'Daniel's Expulsion': NewJeans' 'How Sweet,' Facing Plagiarism Allegations, Surpasses 300 Million Streams

*This content was translated by AI.

Girl group NewJeans has achieved a major milestone.

According to global audio and music streaming platform Spotify on the 30th, NewJeans' double single 'How Sweet' and its title track of the same name accumulated 302,621,528 streams as of the 25th. This marks the group's ninth song to surpass 300 million cumulative streams.

Released on May 24, 2024, 'How Sweet' gained popularity with NewJeans' signature cool and distinctive vibe, ranking at the top of major domestic music charts including Melon, Genie, and Bugs upon release. The song remained on Billboard's 'Global 200' for 13 consecutive weeks in the same year and was ranked seventh on YouTube Korea's 'Top Songs of the Year.'

It was also selected by U.S. Rolling Stone as one of the 'Best Songs of 2024,' and by U.S. PopMatters, Billboard, and the UK's NME as their respective picks for 'Best K-Pop of 2024.' Praise poured in from major outlets: Rolling Stone called it "a continuation of NewJeans' journey to present experimental, fresh, and original music"; PopMatters described it as "another amazing highlight in NewJeans' discography"; and Billboard stated it is "a song that proves NewJeans' musical charm."

'How Sweet' was also engulfed in plagiarism allegations. In response, on the 10th, ADOR stated, "The track in question was sourced through Vanara, which was selected by former CEO Min Hee-jin at the time," and added, "We are currently reviewing internal materials to determine whether Min Jeon (CEO) properly conducted similarity checks on the track at that time."

NewJeans members Minji, Hani, Haerin, Hyein, and Daniel claimed their exclusive contracts with ADOR were terminated due to contract violations by the agency in November 2024, and they unilaterally notified of contract termination. However, following a first-instance court ruling in October of the following year that confirmed the validity of their exclusive contracts with ADOR, the members chose not to appeal and sequentially expressed their willingness to return to ADOR.

However, ADOR did not welcome all five members back. In December last year, after notifying Daniel that he could no longer continue as a NewJeans member, ADOR filed a lawsuit seeking damages in the range of 43.1 billion won against Daniel, one family member, and Min Hee-jin for breach of contract. The claimed amount was later adjusted to approximately 33.09 billion won and submitted to the court.

Currently, Daniel, his family, and Min Hee-jin are engaged in legal proceedings with ADOR.

NewJeans, having expelled Daniel, is currently reorganizing as a four-member group and preparing for comeback. On the 22nd, ADOR released a special film on its official SNS to commemorate NewJeans' fourth anniversary since debut.

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*This content was translated by AI.