-pop artists, and they have successfully completed their official debut in Japan, further confirming their global appeal.
In 2023, NewJeans sold a total of 3,098,275 albums, marking them as the top-selling female K-pop artist with a market share of 11.4% according to the Circle Chart 2024 album sales review. Their double single 'How Sweet,' released in May, sold over 1.24 million copies, while their Japanese debut single 'Supernatural,' released in June, surpassed 1.3 million copies. Additionally, their earlier releases 'NewJeans,' 'OMG,' and 'Get Up' continued to sell well, contributing to their record-breaking sales.
Their digital music power is equally impressive, with 13 songs including 'How Sweet,' 'Super Shy,' 'Ditto,' 'OMG,' 'ETA,' and 'Hype Boy' making it onto the Circle Chart 2024 global K-pop section. They placed 11 songs in the digital category and 10 in the streaming category. Notably, eight of their tracks ranked on the 2024 Melon annual chart, with 'Supernatural' catching attention by ranking second on the Melon overseas annual chart. While K-pop artists often appear on international charts, NewJeans stands out as the only artist in the top tier, according to Melon.
Their debut in Japan was also remarkable. NewJeans officially debuted in Japan with 'Supernatural' in June 2023, which topped the Oricon chart on its release day and received a Gold Disc certification from the Japan Record Association for exceeding 100,000 copies shipped. They also set a record for being the fastest overseas artist to perform at the Tokyo Dome within just 1 year and 11 months. This success led to them winning the Excellent Work Award at the prestigious 66th Japan Record Awards for 'Supernatural.' Furthermore, they secured the second position in the 'New Artist Ranking' of the Oricon annual ranking 2024 sales category, the highest rank for any overseas artist. The ranking is based on the total sales of singles, albums, streaming, and music DVDs. Oricon reported that NewJeans generated sales of 2.09 billion yen (approximately 193.12 million won) during the counting period from December 11, 2023, to December 8, 2024.
As of November 29, 2023, NewJeans has claimed that their exclusive contract with Ador has been terminated. Their last official schedule with Ador was at the Golden Disc Awards held in Fukuoka, Japan. Although the members have announced their intention to pursue independent activities, Ador has filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of the contract.
