Hong Kong
NCS
—
Okay-pop band NewJeans performed a sold-out present and debuted a brand new music in Hong Kong on Sunday — simply days after a South Korean court docket upheld an injunction prohibiting the group from finishing up unbiased musical or business actions.
But the band’s members then shocked an 11,000-strong crowd on the ComplexCon Hong Kong pageant by asserting they’re now taking a break “out of respect” for the short-term ruling.
On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court sided with file firm Ador in its long-running legal dispute with NewJeans, saying the band’s try to rename itself and break free from the label might “seriously damage” the latter’s repute.
Speaking on stage, band member Pham Ngoc Han, who goes by Hanni, stated the group’s resolution to “pause all activities… wasn’t easy,” however that “we believe this is something we need to do.”
Carrying ready messages on slips of paper, every member addressed their followers (who’re affectionately often called “bunnies”) in each Korean and English. Audible disappointment rippled by Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo, the place the band was performing for the primary time since making an attempt to rebrand as NJZ final month.
Danielle Marsh, who goes by Danni, stated on stage: “As strong as we are trying to stay, it is honestly taking a bit of a mental and emotional toll on us.”
The five-piece group has repeatedly claimed its contract with Ador is void amid allegations of mistreatment. The band’s members have accused the label of “manipulation,” “deliberate miscommunications” and office harassment.
Ador has in the meantime asserted that NewJeans stays below contract, arguing that it can not perform leisure actions with out the label’s approval. The file firm — which is a subsidiary of Hybe, the leisure large behind Okay-pop acts together with BTS — has additionally disputed allegations of mistreatment, telling NCS through e-mail that almost all of NewJeans’ claims “have arisen from misunderstandings.” The lawsuit filed by Ador shall be heard in full on April 3.
In a conciliatory assertion, shared with NCS previous to the band’s Hong Kong present, Ador expressed assist for the efficiency — on situation it occurred below the identify NewJeans, not NJZ. The group appeared to strategy the matter delicately, with neither moniker showing on screens flanking the stage, regardless of the pageant’s different acts being explicitly named.
But the identify NJZ did briefly seem as half of visuals projected behind the group, whereas some band members wore tights saying “Chapter NJZ.”
A sales space on the pageant grounds in the meantime bought merchandise with completely different NJZ logos, together with plushie keychains, hats and T-shirts, with some devoted followers spending hours in line to buy the objects.
Danni addressed the difficulty on stage, saying: “No matter what our name is, no matter what kind of tough time we’ve been through, I feel like to be able to share a moment like this with everyone, is what we live for.”
The band additionally appeared to keep away from enjoying songs from its again catalog, with every member performing solo covers of different artists earlier than coming collectively to debut a brand new music, “Pit Stop.”
On X, a hashtag referencing the band’s “re-debut” had over 50,000 posts inside hours of the present. Fans on the AsiaWorld-Arena in the meantime expressed assist for the band — and disappointment with NewJeans’ deliberate hiatus.
“I hope they can keep staying strong, fight this battle well,” stated 25-year-old fan Soie So. “We know this is going to be hard to win. To be honest, at that moment (when the band announced a pause on activities) I just felt very touched. I thought they’re very brave.”
But regardless of followers’ backing, Friday’s ruling is a serious setback for the group, based on legal consultants conversant in the case. Speaking to NCS on Friday, Sangrock Kho, a lawyer at South Korea’s Law Firm Pil, stated the court docket’s resolution to uphold the injunction suggests NewJeans’ legal case is “either extremely weak or virtually nonexistent.”
“Under the Korean judicial system, in cases like this where an agency files an injunction to suspend an artist’s activities, the proceedings are generally very favorable to the artist,” he stated over e-mail. “This is as a result of courts are normally extraordinarily reluctant to concern injunctions that would trigger irreparable hurt to an artist’s profession by proscribing their freedom of occupation.
“Given that, the fact that the court has nevertheless issued this type of injunction suggests that, after reviewing all the claims, evidence, and extensive presentation materials … the court concluded that NewJeans’ argument — that the breakdown in trust was entirely caused by Hybe and Ador — lacks sufficient legal basis.”
NewJeans emerged as one of South Korea’s most profitable pop acts after storming to the highest of the nation’s charts with debut single “Attention” in 2022. The band achieved worldwide success lower than a 12 months later with EP “Get Up” (that includes the crossover hit “Super Shy”), which reached no 1 on the US Billboard 200.
This article was up to date with extra live performance particulars.