BTS’s RM & NewJeans Made Comebacks At The Same Time But Reactions Are Sluggish
Releasing new songs on the same day, both BTS’s RM and NewJeans failed to arouse explosive reactions among the public
BTS’s RM and NewJeans released new music at the same time
At 1 p.m. on May 24th (KST), BTS’s leader RM and the girl group NewJeans made their comeback with new songs. In fact, a heated debate has been raised ever since RM and NewJeans announced their release schedule amid HYBE’s intensifying internal conflict.
RM introduced his second solo album “Right Person, Wrong Place” and the music video for the title track “LOST!”. This album records all kinds of emotions that anyone can experience in life. RM wrote the lyrics in narration style and expressed his inner thoughts in simple but honest words so several tracks are marked 19+. He participated in composing and writing all the 11 tracks of different genres in this album.
“LOST!” is a fast-tempo alternative pop with RM’s style. In particular, the music video impressed viewers by taking the unique concept of a maze in which RM is an observer to bring about life stories from various aspects. Despite not having a clear storyline, “LOST!” music video encourages viewers to have their own interpretations of its message.
“LOST!” was directed by the famous French director Aube Perrie, who made the MVs for “Music For a Sushi Restaurant” and “Satellite” by Harry Styles, proving RM’s efforts in improving the image quality of this comeback. Although RM is serving in the military, his comeback album has been prepared very carefully. Following the pre-release MV “Come back to me” and the title MV “LOST!”, RM will continue to release 3 more music videos throughout the album promotion.
In the meantime, NewJeans also made their official comeback 10 months after their EP “Get Up” with the double single “How Sweet” and “Bubble Gum”. The music video came out 3 hours after the audio was released on music sites. After this double single, NewJeans will push ahead with their Japan debut with the single “Supernatural” in June.
“How Sweet” is an upbeat hip-hop song with Miami bass produced by 250, the producer behind many hits of the girl group. Along with the song’s exciting melody and catchy lyrics, the music video also showcases the five members’ refreshing charms.
Without complicated scenes, the MV shows NewJeans members going on a journey and enjoying their youth while dancing on the street. Compared to their previous music videos, “How Sweet” looks a little simple. Many people speculate that the dispute between HYBE and ADOR’s CEO Min Hee-jin has affected NewJeans’s comeback promotion.
RM Loses Behind NewJeans In Terms On Charts
Despite being the leader of a global boy group, RM seems to be weak on charts. 3 hours after the MV release, “LOST!” only gained 800 million views, which is quite unusual because BTS used to attract 1 million views within 30 minutes. In terms of digital performance, “LOST!” only places No.253 on Genie and couldn’t even enter other music charts.
Meanwhile, NewJeans immediately dominated music charts after only 2 hours of the single release. “How Sweet” ranked No.1 on Bugs, No.7 on Melon, and No.7 on Genie. The b-side track “Bubble Gum” also rose to higher spots, such as No.3 on Bugs, No.14 on Melon, and No.15 on Genie. Within the first hour, the music video of “How Sweet” already earned 542 million views.
Despite the controversies in the company, NewJeans maintains a good performance and even surpasses their senior RM. If this upward trend continues, there is a possibility that NewJeans will rise much higher on charts and compete with IVE and aespa.
Reactions for both RM and NewJeans’s comebacks are not explosive, why?
The main reason is the intense dispute between HYBE and its label ADOR. RM released a new album but it couldn’t create any discussions among netizens and was only mentioned within the fandom.
NewJeans was directly involved in the dispute so responses to their comeback were also not enthusiastic. Lacking promotion, there are not many topics about the group’s images and music. Instead, what netizens are discussing is the group’s plagiarism controversies. There were fewer articles about NewJeans’s comeback and upcoming Japan debut. The group only did one music show recording and one university festival. The difference is so obvious compared to the previous comeback promotions.
In the case of RM, he released the album in the middle of his military service period. Despite the detailed preparation, from the concept to images with 5 music videos, it’s still hard for him to promote his songs without performing on music shows. The fact that the messages in this album are too heavy and deep is also another reason why RM’s new album failed to reach the public.
Source: k14
