In case you’ve been living under a soundproofed rock, there’s a new group of Korean darlings in town – NewJeans just broke the Guinness World Record as the fastest K-pop act to reach 1 billion Spotify stream. They pulled it off in 219 days – since their debut “Attention” last July – unseating BTS, the world-beating band who seemed to topple all conventional belief systems when they achieved that same feat in just 409 days.
And that means just one thing – a wave of interest from European fashion houses eager to capitalise on the trend.
With just seven songs in their discography, they have gone viral multiple times on TikTok, where the hashtag #NewJeans has racked up over 13.4 billion views.
Some of their songs – “OMG” “Hype Boy” and “Ditto” – have been used in over a million TikTok videos combined.
Despite being less than one year old, the group has also been clinching brand deals left, right, and centre – each member is currently a brand ambassador of at least one luxury label.
NewJeans is under a South Korean record label Ador, which was launched as an independent label by Hybe, the company that houses the K-pop superhit BTS.
All five members of the group are younger than 20, the oldest being 19 and the youngest just 15.
So to celebrate their latest record-breaking win, let’s see which NewJeans member works with which brand.
Minji is a global ambassador for Chanel
At 19 years old, Minji is the oldest member of NewJeans. Kim Min-ji, was born and raised in Chuncheon City, South Korea, before moving to Seoul in middle school.
The 19-year-old was appointed the global ambassador of Chanel in an Instagram announcement on February 13.
A talented wordsmith, Minji contributed to the writing of lyrics for “Ditto”, one of NewJeans’ viral TikTok songs.
In July 2021, she also appeared in BTS’ music video for “Permission to Dance”, alongside fellow member Hanni.
Hanni is a brand ambassador for Gucci and global make-up ambassador for Armani Beauty
Vietnamese-Australian Hanni is the only non-Korean member of NewJean. The 18-year-old will turn 19 in October, and was recently named the global make-up ambassador for Armani Beauty.
In October last year, Gucci appointed Hanni as its brand ambassador. “Hanni’s take on music and fashion style truly encompasses the brand’s motif of embracing authentic individuality and self-expression,” Gucci told WWD.
The singer became an idol trainee after passing the Plus Global Audition in 2019, where she played Dodie Clock’s “Would You Be So Kind” on the ukulele.
Pre-debut, Hanni also used to perform K-pop dance covers with her friends as a Melbourne-based Aemina Dance Crew.
Danielle is the global ambassador for Burberry and brand ambassador YSL Beauty
The Korean-Australian singer has a very rare last name, Mo. Danielle Marsh, or Mo Ji-hye, was born in the Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, to an Australian father and Korean mother.
The 18-year-old was named as an ambassador for Burberry and YSL Beauty in January and March respectively.
Like Hanni, Danielle also passed the Plus Global Audition in 2019 which secured her spot as an idol trainee before NewJeans’ 2022 debut.
Known as band comedian, Danielle appeared on a South Korean TV programme Rainbow Kindergarten when she was six, where she is frequently shown giggling in front of the camera.
As a kid, she also made other regular TV appearances, in addition to being a child model.
Haerin is Dior’s house ambassador for jewellery, fashion and beauty
Born in 2006, in the North Gyeongsang province of South Korea, Haerin is the group’s second youngest member, and will be turning 17 on May 15.
On April 26, Dior named Haerin the house ambassador for jewellery, fashion and beauty.
In a South Korean TV interview, Haerin shared that she was inspired to become a singer because of how listeners could use music to relate.
“I like to listen to other people’s stories. I tend to focus on listening so I can sympathise with them and through that I can also feel emotions that I haven’t felt before,” Haerin told GQ Korea last year.
Hyein is a brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton
Meet the youngest member of NewJeans – Hyein turned 15 on April 21. She is also from North Gyeongsang.
On December 30, Hyein was named brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton.
In 2020, she also appeared on a South Korean TV show Pocket TV as part of the Play With Me Club, where Hyein expressed her passion to perform as a K-pop idol.
She’s also a huge BTS fan, and has a sizeable BTS merchandise collection – which she showed in a vlog on the TV programme – including a couple of framed photos of BTS’ V and Suga, as well as numerous photocards of the members.
Read the original article on Insider.
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