NewJeans are spoiling fans with back to back releases of double A-side singles. Last month gave us Bubble Gum and How Sweet, while June promises Right Now and Supernatural. And if you’re one of the many NewJeans faithful, you’ll be happy the group has stuck with their trademark, lighter-than-air sound.
On the plus side, songs like Right Now are trendy and perfectly slot within our streaming, playlist-centered lifestyle. Like most songs since their debut era, this is very smooth, very easy listening. Familiar elements abound, from the shuffling percussion to the flattened, repetitive melody lines. And as expected, Right Now is in and out in just over two minutes.
This time around, the production rests heavily on drum and bass. If I’m being extra critical, I’ve become more convinced that NewJeans’ sole intent is to see how many sub-genres they can drain all the life from. Next up will be Supernatural‘s take on New Jack Swing… so we’ll see how that goes. If I’m being charitable, the group has managed to twist a variety of genres to their own musical landscape, resulting in a sonically cohesive discography even as individual songs experiment with different sounds. Right Now‘s particular experiment isn’t for me. It feels more like an extended interlude than a fully fleshed out idea and I don’t like how the already-subdued energy plummets midway through. But really, this is business as usual for NewJeans. If you’re already a fan, you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re less convinced by their take on post-PinkPantheress pop, Right Now will do nothing to win you over.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
Grade: C
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Probably their weakest single so far for me, there’s really not much going on here in terms of melody or memorable hooks.
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The skittering D’n’B beat isn’t new to NewJeans; they first explored this on Ditto back in late 2022.
If one imagines a Venn diagram, there’s a large overlap area in the center where Nick and I share a lot of really similar tastes (i.e. Sweetune, Infinite, SHINee, etc). But there’s also bits on the peripheries where our tastes don’t align, and NewJeans is one of those. I’ve loved everything they’ve done so far, and Right Now is no exception.
Having said that, I do view the three singles so far this year as holding patterns. I felt their first self-titled EP, then OMG/Ditto, and then the Get Up EP all pushed forward and were each masterful. But these 3 singles so far feel like they’re not breaking new ground. Once can see this in the MVs so far. None of them have been especially ambitious, when compared to previous efforts like the 2-part MVs (Ditto, Cool with You – both starring well-known actors), the 4-part MV (Hype Boy), and other ambitious MVs like Super Shy and OMG.
I wonder if perhaps this is because of all the behind-the-scenes drama that’s been unfolding this past year?
To reiterate, I do love their sound, so all 3 singles this year are solid 8’s for me.
Word on the street is that they have a new album coming out later this year. Maybe that one is going to be the more ambitious work of the year? Here’s hoping.
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I mean it’s radio friendly. Honestly you can play every song of theirs with the exception of Gods and I would not be able to tell them apart except when they namedrop the title in the lyrics.
in fact it’s unlikely I would be able to tell where one song ended and another began… Maybe that’s the intent?!?? A 10hr New Jeans track as low-fi?!
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Their run of songs during their rookie years felt like a time machine back to my youth. This year’s run just feels kind of ‘there.’ Maybe aloof vibes are the hot thing now with actual young people, but I don’t get it. That time of life is just bursting with emotion. They’ve been able to deliver that even in their trademark light way in the past, but it just feels like it’s slowly being drained of all spirit lately.
All right, Grandma will see herself out now.
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yeah halfway I thought I was listening to the to outro lol. It was a pleasant listen
Now the mv is very fun, but if you saw it on mute you’d be expecting a much more bombastic, polarizing track to be what it’s supporting. I look back on some really great girl group songs and some of their videos are kinda underwhelming (by no means bad)considering the song they’re with. I feel like we’re been experiencing the inverse for a while now
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Nick, you say “easy listening” as if that’s a bad thing, HAHA. I guess that’s where our tastes diverge. There’s quite a lot of what’s considered easy listening that I quite love – from exotica and “space age bachelor pad music” (coined by Stereolab to describe their own influences, such as Esquivel, Martin Denny et al); to vaporwave postmodernists; to samba, mambo, calypso, and bossa nova; Hawaiian guitar; soft jazz; and pop meisters like Burt Bacharach, Michel Legrand, and Henry Mancini. I’m not saying this stuff is my first love, but I have learned to appreciate and welcome moods when I want to put on Dionne Warwick or the Carpenters.
As for music being wallpaper or background music or whatever, this was something the great ambient artist Brian Eno embraced and theorized about.
Of course, none of this has much to do with NewJeans. Perhaps they’re drawing from the same continuum? They do have a soft sound, I can totally understand why they might be called “easy listening,” but for me, that’s a strength, not a weakness. It’s what I loved about Fifty Fifty too (although their music and sound was much different from NewJeans).
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Imma just say, in a year like 2023 and 2024, where we got so many Drum n Bass tracks, and with the way they sound, it’s pretty hard to believe that Rising Sun has Drum n Bass at it’s base running under the layer of a classical orchestra instrumental😶🌫️😶🌫️
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When DnB was coming into popularity I hoped it would go down the breakcore path not the liquid/garage path. We’ve gotten good songs from the trend but this just feels lazy imo.
Though Pinkpantheress has definitely started the trend, as a fan I think many producers misinterpret her music. It’s not great cause it’s easy-listening, it’s great because a lot of it is bittersweet. To me the ‘easy-listening’ part is just a façade behind the more emotional highlights of her discography (capable of love, mosquito, reason).
It’s nice to see creatives make notes with her work, especially when a lot of NJ’s singles have their own sparkly and shiny twist, but Right Now just feels like filler. I hope they punch above their weight soon (How Sweet and Bubblegum were in the right direction for me).
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It’s so boring.. it feels like background music. I listened twice and I can’t remember a single thing about it. But I haven’t been much of a new jeans fan since their debut era. Oh well.
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Forgetful song.
4th gen girl groups are done.
LSF went with air.
GIDLEs releases were lackluster.
NJ released literally nothing.
I couldn’t stand Aespa’s releases either.
Ive’s releases were disappointments, though serviceable ones at least.
It’s up to Stayc to turn this shitshow around.
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They’ve got a “Cheeky Icy Thang” to do it! 🥴 😂
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Oh no…it’s not a joke.
Come on now…lol…not like this bros…
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Part of me wants to say there’s no way a song called “Cheeky Icy Thang” — released during the height of summer — could be bad. I want some campy, carnival beach goodness with ice pops galore.
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What was the point in collaborating with a top Japanese artist on this fake “Japan debut” only to have the texting in Korean as well as Korean lyrics in the song. This was a total letdown for us J fans who finally wanted a New Jeans song to call our own… Hoping Aespas Japan debut next month is way better… No need for Korean lyrics in J releases in 2024 that was a thing from the early J Kpop releases… 🤦🤦🤦
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Unfortunately I have no hopes for aespa’s Japanese track 😬
https://x.com/kchartsmaster/status/1802708093110825273
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