Release Date: May 24, 2024
Track Listing
- How Sweet
- Bubble Gum
- How Sweet (Instrumental)
- Bubble Gum (Instrumental)
Review
It’s been quite a while since NewJeans released new music that isn’t a video game collaboration, OST song, or remix. Those who follow the group’s movements were already aware that 2024 would bring a new Korean single and Japanese debut.
In this review, we’ll examine NewJeans’ first 2024 release, their second Korean single, How Sweet.
Bubble Gum was the pre-release from this single and it dropped a month before How Sweet. Bubble Gum is a bit of a departure for NewJeans as it doesn’t fit into the Y2K feel of their previous releases. Instead, it sounds more like a combination of funky 80s City Pop and R&B. So they still bring that nostalgic vibe to their music, but in an unexpected manner.
What was most surprising about Bubble Gum is that it is over three minutes long. That might be an eternity for the instant gratification generation, but after the shortness of everything on Get Up, a song with more time to breathe was very welcome to my elder ears.
How Sweet is the official title track of this single, and it falls more within the more “conventional” NewJeans type of sound. This time, you get a combination of Miami Bass and Electro Pop. This song was released during the height of the power struggle between ADOR’s CEO Min Heejin and the sub-label’s parent company HYBE, so some listeners may interpret the toxic lover in the song as HYBE and the entire chorus as a diss to them. I don’t see it that way, but I get how people try to shove controversy into a song that was probably written and finished before the drama started.
Besides being another catchy NewJeans dance track, How Sweet also passes the three-minute mark for running time. Again, this is another welcome aural pleasure allowed to build tension and release in the track at a more leisurely pace. Lastly, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I get a weird feeling that I should drink a Coke when listening to How Sweet. Maybe it’s just me. =P
Overall, How Sweet and Bubble Gum are of the expected quality that fans and listeners demand of NewJeans. Both have their charms, and what floats your boat will depend on what you’re in the mood for.
