Happy 1st Birthday Get Up, an album that teleports you to a playful retro summer filled with house, mid-2000s UK garage, club, and dance-influenced tunes. Despite NewJeans’ sophomore 12-minute EP having only 6 songs, it perfectly captures the current Y2K energy and gets straight to the point. With the help of Danish singer and songwriter Erika de Casier — who produced 4 songs on the album — Get Up is a charming, slick, and efficient work that does not try too hard. In an interview with GQ, de Casier mentioned how she was approached by ADOR:
One of the first questions they asked me was, "Do you listen a lot to K-Pop?" And I got so nervous and I had to be honest and said, "No, I haven't yet explored that genre." And they're like, "Good, because we want something new. We want something fresh." And I'm like, "Okay, okay, okay."
For a K-pop album, Get Up is welcoming. No beat or melody is wasted. There are no excessive raps or various genres mixed together. It’s the complete opposite of maximalism. NewJeans’ music is influenced by the past, incorporating sounds from the late 1990s and mid-2000s, making the album a nostalgic, easy listen. And because of smart marketing that involved beach bag albums, YouTube Shorts dance challenges, collaborations with Apple, Line Friends, and The Powerpuff Girls, and every song from the EP having polished music videos and choreographies, NewJeans cleverly caught the attention of the TikTok generation and music critics last summer.
“The girl-group’s brisk, club-inflected pop songs cement them as one of the most interesting K-pop acts working today,” writes
in his Pitchfork review of the album. Pop music critic Jon Caramanica, who writes for the New York Times, had Get Up at number 4 in his Best Albums of 2023 list. He states:The most modern, most progressive and most slick pop release of the year is this futurist delight of an EP from the Korean girl group NewJeans, who are adaptable to a host of styles, including sultry R&B and pop-jungle.
The team at NPR Music writes, “On the group's second EP, Get Up, the songs do lean heavily into cute, sugary sweet dance pop, but leave the edges a bit more ragged with a warmer, more genuine sound.” In their New Music Friday podcast, NPR Music editor Hazel Cills said, “They aren’t just making good pop music for the sake of good pop music, they are sort of getting one level deeper and really thinking of the future.”
I don’t want to sound too much like a fan obsessed with charts and numbers, but we should also take a look at the noteworthy accomplishments of Get Up.
NewJeans’ Get Up debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, beating the Barbie soundtrack just by 500 units. This is an incredible feat considering they went against an album that has heavy hitters like Dua Lipa, Tame Impala, Nicki Minaj, and their friend, Billie Eilish. The album became NewJeans’ first entry and number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Get Up has accumulated +1.5 billion streams on Spotify and the album’s title tracks “Super Shy,” “ETA,” and “Cool With You” all charted in Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, with “Super Shy” having debuted at #66 and reached a peak of #48. Get Up sold more than 1 million copies in its first week of release, making it the second most-sold album by a K-pop female artist in its first week of release. I won’t name every achievement or else the newsletter will turn into a long essay, but a critical and commercial success, NewJeans’ 2nd EP catapulted the 5-member girl group to new heights.
NewJeans’ upward trajectory is scary. The day after it was announced that Get Up debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, NewJeans made their debut U.S. live performance at Lollapalooza. They became the first K-pop girl group to perform at the Chicago festival. I fear nothing will ever feel as good as the week when NewJeans had the #1 album in America and had over 70,000 fans in Lollapalooza singing along to “Super Shy.” I was elated for the girls.
A year later, I reflect on the songs from an album that truly helped make 2023 the Year of the Bunny.
NEW JEANS
“New Jeans” does not get appreciated enough. Its music video was the first to be released for the Get Up era, and of course, it had to be a collaboration with The Powerpuff Girls (what a flex). At the time, “New Jeans” was the song that I was most excited to hear since we were in a 6-month music-less period. (I’m not counting “Zero” because it’s a commercial song for Coca-Cola). The song highlights that NewJeans’ production fully commits to throwback sounds such as Jersey Club, UK Garage, and Breakbeat. It’s a smooth opening track that flows well and makes it difficult to not bop your head. In less than 2 minutes, NewJeans delivers an earworm with the lyrics, “New hair, new tee, NewJeans, do you see?” Who can mention their name in their song without making it too pretentious or Jason Derulo-esque, but rather endearing? The cool kids. NewJeans.
SUPER SHY
Hazel Cills
Yes, “Super Shy” is repetitive. Yes, we get that they’re really shy. But the skittering drums, gentle synths, and sample of The Powerpuff Girls theme make “Super Shy” NewJeans’ most irresistible song. It is a well constructed and delightful modern drum and bass track. The rhythm is sweet, addicting, and catchy. Also, what’s striking is how the girls sing the innocent line, “You don’t even know my name, do ya?” in a pure, mousy manner. “Super Shy” is stirring but bittersweet.
ETA
NewJeans’ in-house producer 250 mentioned in an interview with Nylon that Timbaland is his favorite producer. This is not too surprising when you listen closely to “ETA.” With the lively song’s air horns that sample “Samir’s Theme,” crisp drum breaks, and fast-paced nature, I can hear Timbaland’s influence on the Baltimore Club song. “ETA” is exhilarating. It’s upbeat but waits for you to catch your breath during the verses. But once the engaging chorus returns, it hypes you up. You are just pulled to chant, “What’s your ETA? What’s your ETA?” It’s exciting and exhausting (in a good way). It’s the most intricate song on the album and one of the most dynamic songs in NewJeans’ discography.
In case you haven’t seen Dani, Haerin, and Hyein try to quickly do the melodic rapping part, or the “NewJeans ETA one-breath challenge,” please watch it. They kept doing it for about 4 minutes straight. It’s hilarious. Why were they taking it so seriously?? 😭
COOL WITH YOU
“Cool With You” is my favorite song on Get Up. With the skitter of UK garage rhythm and chilled, airy vocals, “Cool With You” is the group’s most mature-sounding song. It’s sophisticated and sounds effortless. It’s Erika de Casier coded. The members’ vocals shine in this tension-filled track, with their voices providing enough intimacy and mystery. NewJeans are known for nostalgia, and they reinterpret it in “Cool With You” in a much more eerie and sorrowful fashion. Instead of bright daydreams and a colorful past, we are given subtle longing and yearning for a vision that we will never grasp.
Other than “Ditto,” “Cool With You” is the song that I would recommend to anyone who does not listen to K-pop but is curious about NewJeans and their music. I can immerse myself in the simplicity and easiness of the tune.
GET UP
With a duration of 36 seconds, “Get Up,” is the group’s shortest song on the album and that should be a crime. The interlude has so much potential. With wistful vocals and a track that heavily taps into R&B, “Get Up” surprised me the most. There is a great desire for NewJeans to lean into this style, but for now, let’s be grateful that the song exists. I see “Get Up” as the foundation for NewJeans to crossover to various genres.
ASAP
“ASAP” was the first song in the album teased to the public, and I remember fans ridiculously debating who was singing what line. Unconventional and peculiar, NewJeans’ “ASAP” and its sonic textures emphasize the theme of time, especially with the “Tik, tok, tik, tok, tik, tok, tik, tik, tik” bit. But hear me out: it’s a poignant, hopeful closing song. NewJeans sings, “so much to do and lots to see” in a way that reminds you of time being precious. And as long as you’re breathing, there is still time to discover, explore, and seize moments.
Instead of a final goodbye, “ASAP” sounds more like a “see you later” from NewJeans. The group’s most experimental song to date, “ASAP” and its surreal vibe make us eagerly anticipate the promising future of NewJeans.