NewJeans’ Fandom Demographic Has Changed? Netizens Surprised By New Data
Less than a year into their career, NewJeans have already become one of the icons of fourth-generation K-Pop. Right from their debut in July 2022, the group caught the “Attention” of the world and how!
One of the main reasons why NewJeans hit the top right away was the freshness in their sound and concept. The group stepped away from the usual mold of girl group concepts which are largely categorized as girl crush, sexy, cute, and girl-next-door. Instead, they decided to ride the Y2K wave and popularized the “high teen” concept through both their sound and visual aesthetics.
Since K-Pop concepts can often be boxed into certain categories, they usually have a pretty predictable fanbase as well. Some appeal to men more, while some attract female fans more effectively, and some end up having a pretty equally divided fandom regarding gender. Though the numbers are subject to change based on area and time, older data from fansigns reflect that groups like MAMAMOO, BLACKPINK, and Red Velvet have more female fans, while TWICE and Oh My Girl had more male fans. Groups like GFRIEND had almost similar ratios of male and female fans.
But in terms of concept and music, NewJeans are completely different from their predecessors. So, what does the gender distribution of their fanbase look like?
On May 12, NewJeans’ ADOR announced that the group will hold their first fan meeting, Bunnies Camp, on July 1 and 2 at the SK Olympic Handball Stadium in Seoul. The tickets started selling fast, to no one’s surprise. However, what did surprise people was the gender ratio reflected in the purchase log.
[안내📢]
NewJeans 1st Fan Meeting 'Bunnies Camp' Rolling Paper EVENT (+ENG/JPN/CHN)🔗https://t.co/UYeMQHpP2i#NewJeans #뉴진스 #Bunnies_Camp #버니즈캠프
— NewJeans (@NewJeans_ADOR) May 22, 2023
According to it, 60.6% of the fans purchasing the tickets were male, while 39.4% were women. Further, the age demographic of NewJeans’ fansign attendees also showed interesting data. The majority (53.1%) of them are in their 20s, and the second largest (22.1%) age group is teens. The group also has older fans, with 19% of fans in their 30s, .4.3% in their 40s, and 1.3% in their 50s!
These figures were reflected in the initial stage of the sales. However, when a fan checked the more recent numbers, it showed that the male-to-female ratio had slightly toppled, with men accounting for 59.3% of the purchases and women accounting for 40.7%.
Interestingly, in October, a survey published by the Kyobo Research Center showed that NewJeans had the highest concentration of female buyers among the most prominent fourth-generation girl groups. The study was based on the numbers recorded by Alladin, a popular e-commerce platform used by K-Pop consumers to buy albums. According to the buyer data, NewJeans has the highest concentration of female fans, with 78% of the purchases being made by their female fans.
So, netizens are taken aback by this shift in weightage. The lower rate of teen fans has also surprised people.
- “Whoa, I thought it’d be female-centric.”
- “I’m surprised. I had expected more women.”
- “Back in the day, they used to say female fans are more loyal and stay with you longer than male fans. But it looks like it has changed again.”
- “I’m completely surprised. I thought they had that kind of girlish image.”
- “How is it male-centric with a 6-to-4 ratio; Plus, it’s still just presale.”
- “Whoa, f*cking surprised.”
- “I’m surprised that there are very few teenagers.”
- “The balance seems good.”
- “Wow, that’s just perfect.”
- “Whoa, I expected it to be female-centric. They seem to have quite some fanboys who spend a lot (I’m not saying fangirls don’t spend money.)”
However, neither of the data set could possibly reflect the gender and age-wise makeup of NewJeans’ entire fandom, given that they have a global reach. So, whether or not the demographic has shifted cannot be accurately analyzed using just these.
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