NewJeans members announced their return to ADOR, attracting significant media attention in Japan after a year of separation.
November/13/2025 17:57
NewJeans members announced their return to their former agency ADOR, drawing attention in Japan. On November 12th in the afternoon, all members of NewJeans announced their return to ADOR. This is the first movement in about a year since they declared the termination of their exclusive contract last November. ADOR officially announced that Hae-rin and Hae-in decided to return after discussions. About two and a half hours after the announcement, Minji, Hani, and Danielle also expressed their intention to return to their agency, but this was done not through ADOR but via a law firm. Prior to this, NewJeans had sought the return of former representative Min Hee-jin, who was dismissed due to a conflict with HYBE, but this was not accepted. In November of last year, ADOR unilaterally claimed contract termination, asserting a breach of the exclusive contract, and the members had left the agency. ADOR still claims that the contract with NewJeans is valid and filed a lawsuit in December to confirm the validity of the exclusive contract. They also filed a provisional injunction to restrict the members' independent activities until the ruling on the main case, and the court ruled favorably for ADOR in both the provisional injunction and the first trial. Following the first trial's results, the dramatic news of ADOR's return was covered widely in Japan. Major media outlets like Yahoo! News, Asahi Shimbun, and Yomiuri Shimbun featured articles on NewJeans as top stories in entertainment, showing great interest. This is understandable, as NewJeans has a tremendous influence in Japan. Since their debut on July 22, 2022, their song 'Ditto' surpassed 100 million streams on the Oricon chart within 19 weeks, the fastest record for a foreign female artist. In August 2023, they performed at Japan's leading music festival 'SUMMER SONIC,' causing entry restrictions at the largest MARINE STAGE due to their popularity. In November of the same year, despite not having officially debuted in Japan, they received the Excellent Work Award and Special Award at the 'Japan Record Awards,' and were nominated for the Grand Prize, proving their high popularity. After officially debuting in Japan in June 2024, their debut single 'Supernatural' achieved million-seller status, with the title track topping major Japanese music charts. At the same time as their official debut in Japan, they realized a concert at Tokyo Dome, the fastest for a foreign artist, just 1 year and 11 months after debuting, attracting over 91,200 spectators during the two-day fan meeting 'Bunnies Camp,' creating a significant buzz. Thus, NewJeans has established a unique position in Japan in less than two years since their debut. With excellent musicality, a refined concept, and styling that resonates with the MZ generation, they rapidly increased their fan base in Japan. The attention from major Japanese media on this return news indicates that NewJeans has become an influential presence that transcends Hallyu and K-POP, impacting the global market. Having overcome numerous challenges, NewJeans has expressed their return to their former agency, and there is continued interest in what activities they will pursue in the future.
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