ADOR is the Korean entertainment agency to which NewJeans belongs.
What kind of organization is it? We were curious, so we looked into it.
I will also introduce the background of how NewJeans was established.
We hope you will read to the end.
ADOR is the new label of HYBE
ADOR stands for All Doors One Room. It is a Korean entertainment agency.
It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HYBE Corporation.
HYBE Corporation was renamed from Big Hit Entertainment (founded on February 1, 2005) (March 31, 2021).
HYBE has three divisions.
– Hybe Labels
– Hybe Solutions
– Hybe Platforms
Hybe Labels currently includes the following firms and artists.
| entertainment agency | Affiliated Artists |
| Big Hit Music | BTS、TOMORROW X TOGETHER、Lee Hyun |
| Belift Lab (with CJ E&M) | Enhypen |
| Source Music | LE SSERSFIM |
| Pledis Entertainment | Seventeen、Baekho、Minhyun、Bumzu、Nana、Yehana、Sungyeon、Fromis 9 |
| KOZ Entertainment | Zico、Dvwn |
| ADOR | NewJeans |
ADOR was split off from its division under Source Music and was further invested in and acquired by HYBE, becoming a new label under HYBE on November 12, 2021.
ADOR’s CEO is Min Hee-Jin.
ADOR’s CEO is Min Hee-jin.
She comes from a creative director position at SM Entertainment.
While at SM, she was described as a “creative genius director” for presenting innovative artist branding for Girls’ Generation, SHINee, f(x), and EXO.
She was also selected as one of Variety’s “Women Influencing the Global Entertainment Industry”.
She is known as an astute director in the K-pop world.
Min Hee-Jin was appointed CBO of HYBE on July 1, 2021.
At that time, HYBE’s Bang Si-hyuk said, “The new CBO, Min Hee-jin, is known to everyone in the entertainment industry and is a leader among leaders who has established the concept of ‘visual director’ and ‘planner’ in K-POP.
Min Hee-jin, who had been expected by everyone around her, strongly desired to “have her label.
It seems that the shortest way to realize this vision was to join HYBE.
In an interview with Music Industry, she explained her reasons for leaving SM Entertainment and joining HYBE.
“You might not have expected it because I worked as a creative director at SM, but I long dreamed of making an album with the kind of music I want — a final product with the music I had in mind —, and that’s why I wanted to create my own label. So I chose to join them because I thought It would be the fastest path toward establishing ADOR.”
She also talked about her vision for the new label.
“I wanted to create a label with a brand-new look that did things never seen in the K-pop scene before,”
“The kind of music I’m going for hasn’t been attempted in the K-pop scene, so an independent label was essential to push ahead with this.”
She focused on establishing her label, ADOR, while fulfilling her responsibilities as CBO assigned by HYBE.
Then, on November 12, 2021, HYBE officially announced the establishment of ADOR with Min Hee-jin as CEO.
She resigned from her position as CBO of HYBE to focus on the CEO of ADOR.
As CEO of ADOR, Min Hee-jin sent a message to the public.
“Don’t be afraid of new challenges. We will not fear new challenges and showcase artist IP (knowledge property rights) and content that can showcase ADOR’s exclusive philosophy.”
What differentiates ADOR from other labels under the HYBE umbrella is that “it is a unique label born with guaranteed autonomy.
Min Hee-Jin said of the NewJeans release.
“ADOR is a label that started with guaranteed autonomy, so it has no ties with HYBE’s management. They didn’t know anything we would release until the first music video was released on July 22.”
ADOR is a unique label wrapped in the world of Min Hee-jin!
ADOR’s first female idol group, NewJeans
How the new girl group was launched
In October 2019, two years before ADOR was founded, a joint HYBE and Source Music, “PLUS GLOBAL AUDITION” was held in 16 cities on three continents.
This is an open audition to select new girl group members.
The cities were Los Angeles, New York, Perth, Singapore, Melbourne, Busan, Gwangju, Osaka, Sapporo, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Kaohsiung, Hanoi, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City.
【Open Audition Invitation Video】
Casting was completed at the end of September 2019, and training began in early 2020, but the 2021 debut was postponed due to COVID-19.
Then, ahead of schedule, on November 12, 2021, a new label, ADOR, headed by Min Hee Jin, was established, and the members selected for the 2019 PLUS GLOBAL AUDITION will be transferred to ADOR.
Then, on July 22, 2022, NewJeans, ADOR’s first female idol group, debuted.
NewJeans is said to be “Min Hee-jin’s girl group” because Min Hee Jin directly selected the members and guided them through their training and lives.
I don’t know what would have happened to the birth of NewJeans if COVID-19 hadn’t postponed it!
Members of NewJeans
NewJeans consists of five members, including four members of Vietnamese and four members of Korean origin.
One of the four Korean members is of Australian descent, giving the group an international scope. The members are Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein.
Origin of the NewJeans Group name
The naming of NewJeans has two meanings.
One originates from jeans, a fashion item.
Min Hee Jin says:
“Popular music, like clothes, is a culture closely related to everyday life, and jeans, in particular, are a fashion item that men and women of all ages have loved. It contains the ambition to become an icon of the times, like jeans you can wear anytime.”
The other is a play on the word “Genes” instead of “Jeans,” and it is said that they are determined to lead the new generation of pop music as “New genes.”
As the group name implies, they are becoming the “new gene” of the K-POP world!
Debut with a surprise release
On July 1, 2022, ADOR announced the release of a new female idol group.
On July 22, NewJeans debuted by releasing a music video for “Attention” a song from the mini-album, along with the group’s name.
The usual method for debuts is to release an album, release pre-order information, and maximize the album’s impact immediately after its debut by releasing a photo shoot, video, and song to climb the charts quickly.
However, NewJeas chose to precede the album release by releasing a YouTube music video and three singles in sequence.
This surprise release made an impact on the public.
However, it is not a particularly new method in the music industry and seems risky in terms of slow recognition as a way for newcomers to debut, but ADOR dared to choose surprise and risk.
There are two reasons.
To focus purely on the music of NewJeans.
To have confidence in the four songs on the mini-album.
ADOR’s strategy resulted in NewJeans’ name recognition spreading quickly after the surprise release, and the band was highly acclaimed worldwide.
The share price of parent company HYBE soars
After the public release of NewJeans, the stock price of ADOR’s parent company, HYBE, has also been affected, and the stock price has soared, closing at 167,000 won, up 6.37% from the previous day.
The day after their debut, the music video for “Hype Boy” and the members’ names were released.
‘Attention’ and ‘Hype Boy’ were the first K-pop idol debut songs to reach No. 1 and 2 on the Melon TOP 100 chart.
The fact that the music video was filmed overseas and featured a diverse cast was also highly praised in terms of diversity.
Before the release of the 1st single “OMG” on December 19, 2023, and January 2, 2023, “Ditto”, which became a pre-release single, ranked first in the real-time charts of Melon, genie, and Bugs.
Their 1st single, “OMG,” released on January 2nd, debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Total Single Ranking. Initial sales have reached 700,000 copies.
Also, in K-pop history, she was able to enter the Billboard Hot 100 in the shortest time since her debut.
That’s the result of ADOR’s strategy.
Surprise Debut Meaning in the Industry
What did it mean for the music industry when NewJeans became the first label under HYBE to make a “surprise” debut, breaking records and breaking the charts with a single?
Says Min Hee-ji.
I think it’s meant to give hope and a sense of security that “it’s okay to try new things.” We tend to cling to the stable for fear of failure, but nothing interesting happens if we stick to the stable. To make the world more interesting, we need to take on new challenges and have the attitude to accept them. I’m always talking to NewJeans members. And we hope that the new things we do will make people’s lives more enjoyable.”
The CEO’s comment shows that ADOR is an innovative HYBE label that continues to “always take on new challenges.”
Performance Director of ADOR
NewJeans’ performances are highly acclaimed.
They are directed and choreographed by Kim Eun-ju and BLACK.Q, performance directors affiliated with ADOR.
Kim Eun-ju was the main performance director of BIGHIT MUSIC’s TOMORROW X TOGETHER and the performance director of Source Music. She then moved to the established ADOR.
BLACK.Q is a dancer in the dance crew EO-DDAE. His dance teacher is Kim Eun-ju.
2021 ADOR’s first “GLOBAL AUDITION” will be held
ADOR held the ADOR GLOBAL AUDITION for the first time through its official website from December 1, 2021, to January 10, 2022. They allowed anyone born between 2002 and 2010, regardless of gender and nationality, to apply.
Furthermore, the “ADOR GLOBAL AUDITION” was held from September 19 to October 19, 2022.
There will undoubtedly be boy’s and girl’s idol groups following NewJeans in the future.
I am very much looking forward to it.
Summary
How was it?
ADOR is an innovative label that continues to take on new challenges in the music industry, and NewJeans has proven to be a hopeful member of the “new gene” in the K-POP world.
We will monitor ADOR’s operations and NewJeans’ activities in the future.
Thank you very much for reading to the end.
