K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label

Chart-topping K-pop band NewJeans is losing one of its members in what is yet another twist in the group’s bitter year-long feud with its record label.

Ador announced on Monday that they had “terminated” their contract with 20-year-old Danielle Marsh and the return of Minji remains uncertain, leaving the band with three members.

On Tuesday, local media reported that Ador is suing Danielle, her family member, and ex-boss Min Hee-jin for $32m in damages. None of them have spoken publicly yet. The BBC has reached out to Hybe, Ador’s parent company, for comment.

Coming less than two months after reports that NewJeans would return to the label as a band of five, this news dashes fans’ hopes of a comeback.

Many took to social media with the slogan: “NewJeans is five or nothing, while others questioned why Danielle was singled out.

“Does this make any sense??? NewJeans without Danielle isn’t NewJeans. Do you think you can just erase a member this easily? Give us back Danielle,” one wrote in an X post.

“It’s not fair at all. Free NewJeans [all 5 members],” another wrote on Instagram. “All they wanted to do was to be [artists] and make their fans happy.”

NewJeans, which became the eighth biggest-selling act in the world a year after their debut in 2022, were seen as a game-changer by critics for their blend of 1990s R&B and sugar-coated pop melodies.

Then came a dramatic fallout with Ador in 2022, sparked by the controversial dismissal of the agency’s former CEO Min Hee-jin, whom NewJeans regarded as a mentor.

The move shook the K-pop world, setting off a battle between hugely successful and very young stars – they are between 17 and 21 years of age – and a South Korean entertainment giant, Hybe, which owns Ador.

NewJeans accused Ador of “mistreatment” and “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation”, then announced they would leave the agency. Ador in turn launched a lawsuit blocking their departure, which it won in October this year. A district court ruled that NewJeans must honour their contract with the label which runs until 2029.

A month later, local media reports indicated that all five members would return to the agency.

Then in a surprising turn, Ador issued a statement on Monday, saying it would take legal action against a family member of Danielle’s and Min, who founded the label and created NewJeans before her dramatic departure.

Both of them, Ador claims, “bear significant responsibility” for the fallout between the agency and the K-pop group.

Monday’s statement did not mention a lawsuit against Danielle, saying only that Ador had decided it was difficult to continue working with her, and told her they would be ending the contract.

Ador also claimed that NewJeans’ members had been “exposed to persistently distorted and biased information” which led to “significant misunderstandings” about the label.

That statement named two other NewJeans members: Hanni, who it said decided to remain with the label after “extended conversations” which included her family, and Minji, who is still in “ongoing conversations” with the agency.

It’s been a whirlwind for fans, especially since Ador initially announced in November that only two members, Hyein and Haerin, would return to the agency, sparking fears the group would split up.

These fears were allayed when Hanni, Danielle and Minji said in a separate statement hours later that they too would return – but only for a short time, as it turns out.

“NewJeans is a very important group that changed the world of female K-pop acts. For the music listeners and fans, it has been the hope to see their return as a full five-member team. That’s no longer possible,” music critic Lim Hee-yun told the BBC, adding that this outcome would not “make anyone happy”.

Mr Lim believes Ador would be pressured to recruit new members into the group, especially if Minji also leaves the label.

It is hard for three-member groups to find success in the K-pop industry, where fans pay close attention to the relationships and chemistry between members.

Danielle’s future as a musician is also uncertain.

“Not only will there be a large part of the public that see her negatively [because of this controversy], but the record labels will too… She might need to pursue being a solo act as an actor, model, or an influencer,” Mr Lim said.

Additional reporting by Leehyun Choi and Hosu Lee in Seoul