Published July 25, 2026, 12:43 p.m. KST. Updated July 25, 2026, 12:51 p.m. KST.

NewJeans' rise has often been discussed through its visuals, styling and fandom, but the group's musical identity is also closely tied to the producers and songwriters who shaped its sound. The group's work has drawn attention for the way it moved away from some familiar K-pop references and instead leaned into elements associated with London club culture, including garage, jungle and drum and bass — genres that first emerged from UK underground dance scenes in the 1990s and early 2000s and have since shaped producers and artists far beyond Britain.

For listeners who follow K-pop through genres, producers and songwriting trends rather than individual fandoms, the group's appeal is part of a broader pattern. K-pop has long been shaped by figures whose influence extends across multiple artists and generations. Kenzie, Teddy Park, G-Dragon and Bang Si-hyuk are among the names often cited in discussions of how the industry's sound developed. Bang Si-hyuk, before becoming widely associated with HYBE, built his reputation as "Hitman Bang" while working with JYP on the Wonder Girls and helping them become the first K-pop group to appear on Billboard.

Recent K-pop has also seen many acts lean heavily into house music, building on earlier examples. Playlists focused on house in K-pop commonly include KiiKii's "404," Riize's "Impossible," Hearts2Hearts' "Rude," f(x)'s "Four Walls" and Shinee's "View." Songs by XG and Katseye are sometimes included in those mixes as well, underscoring how some listeners organize K-pop by sound and genre rather than by nationality, fandom or ethnicity.

From Camden to Seoul

NewJeans did not primarily follow the house route. Instead, the group's defining sound drew more from drum and bass and related club styles. In that context, the name NewJeans refers not only to the performers but also to the wider creative apparatus around them: the producers, songwriters, stylists and visual teams that helped create the package.

The group's styling also distinguished it from common "girlboss" concepts or overtly glamorous and sexy images. Its visuals leaned into 1990s-inspired loose fashion, including backpacks, low-slung jeans, crop tops and other looks associated with university campuses of that era. The aesthetic aligned with a broader Y2K revival that has moved through global pop and fashion in recent years, putting NewJeans at the forefront of a trend that extended well beyond K-pop. Cortis are now exploring similar visual territory. Although their music does not necessarily sound like NewJeans — with some recent concert reviews suggesting it resembles the same song repeated four or five times — many of their promotional images look as if they came from a Britpop magazine such as Kerrang or NME. The approach is not entirely unlike the direction RM explored in his track "Groin."

K-pop has at times borrowed from British street culture, including chav aesthetics and broader U.K. youth references. When executed effectively, that borrowing can become a powerful visual and musical language. A similar dynamic appeared in earlier Korean music when Deli Spice at times effectively recreated Oasis-style sounds with Korean lyrics.

What made NewJeans feel fresh was not only the way the group looked in videos, but the strength of the songs behind the visuals. The group's music felt energetic and youthful while avoiding the west coast hip-hop templates that many other acts had drawn from. Instead, NewJeans looked back to club and rave sounds associated with Camden, Brighton and other parts of British nightlife. Its songs often used high BPMs and airy vocals, evoking London club traditions, garage, jungle and drum and bass.

By drawing from a past that much of the industry had often overlooked, NewJeans managed to sound current. The result was a musical identity that connected K-pop to sounds long associated with U.K. clubs, including liquid drum and bass, garage rhythms and ethereal vocal textures.

The producers behind the sound

Erika De Casier co-wrote four of the six tracks on NewJeans' second EP. When the group's management approached De Casier, they asked whether she had listened to K-pop. The fact that she had not was part of what made the collaboration distinctive. "Super Shy" closely resembles De Casier's own style, with references to LTJ Bukem, liquid drum and bass, introspective vocals and club energy. The result sits in a similar sonic space to the work PinkPantheress has been associated with.

Another central figure in the NewJeans sound is 250, also known as Lee Ho-hyung. He was the main writer and producer behind "Hype Boy," "Attention," "Ditto," "How Sweet" and "ETA." He has said on record that the musicians who most inspire him as an artist are Ryuichi Sakamoto, Shin Hae-chul and Prince, an unusually broad set of influences.

250's own debut album, "PPONG," was award-winning and highly eclectic. It remixed old trot songs and sounds, taking its title from "ppong-jak," the colloquial Korean name for the genre. The album is unlike most mainstream pop releases. Even 250 has expressed uncertainty about it, while saying those Korean sounds were so deeply embedded in him that he needed to bring them out.

FRNK, also known as Park Jin-su, was another key contributor to the NewJeans sound. He was responsible for "OMG," "New Jeans," "Cool with You," "Cookie" and "Right Now." His production work also includes "Love Me Again" and "Slow Dancing" from BTS V's 2023 solo album "Layover," as well as "Derre" by Bibi. His credits show how a producer can help define the sound of several major acts while remaining less visible to many casual listeners.

This is a central feature of K-pop's production system. Behind the polished, highly edited and carefully packaged aesthetics of the industry, groups of highly skilled writers, producers, arrangers and visual creatives make music for multiple artists across multiple generations. Fans may debate the success, merits and controversies surrounding their favorite artists, but the producers continue creating songs while entertainment companies build new packages around them and bring them to market.

For NewJeans, much of the old visual production team was reportedly involved in the group's new promotional videos. Nayeon Kim, Choi Yumi and Dana Kim were all former Ador staff. K-pop rarely struggles to deliver strong visuals; the larger question is whether NewJeans can sound as fresh in 2026 as it did a few years earlier, and who will be responsible for making the group's music. That question carries particular weight given the widely reported disputes between NewJeans and Ador's parent company HYBE, which led to the departure of key creative personnel and created public uncertainty around the group's direction. The source article concluded that as long as the sound is not handed to Chris Martin, Ed Sheeran or Tame Impala, expectations should remain focused on the producers who made NewJeans distinctive in the first place.