NewJeans Teased New Music on Their First Day As NJZ

Look, it’s a new me, switched it up, who’s this? The members of NewJeans confirmed to CNN on February 7 that they are changing their group name to NJZ amid their lengthy, ongoing dispute with HYBE record label ADOR. The K-pop girl group — made up of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein — said that they’re focused on making and performing new music, which Haerin hinted to CNN will have a “very unique and different sound.” How different? We’ll find out next month. On the same day that the rebrand was announced, Complex revealed that NJZ will co-headline the ComplexCon Hong Kong festival, which runs from March 21 to March 23. In an interview with CNBC, the group shared that they will debut a new song on the last day of the festival. Set your alarms, Bunnies. Unless y’all wanna change your fandom name to match NJZ, in which case … uh, set your alarms, BNZ?

Unsurprisingly, ADOR doesn’t seem thrilled by the news. “While the legal proceedings concerning the exclusive contract between ADOR and the NewJeans members are ongoing, we deeply regret that the members have unilaterally made this choice [to announce a new stage name],” the label said in a statement to Vulture, adding that it is “committed to protecting the value of the NewJeans brand” and willing to meet with the members or their legal representatives to “clarify any misunderstandings and collaboratively plan for the group’s future activities.”

As a refresher for anyone who’s somehow managed to avoid the barrage of headlines about this dispute, NJZ declared in November 2024 that they were leaving ADOR due to alleged mistreatment and mismanagement, which the label denied. The HYBE subsidiary maintained that the members’ contracts were still valid and ultimately sued them, telling CNN in a statement that the label “regret[s] the escalation of this matter to court and believe[s] that most claims advanced by NewJeans members thus far have arisen from misunderstandings.” The contract dispute lawsuit is set to be heard in April. (ADOR also filed an injunction last month to try to stop the members from signing their own advertising deals; a preliminary court hearing for that is scheduled for March.) In its statement, the label raised concerns that it could constitute a breach of contract for the group to use an “unauthorized” name or engage in “entertainment activities” before a legal ruling is handed down. Still, the girls haven’t given up. “We believe we will win this battle against HYBE and ADOR,” Danielle told CNN.

And whether or not HYBE and ADOR agree, the NJZ name is already official … IG official, that is. On February 7, the handle for the Instagram account that the members launched in December changed from @jeanzforfree to @njz_official. “Get ready for a rollercoaster of a year with us,” Hanni said during the group’s first Instagram Live on the newly renamed account. “You’re gonna have to be at the edge of your seat. You don’t know what’s gonna happen, you don’t know where we’re gonna come out of, you don’t know what we’re gonna release.”

• [CNN]
• [CNBC]
• [Complex]

Related

• ADOR Files Lawsuit to Keep NewJeans
• Um, Is NewJeans Okay?