NewJeans kicked off the day with the release of an eponymous introduction track for their upcoming album. That Powerpuff Girls collab was mood-setting but ephemeral. It fully embraced the group’s stylized worldview. NewJeans are nothing if not cool. Sometimes, I think “cool” is put at a higher premium than anything else.
I understand why this group has quickly become such chart behemoths. Sometimes, I even feel obliged to join the party. But their sound is often so muted that it ends up leaving me cold. I may be admitting to a potential lack of taste, but too often these productions strike me as the pleasant music you’d hear when waiting on the phone for customer service.
New single Super Shy fits the NewJeans template to a tee. We’ve got a couple ultra-catchy hooks, repeated generously. We have atmospheric synths and skittery — almost weightless — percussion. For what it’s attempting to do, Super Shy succeeds. And at about two minutes in, additional synth enters the mix to surprisingly funky effect. I dig the groove here. It’s a shame the song ends thirty seconds later, evaporated. I’m sure this approach works wonders with streaming algorithms, but it doesn’t deliver the payoff I hope to hear. In fact, I wish the production didn’t feel so threadbare throughout — particularly the vocal arrangement. Some airy harmonies would have worked wonders over this track.
Personal taste aside, NewJeans have nailed the “signature sound” aspect I write about so often. If you enjoyed Ditto, you’re liable to love this. And if — like me — you were hoping for something a little more widescreen in nature, there are still a few more July releases on the horizon for the girls.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
tbh i like this song better than ditto. its a great pre release track and very cute and catchy. i can see myself playing this a lot. is it as good as hype boy or attention? no, but thats okay. an 8 seems just about right for me. im ngl almost everything in the new generation (and not just kpop) seems more about aesthetic and less about the actual music/substance. but im still putting this on my playlist tho.
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The last chorus is how the entire song should’ve sounded.
It’s more full and bassy (?) sounding.
The start, up until that point, just sounds painfully empty.
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I really really like this song. My only issue is that it sounds like it needs the rest of the album and the other 4 videos to get the full effect. I really think this will be a song I absolutely love a lot more when we get the full context of the album.
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As you said, it’s their signature sound atp and as a lover of the sound. I think this is pretty great
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Decent enough song. Shaping up to be their weakest release yet though. Fingers crossed it picks up on repeat listens..or not
Who cares?
INFINITE COMEBACK SOON!!!
SHINEE, TEEN TOP, U-KISS, INFINITE!!!!
KPOP IS SAVED!!!
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I like the powerpuff girl collab song “New Jeans” better than this one. They already performed one of 3 title tracks (ETA) and that one is lacklustre too. Here hoping the final title track will at least be good because I really like this group
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Even though this is probably their least ambitious song so far, it is still so well executed that I can’t stop listening to it. They can repeat that chorus as much as they want, my ears will still want more of it. Though you are right that it should be longer.
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I take that back, I think the brevity makes sense with the meaning of the song. I wouldn’t expect someone who is shy to be able to vocalize their feelings for very long out loud (speaking from experience).
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It is perfectly done to loop back and forth from verse to chorus to instrumental ad infinitum, for the repeat streaming chill beatz set, Essential, it is because the skittering drum and minimalized vocals means there is no significant chord progression or arc of the song, no swell or build, it just loops along in its groove. No emotional frisson moment, just a cool groove bopping along bop bbop bboppoppppppp bopppp bopping bopping bopping bop bbop bboppoppppppp bopppp bopping bopping bopping.
I have to admit, I was so lost in my thoughts and sighs, I went back to a regular high ranked youtube suggestion as I typed up my thoughts, always there for me, because the algorithms know that I need those moments of release, of beauty, of wow, and you may think what the hell is this, but it is mine and I am sharing it for whoever will listen.
Also, for beauty, because whatever happened to beauty in music.
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9AEpXSpx1E
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ok
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While we’re at it, I’ll go ahead and share something too.
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Holy loop back and forth Batman! I presume you meant the 45 min song. It is like a long form Radiohead if an indie band covered one. I must admit I only made it to the 30min mark when the all static all the time hit, then flipped through the rest. It sounds like a song best enjoyed with a libation in hand while gently swaying.
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The aesthetic is strong in this group.
This feels very teens at the mall. When there is a new cute trend and then it is all over the mall, and then it is in the mom section of the department store. We are in the early part of this timeline, and I can smell the store from here.
So, um, good luck and it’s a pass from me.
Also, these girls are still too young.
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Sound-wise this is not for me, but song-wise I think this is their best since Hype Boy, and MV-wise I’m glad they ditched the meta parasocial stuff for something closer to what they started with.
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I enjoy the song but it’s absurd how much more I enjoy it just because the video is filmed in Lisbon. What is this stupid sense of pride for your city to be represented in a random kpop music video?!
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I’m sure I’ll love it overall in the context of the EP, but it is a wisp of a song, too repetitive and in need of more ornamentation – a bridge, and a key change at the end. I don’t think it touches the greatness of Ditto, let alone Hype Boy and Attention. Anyone know where it was filmed? I tried to watch on my phone while walking the dog, and it looked like Park Guell to me.
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Hi! The video is filmed in Lisbon, Portugal. It starts off at Torel’s Garden(og name: Jardim do Torel) and goes to José Saramago Square(og name: Largo José Saramago) at the end and they just kinda shoot on different parts of that square.
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Oh wow, thanks! I was only ever in Porto. Nice there’s a square named after Saramago, I’m a fan of his (The Stone Raft, Blindness). I always wanted to go to Lisbon, ever since seeing the film In the White City back in the day.
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Okay, so this morning I called it a “wisp of a song.” Now it’s the evening and it’s a 10 for me. I just want to hear it on a loop. They’ve done it again, they have some strange magic over me, this band.
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Their weakest title track so far. Sure, the chorus has immediately infected me, but in spite of myself being a fan of this subdued sound, it doesn’t seem to be something I’d be willing to press replay on. The production feels excessively cheap, which makes the song more of a pass for me. Would give it a 7.5 (8,7,8,7) at best.
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My bad, I was intending to replace title track with just “track”. Typing too fast again.
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I like it but it just (like all new jeans songs) sounds a little blunted to me yknow? I like the beat but it just sounds like background music
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i feel like everyone here is playing a prank on me, this shouldn’t be more than a 6 and even that is pushing it… snork mimimi
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This feels almost too NewJeans to me. It’s like a riff on the NewJeans sound more than a fully developed song. It’s somehow too safe and consistent. Are they already just copying themselves?
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where are my chemical hype girls? they have chilled out to the point that the song sounds a little sleepy. Yes it’s cute and catchy but I don’t feel compelled to listen again.
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I liked everything from them so far and this song too , vrry nice to listen to
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So, here’s my thing with NewJeans.
At first, I feel they’re promising. Thought we’re gonna have a sleek RnB group back in store.
And then, as more releases are coming out, they strayed away, away, and away. And we ended up on what seems to be diabetes of catchiness.
The catchier, the better. But some are catchy enough, some tried too hard. And for NewJeans, it’s like they’re RnD-ing these like a test to crack TikTok virality.
That’s what Super Shy sounds like.
The beat is… pretty nice and airy, NGL. Lyrically, it’s just bunch of catchy, often monotone, hooks repeated and glued together.
ETA has the same formula, too.
So, I’ll pass on this one. Or maybe the next NewJeans releases as well?
(And don’t get me started on the paradox of commercializing underground/Soundcloud-ish genres. I am still processing.)
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I agree , It should have been longer and that last chorus was nice it brought a little bit of a surprise element although we were at the end of the song and by that time I felt like I was wanting more . They usually play around with the song and their vocals making it more interesting and I usually like those parts where it’s like a break from the song but for Super shy , the vocals felt similar so similar as if I’m listening to the same thing over and over again although the song has not ended yet . I found myself going back to listen to Ditto and their previous releases maybe thinking that it’s just me and saw the difference. I prefer New Jeans over Super Shy , that playfulness in their songs is what makes me continue listening to them . Right now , I’m waiting for the EP to drop , I think it will be better in the context of the album more than a single to me right now .
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I like that it’s dnb, but the melody feels kinda… meh. Happy to have this play on shuffle or in a dnb playlist, or while shopping at the mall, wouldn’t particularly seek it out though. I feel like it needs some more meat on its bones.
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Noo ho ho ho I did most indeed LOVE Ditto and I am most certainly not liable to loving this. Disappointed by both the new songs but hopefully as some other people wrote, they’ll work with the rest of the tracks to support them.
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The song sadly came too forgettable for me remember… I get the drum and bass rehash from the success of Ditto but the song became to stagnant for me to remember it all
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I’ll be honest, I can’t get enough of Super Shy. What bothered me about it at first is actually now what I love about it, namely its minimalism and repetitiveness. What I realized is that it’s a footwork song disguised as a K-pop tune. It’s got me returning to those classic footwork albums I was super into several years ago – DJ Rashad’s Double Cup, RP Boo, Jlin’s Dark Energy, et al.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y31HIQuz7J8
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Maybe it’s because I’m in their youngest age group but I can’t help but feel uneasy about any kpop group my age, actually. Newjeans songs make me uneasy because they always seem, like they have double meanings.
But I decided to give their new album a try. And I didn’t like Super shy.
The chorus was okay, but was just that. My song taste is really niche, like S-class niche, because that’s what I like. So I found that when the song was satisfying for a while, it became really annoying. The prechorus, first verse, did not match the chorus and it wasn’t overly bad.
Still, I would give this a six at most. New Jeans girls are great girls though, so no hate.
I didn’t like Eta and New Jeans either. Again, might be my song taste.
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And the chorus. I have a feeling that I’ve heard it somewhere before in my life. Like from when I was really little. It’s a bit eerie.
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Honestly, the song was just an okay. I don’t think I’ll listen to it again, and I got to disagree with some commenters who say that this was better than Ditto. To me, Ditto was more catchy and sounded great but this was not it. Can’t see myself being in the mood to listen to it.
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