Joseph Hwang
Just two days! At the Tokyo Dome, Japan. It’s not a phenomenon. It’s a syndrome. Last June 26th and 27th, the K-pop idol group NewJeans held a fan meeting and gathered 90,000 fans during the fan meeting, which was not their official concert at all. The media poured out articles about NewJeans’ fan meeting and wrote, “NewJeans made history” all at once.
1. "NewJeans Ojisan" Fandom
All members of NewJeans are young girls born in the 2000s who have not experienced the retro mood of the 1980s, the economic bubble era in Japan. Then Hanni performed the repertoire “Aoi Sangoshou,” which is Seiko Matsuda’s 1980s classic, in the fan meeting, wearing her 1980s fashion as a tribute to Seiko Matsuda and all the Japanese at that time. She thrilled the audience, and they responded with their crazy passion for her. That was when NewJeans’ middle-aged Japanese fans, known as “NewJeans Ojisan” (Uncle for NewJeans in Japanese), went crazy and burst.
As a pop artist, performing on the Tokyo Dome stage is too difficult. Not only is it difficult to get permission to perform, but it’s also not easy to get the audience to fill the place. However, the limited viewing seats were sold out due to the fans’ requirements. This fact is incredible. Meanwhile, NewJeans has attracted middle-aged uncles as fans in Japan, and as a young idol group, their fan base has become even wider.
Hanni’s cover song performance was a nostalgic treat for the middle-aged and an excellent opportunity for the younger generation to experience old favorites in a refined form. And then Japan fell in love with NewJeans. It was a godsend.
2. The right genres and styles of music to appeal to Japanese fans
In the 1980s, city pop (or AOR: Adult Oriented Rock) became popular among the Japanese public. This time, NewJeans set a new record in Japan as the K-pop artist to perform on the Tokyo Dome stage within the shortest period since their debut in Japan. It’s 1 year and 11 months, the fastest as a debut career length.
KARA was 5 years and 10 months, Girls’ Generation 7 years and 4 months, TWICE 3 years and 5 months, Blackpink 3 years and 4 months, aespa and IVE 2 years and 9 months. The more recent debuts have been getting shorter and shorter.
This fact proves that NewJeans already has more and wider fans than other K-pop artists in Japan, including the NewJeans Ojisans. Producer Motohiko Tokuriki explained, “The English-like sound of NewJeans’ music attracted Japanese men who previously did not listen to K-pop.” It is a good match for the NewJeans Ojisans, and it certainly shows that the NewJeans style is being accepted in distinguished styles from previous K-pop artists. NewJeans’ repertoire and fashion have been well planned and accurately made in the Y2K style.
There is no doubt that NewJeans’ attack on Japan will be a great success and surprise. Let’s look forward to their future.
* References and quotations:
https://www.chosun.com/english/kpop-culture-en/2024/06/28/6ETTJPXJSRHHJCHUYYQREMY6WI/
https://news.nate.com/view/20240628n01823?mid=e02&list=recent&cpcd=
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