Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter!
When I connected with NewJeans ahead of the release of “OMG” for this very column back in January, none of us knew just how huge the song would become. Granted, the girl group was already swiftly on the rise — “Hype Boy” was taking over TikTok, “Attention” had lived up to its name, and the five-piece was gearing up for the next step. “OMG” and its b-side, “Ditto,” both absolutely exploded upon release.
Now, NewJeans (Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein) are giving listeners the chance to immerse themselves in the magic of “OMG” in a new way through a pop-up with Apple. Coinciding with the opening of Apple Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea in just a few days, this collaboration will offer fans (we landed on the fandom name “Bunnies,” right?) an exclusive look at “OMG (Apple Music Edition),” which boasts the added feature of Spatial Audio. Lucky folks who happen to be in Seoul in the coming days can register for the experience here.
This news arrives on the heels of another incredibly exciting announcement for NewJeans, which is that they’ll be the first K-pop girl group to appear at Lollapalooza this summer. The festival slot marks their first stateside performance ever, too, promising another boost in the group’s already unbelievable global footprint. Let’s remember that it hasn’t even been a year since NewJeans debuted — there really hasn’t been another group that was able to tap into audiences this quickly into their story, and the best part is that the music backs it all up.
Maybe if we’re lucky, this pop-up is something that can lead to future NewJeans experiences around the world.