Syndrome girl group NewJeans is attracting rave reviews from local media and music specialists for their performance at the grand-scale U.S. music festival "Lollapalooza Chicago."
On August 3 (local time), the Chicago Sun-Times reported, "NewJeans is the first K-pop girl group to perform at Lollapalooza Chicago," and noted that "Crowds surged in like a sea to see them. Their performance seemed to draw the largest audience of any 5 p.m. show." Typically, artists performing in the late afternoon slots at music festivals aren't the headliners, but NewJeans' presence was deemed unmatched amongst performers in this timeslot. NewJeans' agency Adore stated, "Around 70,000 spectators responded to NewJeans' passionate performance with full-throated singing."
The Chicago Sun-Times further reported, "Fans of NewJeans, who call themselves 'Bunnies', were holding rabbit-shaped cheer props. When 'Attention,' one of NewJeans' debut songs, started playing, there was a huge response, and other hit songs like 'Super Shy' and 'ETA' all had a 90's R&B vibe, reminiscent of other American girl groups of that era."
On August 4, prestigious English-language music magazines also highly rated NewJeans' performance.
U.S. music outlet Rolling Stone pointed out NewJeans' mini second album "Get Up" topped the Billboard 200 charts upon its first entry, stating, "The 'Super Shy' stage, alongside a dance crew, drew out a group groove from the Bunnies. The teenage K-pop sensations Minji, Hani, Daniel, Haerin, and Hyein were ready to receive the spotlight."
The publication added that they performed the entirety of "Get Up," including the fan-favorite debut song "Attention," and "Cool With You," which starts as an a cappella, showcasing each member's vocal range.
The UK's NME published a somewhat lengthy review alongside NewJeans' full setlist for their Lollapalooza performance, stating "NewJeans justified their status as the most talked-about K-pop act at 'Lollapalooza 2023'." The magazine praised, "One of the most refreshing aspects of NewJeans is their capacity to deliver comfortable and relaxed songs, with an aesthetic atmosphere, amidst a standardized formula. In this performance, they breathed in a casual low-tone energy."
Overseas musicians also noticed NewJeans. American pop star Billie Eilish was the headliner on the T-Mobile stage at Lollapalooza, where NewJeans also performed. She even took a commemorative picture with the NewJeans members. NewJeans shared pictures taken with Eilish, and Eilish's elder brother and producer, Finneas O'Connell, on their Instagram account.
Meanwhile, NewJeans is making waves in English-language charts. In addition to topping the 'Billboard 200' on August 5th with 'Get Up,' they simultaneously charted three title songs from the album on the 'Hot 100'. Recently, 'Super Shy' peaked at number 61 on the UK's Official Singles 'Top 100', charting for the fourth consecutive week. 'Get Up' also charted at number 38 on the Official Albums 'Top 100' for the second consecutive week. On August 19th, NewJeans will appear at Japan's famous music festival 'Summer Sonic 2023'.
