Controversy Erupts Over ADOR Categorizing NewJeans’ New Album As “J-Pop”
NewJeans have been caught up in a controversy over the genre categorization of their latest album Supernatural.
Released on June 24, Supernatural is the debut Japanese EP of the group. However, many critics have expressed their skepticism about the record being classified as “J-Pop” on major music streaming platforms such as Naver Vibe and Apple Music.
It is notable that K-Pop singers frequently release songs and albums in Japan under the label of J-Pop. However, it gets that classification only when the lyrics are in Japanese. In the case of Supernatural, the point of contention comes from the argument that the singles on the EP, “Supernatural” and “Right Now,” both contain Korean lyrics. Though the songs have Japanese and English lyrics as well, Korean still accounts for a large portion.
Since these album categorizations are determined according to the request of the artists or the agency, ADOR is facing criticism for listing Supernatural as J-Pop. Many also pointed out that the company itself omitted any mention of “J-Pop” in its description of the album, arguing that it would have been more accurate to register the songs as K-Pop.
Multiple scholars have weighed in on the issue with somewhat of a consensus that ADOR should have opted to have the album categorized under K-Pop. A pop music critic opined that the company deliberately labeled the songs as J-Pop to target the Japanese music market but added, “I think they have lowered their value too much.”
Another critic blamed ADOR for lacking consideration for NewJeans’ stature as a K-Pop artists.
Japan is the world’s second-largest music market, and Japan is where the money is immediately being made, such as through NewJeans’ fan meeting at Tokyo Dome. However, it seems they did not consider the status of K-pop and Korean fans.
— Anonymous pop music critic
Sungshin Women’s University professor Seo Kyung Deok offered a radical view, saying no matter what, NewJeans should promote K-Pop all across the globe.
No matter how popular they are worldwide, NewJeans is a girl group that represents Korea. In that regard, they should be promoting K-pop to the world. However, labeling it as J-pop could cause misunderstandings among fans in other countries.
— Seo Kyung Deok
ADOR responded to the criticism, arguing that holding onto the old distinctions between K-Pop and J-Pop is irrelevant in current times.
It was released as a Japanese album for Japanese music activities, and we distributed it globally to make it easier for more fans to access. In an environment where media development diversifies distribution and spreads content quickly, we believe that distinguishing between the genres of J-pop and K-pop is meaningless.
— ADOR
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