"Labeling it as J-pop could cause misunderstandings" - Korean University Professor criticizes ADOR for the categorization of NewJeans' Supernatural

Recently, following the release of NewJeans' Japanese debut with the track Supernatural on June 24, 2024, the group and its agency have been garnering criticism for the song's categorization. While NewJeans is a K-pop group that releases music that sits under the genre that represents Korean pop music, their latest Japanese track was placed under the category of J-pop, otherwise known as Japanese pop.

Many were not satisfied with this categorization and called out ADOR for their lack of consideration towards the K-pop girl group to represent them as K-pop artists. An anonymous pop music critic talked about the same. Another Sungshin Women's University professor, Seo Kyung-deok, also commented on the same.

She stated that the categorization could lead to misunderstanding, especially among fans and listeners from countries outside Korea. She also emphasized the necessity for the K-pop group to promote globally as K-pop artists.

"No matter how popular they are worldwide, NewJeans is a girl group that represents Korea. In that regard, they should be promoting K-pop to the world. However, labeling it as J-pop could cause misunderstandings among fans in other countries."

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ADOR agency responds to criticism for their categorization of NewJeans' Japanese debut, Supernatural, under J-pop

On June 24, K-pop girl group NewJeans made their Japanese debut with their single release, Supernatural, consisting of two tracks, Supernatural and Right Now. While fans and netizens enjoyed the track and its aesthetics, the group began to garner attention and criticism for their single's categorization under J-pop.

Many netizens pointed out that though the two tracks are expected to be the group's Japanese debut, the songs contain many English lyrics and more Korean lyrics. This discovery justified the criticism of the song's alleged improper categorization as J-pop since it carries tri-lingual qualities.

An anonymous pop music critic explained that though the tracks are in Japanese, it still remains that NewJeans are K-pop artists that aim to represent a genre of music from South Korea.

"Japan is the world's second-largest music market, and Japan is where the money is immediately being made, such as through NewJeans' fan meeting at Tokyo Dome. However, it seems they did not consider the status of K-pop and Korean fans."

When this piece of criticism and Seo Kyung-deok's words landed on the internet, ADOR soon responded to the issue, explaining their stance and reason behind the decision. They stated that they fail to believe in the strict distinctions between J-pop and K-pop, especially in the time of fast-developing media and music distribution aspects.

Here's what their statement read:

"It was released as a Japanese album for Japanese music activities, and we distributed it globally to make it easier for more fans to access. In an environment where media development diversifies distribution and spreads content quickly, we believe that distinguishing between the genres of J-pop and K-pop is meaningless."

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On the other hand, NewJeans most recently wrapped up their fan meeting event, Bunnies Camp 2024 at the Tokyo Dome on June 26 and June 27, where they met fans and performed their recent tracks, Supernatural and Right Now, along with several other tracks from their discography.