Katseye, NewJeans named among Billboard's 21 Under 21
Katseye and NewJeans have been named two of the music industry's most innovative and influential artists under 21, with NewJeans included on the list for the second year in a row.
The two groups were featured on Billboard's 21 Under 21, an annual list that spotlights young artists making a significant impact across the music industry. The list considers metrics such as album sales, streaming numbers, social media engagement, and radio and TV reach, along with overall influence within the industry.
Regarding NewJeans, Billboard noted that while the group is still troubled by an ongoing legal dispute with Ador and Hybe, its popularity remains unwavering. 'While NewJeans has made more headlines in recent months due to its legal battle with label home Hybe, ... the past year demonstrated the continued fan enthusiasm for the K-pop quintet through chart impact,' the official Billboard website stated.
All of NewJeans' major releases — including the debut EP "New Jeans," "OMG," second EP "Get Up" — have each sold over 1 million copies, making them multi-million sellers. "Get Up," which topped the Billboard 200 in 2023, sold an additional 227,000 units last year and ranked No. 3 on Billboard's Year-End World Albums Chart and No. 50 on the Top Album Sales chart.
In June 2023, NewJeans also made history by becoming the fastest K-pop group to hold a fan meeting at the Tokyo Dome, just 1 year and 11 months after its debut.
Katseye, a global girl group formed through a collaboration between Hybe and Geffen Records, is currently enjoying success with its latest single 'Gnarly,' which charted on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Official Singles Top 100.
Billboard highlighted that following the group's debut EP "SIS (Soft Is Strong)," the group is expected to show even more growth with their upcoming second EP "Beautiful Chaos," scheduled for release next month. Katseye was also recently featured as a 'Trending Artist On The Rise' by YouTube, further signaling its growing global presence.
Other artists named on this year's 21 Under 21 list include American singer-songwriters Jessie Murph and D4vd, as well as the LA-based punk band The Linda Lindas.
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