“No matter how much you spin them, they‘re still blue pants.”

This is a part of the chorus of the new song ‘Pit Stop’, which the five members of New Jeans planned and produced themselves after leaving their agency Adore without permission. If you think about why they specifically mentioned blue pants, the English name for New Jeans is NEW JEANS.
No matter how much you spin them, the color will fade somewhat, but jeans are jeans. Just like New Jeans are New Jeans.

The five members of New Jeans declared a ‘cessation of activities’ after the court granted an injunction ordering them to return to Adore. On the 23rd, at the Hong Kong paid omnibus concert, which was their first stage under the name NJZ and not New Jeans, they “respect” the court’s injunction ruling, which is the gist of their return to their agency, but they officially announced their hiatus by “temporarily halting all activities”, which could be called a ‘sudden plot twist’.

The bizarre situation of a ‘mayfly comeback’ has been confirmed to be ‘at nothing was discussed” with their agency Adore, which urgently dispatched support staff to Hong Kong immediately after the injunction was fully granted. On the 24th, the day after the Hong Kong concert, Adore expressed deep regret, saying that the hiatus was “one-sided”.

Even though the event was held right after the injunction was granted and they could have requested that the five members refrain from appearing, their agency Adore seemed to want to clearly express their will to restore relations, and only put forth one condition: ‘If you come on stage as New Jeans, not NJZ’, showing consideration to block any potential damages such as liquidated damages.

In response, the five members of New Jeans refrained from calling themselves by their stage name NJZ, which is legally prohibited from being used, but they also showed no attitude of introducing themselves by their original names, New Jeans.

On the stage for ‘PIT STOP’, a new song unilaterally produced by Adore, they boldly displayed the NJZ logo in the background without hesitation and even had NJZ engraved on some of their costumes.

In relation to this, Adore expressed regret for “forcing the performance under a name other than New Jeans despite the court’s decision,” but this too was nothing more than a simple expression of intent, and they drew attention by showing an emphasis on resuming dialogue.

Adore specifically stated, “We will do our best for New Jeans in accordance with the valid exclusive contract,” and “We hope to meet with the artist as soon as possible to discuss the future.”

On the 21st, the Seoul Central District Court ruled to “fully accept” the injunction filed by Adore against the five members of New Jeans to preserve the agency’s status and prohibit the conclusion of advertising contracts.

Meanwhile, Adore and the five members of New Jeans will begin the main lawsuit to confirm the validity of their exclusive contracts on the 7th of next month. Until the first trial decision on the lawsuit is made, the five members of New Jeans will not be able to engage in independent activities without consulting with Adore.


Reporter Heo Min-nyeong mignon@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.