NewJeans breaks Guinness World Record: Tracing K-pop band's phenomenal journey
HYBE-owned ADOR label's newest girl group NewJeans has scripted history by breaking the Guinness World Record for the fastest K-pop act to reach 1B streams on Spotify. The five-member band achieved this feat with just a few songs on Spotify: Hurt, Hype Boy, Attention, Zero, Ditto, OMG, and Cookie. The single OMG is currently NewJeans's most-streamed song on Spotify, clocking a remarkable 320M plays.
NewJeans achieves feat just 219 days after debut
"NewJeans...achieved 1 billion streams on Spotify in 219 days—faster than any other K-pop act," Guinness World Records' website stated. The band achieved this incredible feat on March 8, which was just 219 days since their debut. This achievement is even more remarkable, considering that the K-pop group only had a limited number of tracks available on Spotify at the time of their debut EP.
NewJeans beats BTS's Jungkook, BLACKPINK's Lisa
Previously, this record was held by BTS member Jungkook, who set a new record by becoming the fastest male K-pop soloist to reach 1B streams on Spotify. Prior to that, BLACKPINK's Lisa registered her name in the world record as the fastest female K-pop soloist to reach this incredible feat on the music streaming platform. These achievements were recognized by the Guinness World Records.
NewJeans surpassed record-breaking 1M debut album sales
Just after seven months after their debut, they stormed global markets with extraordinary achievements. It is noteworthy that in February, the K-pop group registered record-breaking 1M album sales for their debut EP NewJeans. With this remarkable feat, NewJeans became the first K-pop group's debut album in 26 years to sell more than 1M copies since SECHSKIES's School Byeolgok in 1997, according to Circle Chart.
NewJeans made its debut in July 2022
NewJeans made its debut under HYBE's independent label ADOR in July 2022. The quintet, comprising Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein, instantly became a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Their debut single, Attention was quickly followed by two other singles, Hype Boy and Cookie. These tracks were all part of their eponymous debut EP, NewJeans, released in August 2022.
Understanding significance of their band name, NewJeans
According to NewJeans's website, there are two meanings to the group's name. The first meaning is in reference to jeans being a timeless piece of clothing, with every next generation having its own symbolic new style. While another meaning is that NewJeans is a wordplay on "new genes," indicating that they will help usher in a new generation of K-pop music in the industry.