"Supernatural" is a song by South Korean girl group NewJeans. ADOR released it as a CD single on June 21, 2024, along with the B-side track "Right Now". Produced by 250, "Supernatural" contains an interpolation of a section from the 2009 track "Back of My Mind" by Manami and songwriter Pharrell. "Supernatural" and "Right Now" became NewJeans's first releases in Japanese, marking their debut in the Japanese music market. NewJeans began promoting in the country in April 2024, by announcing a fan meeting, opening pop-up stores in partnership with Kao and Shibuya109, having "Right Now" be featured in advertisements ahead of the official release, and teasing collaborations with Japanese artists Takashi Murakami and Hiroshi Fujiwara.
The Korean version of the song was unveiled on July 5, and on the same day, its music video premiered as "(Part.2)" of the original, which was labelled as "(Part.1)". Later on July 12, the group announced that they would also promote the single in Korea, and they subsequently began promotions across all music programs that same week.[2]
Background
After debuting in 2022, South Korean girl group NewJeans had their international breakthrough in 2023 with the release of the single album OMG and their second extended play (EP), Get Up.[3] In January 2023, NewJeans entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with the singles "Ditto" and "OMG".[3] In South Korea, "Ditto" became the most successful song of the year, topping the Circle Digital Chart for a record-breaking thirteen weeks,[4][5] receiving numerous accolades,[6] and introducing the breakbeat trend in the K-pop music industry.[7] Released in July 2023, Get Up internationally established NewJeans as one of the most prominent music acts of the year,[8] becoming the group's first entry and number-one on the Billboard 200,[3] selling over two million copies,[6] and being named among the best albums of 2023 by several publications.[8]
Music and lyrics
Produced by NewJeans's long-time collaborator 250, "Supernatural" interpolated the 2009 track "Back of My Mind" by Japanese singer Manami [ja] and American singer Pharrell, who is credited as a lyricist and composer.[9] The B-side track, "Right Now", was described by The Korea Times as "something closer to [...] the Sambass subgenre."[10]
Release and promotion
On March 27, 2024, ADOR announced that NewJeans would release two double singles in 2024: "How Sweet" and "Bubble Gum" on May 24 and "Supernatural" and "Right Now" on June 21.[11] With the release of "Supernatural", NewJeans began their first official cycle of promotional activities in Japan, starting with appearances on television shows and a fan meeting, titled Bunnies Camp 2024 Tokyo Dome, set to be held at the Tokyo Dome on June 26–27, 2024.[11][12] In conjuction with the singles' announcement, ADOR stated that NewJeans would release an album in the second half of 2024 and embark on a worldwide tour in 2025.[11] The press release caused Hybe Corporation's daily market capitalization to increase by nearly ₩1 trillion.[13] In April 2024, ADOR began promoting NewJeans in Japan by opening pop-up stores in Shibuya, Tokyo, in collaboration with Kao, promoting their hair care brand Essential,[note 1] and Shibuya 109, commemorating the store's 45th anniversary.[15][16]
A teaser for the music video of "Right Now" was released on May 1, 2024; it served to announce a collaboration with Japanese visual artist Takashi Murakami, who worked with NewJeans to create the music video and design artwork for the CD single.[17] Murakami had previously declared himself a "huge fan of NewJeans" and expressed his desire to meet them in January 2023.[18] The video follows the animated characters version of NewJeans, designed in the style of The Powerpuff Girls and first introduced in the music video for their 2023 track "New Jeans". The characters are in search of a love potion when they find a "rainbow flower", resembling Murakami's "iconic" flowers, that gives them supernatural powers.[17] The flower and new designs of the characters were featured in the artwork for the CD single, which was released in three physical formats: a drawstring bag version,[note 2] a crossbody bag version, and a Weverse-exclusive version.[20] Additional items available with the CD include a photo book, a jewel case, a booklet, photo cards, and post cards.[20]
A snippet of "Right Now" became available on May 9, 2024, after being featured in Lotte Wellfood's advertisement for their dessert brand Zero starring NewJeans.[21] The CD single became available for pre-order on May 10, 2024.[20] The following day, NewJeans released a series of photos on social medias, announcing a collaboration with Japanese designer Hiroshi Fujiwara on a line of apparel and accessories, including T-shirts, hats, bandanas, and bags, which became available in pop-up stores in South Korea and Japan in June 2024.[22][unreliable source?] Fujiwara had previously met NewJeans member Hanni while shooting her cover for the February 2024 issue of W Korea.[22][23]
The group unveiled a Korean version of the song on July 5 and premiered its music video titled as the '(Part.2)' of the Japanese version which was '(Part.1)'. It was later announced on July 12, that the single will also be released in Korean and that the group will begin promotions with all five members as HyeIn returns from injury. The group began appearing on all major music programmes across South Korean stations that same week starting with MBC'sMusic Core.[2]
^Kim, Hyun-sik (March 23, 2023). '온 차트가 뉴진스'…'디토' 1위 질주 언제까지? ['On the chart is New Jeans'... How long will 'Ditto' run for first place]. Edaily [ko] (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
^Moon, Wan-shik (March 30, 2023). 뉴진스, 12주차 써클차트 2관왕 [New Jeans, won 2 awards on the 12th week circle chart]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023 – via Naver.
^Lee, Da-gyeom (May 13, 2024). 퍼렐 윌리엄스, 뉴진스 日 데뷔 싱글 '슈퍼내추럴' 작사·작곡 참여 [Pharrell Williams participates in the lyrics and composition of New Jeans's debut single 'Supernatural']. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
^ abcdLim, Se-jung (March 28, 2024). 뉴진스 5월 24일 컴백, 6월 일본 데뷔 [New Jeans May 24 comeback, June debut in Japan]. Kookmin Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
^Heo, Min-nyeong (March 28, 2024). '1조 그룹' 뉴진스 ['KRW 1 trillion group' NewJeans]. Sports Donga (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
^Lee, Myeong-ju (April 9, 2024). 뉴진스, 신곡 MV 선공개...'Bubble Gum', 미리보기 [New Jeans, new song MV pre-release...' Bubble Gum', preview]. Dispatch (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
^NewJeansが花王「エッセンシャル」の新広告モデルに 渋谷で限定ポップアップも開催 [NewJeans will also hold a limited pop-up in Shibuya as a new advertising model of Kao "Essential"]. WWD Japan (in Japanese). April 8, 2024. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
^NewJeans×「渋谷109」 期間限定のポップアップやノベルティーの配布など特別な取り組み [NewJeans x "Shibuya 109" Special initiatives such as limited-time pop-ups and novelty distribution]. WWD Japan (in Japanese). April 11, 2024. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
^Jo, Yeon-woo (May 10, 2024). 뉴진스 '가방 앨범' 선보인다…무라카미 다카시와 협업 [New Jeans presents 'bag album'… Collaboration with Takashi Murakami]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
^ abcKim, Ye-eun (May 10, 2024). 뉴진스, 무라카미 다카시 컬래버 가방 앨범 선보인다…스트릿 감성 [New Jeans unveils Takashi Murakami collaboration bag album… street sensibility]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
^ abSon, Jin-ah (May 11, 2024). 뉴진스, 스트리트 패션 대부와 만났다…세계적 거장들과 잇단 컬래버[공식] [New Jeans, met with the godfather of street fashion… Successive collaborations with world-class masters [Official]]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
^Ha, Na-young (January 17, 2024). 뉴진스 하니, 금발 변신에 새로운 분위기 "사랑받은 만큼 돌려드리고 싶다" [화보] [NewJeans Hanni, New Atmosphere in Blonde Transformation "I Want to Give You Back As Much As I'm Loved" [Pictorial]]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.