"How Sweet" is a song by the South Korean girl group

NewJeans NewJeans (), also known as NJZ (), is a South Korean girl group formed by ADOR, a sub-label of Hybe Corporation, Hybe. The group is composed of five members: Minji (singer), Minji, Hanni (singer), Hanni, Danielle Marsh, Danielle, Haerin, and H ...

from their second single album of the same name. It was released by

ADOR Eddy Castellanos Sr. (September 26, 1969 – January 1, 2025), known professionally as A.D.O.R., was an American hip hop artist whose work includes the Pete Rock-produced hit "Let It All Hang Out" (Atlantic, 1992), and "One for the Trouble" (Atl ...

on May 24, 2024, along with the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

track "

Bubble Gum Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Composition In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...

". NewJeans began promoting the single in April 2024, through the release of the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Bubble Gum" on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, featuring the Japanese version of the track in advertisements and television programs in Japan, and appearing on music shows and

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

s in South Korea. The single album debuted at number one in South Korea. It has been described as a

Miami bass Miami bass (also known as booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexual ...

and

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

song.

Background and composition

debuted in 2022 under ADOR, a subsidiary label of

Hybe Corporation Hybe Co., Ltd. (; stylized as Hybe Corporation; commonly known as simply Hybe) is a South Korean multinational entertainment company established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk as Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd. The company operates as a record l ...

, and their 2023 EP ''

Get Up Get Up may refer to: Film and television * Get Up! (film), ''Get Up!'' (film), a 2003 Japanese film directed by Kazuyuki Izutsu * Get Up (film), ''Get Up'' (film), a 2008 South Korean television film directed by Lee Jae-dong * Get Up! (TV program ...

'' was the group's first entry and first number-one on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Selling over two million copies, ''Get Up'' established NewJeans as one of the most prominent international music acts of the year. Several publications named it among the best music releases of the year. In April 2024, a dispute between Hybe and ADOR's CEO

Min Hee-jin Min Hee-jin (; born December 16, 1979) is a South Korean music producer, art director, and graphic designer. She is the former CEO of ADOR, a subsidiary of entertainment company Hybe Corporation, and the former executive producer of K-pop girl ...

over Min's authority within the label became widely publicized. Amid the controversy, NewJeans released their subsequent single, "How Sweet", which had been announced prior. According to ADOR's press release, "How Sweet" is a

song. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote that the track "sees NewJeans playing with Miami bass". They continue to reimagine Y2K sounds, transforming them into their own "enchanting spells." ''Nylon'' opined that the production "gives off zingy

electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...

". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described it as

. Lyrically, the group, known for their "witty approach" to relationships, stays true to form with "How Sweet," delivering yet another track focused on

self-love Self-love, defined as "love of self" or "regard for one's own happiness or advantage", has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness, synonymous with amour-propre, conceitedness, ...

Release and promotion

On March 27, 2024, ADOR announced that NewJeans would host a fan meeting in Japan and release two double singles in 2024: "How Sweet" and "Bubble Gum" on May 24 and "

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

" and "Right Now" on June 21. ADOR stated that NewJeans would be making their debut in the Japanese music market with the release of "Supernatural", their first song in Japanese, while they would focus on promoting "How Sweet" and "Bubble Gum" in South Korea. In conjunction with the singles' announcement, ADOR stated that NewJeans would release an album in the second half of 2024 and embark on a worldwide tour in 2025. The press release caused Hybe Corporation's daily

market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...

to increase by nearly trillion. In April 2024, ADOR announced that member Hyein would not participate in promotional activities to recover from an injury. The CD single became available for pre-order on April 26, 2024, in two physical formats: a

vinyl LP The LP (from long playing or long play) is an analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specificati ...

-sized version and a

Weverse Weverse () is a South Korean mobile app and web platform created by South Korean entertainment company Hybe Corporation. The app specializes in hosting multimedia content, the sale of artist-related merchandise, content subscription, and artist ...

-exclusive version. Additional items available with the CD include a book containing interviews with the members, a photo book, stickers, posters, photo cards, and post cards. In May 2024, NewJeans began making appearances on South Korean music shows, including ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'', and

s, including ''

2 Days & 1 Night ''2 Days & 1 Night'' (; also known as ''1 Night 2 Days''; abbreviated as ''1N2D'') is a South Korean reality-variety show that airs every Sunday at 6:10pm KST on KBS2 beginning August 5, 2007. ''1 Night 2 Days'' used to be one of the two segmen ...

'' and

Park Myung-soo Park Myung-soo (; born September 27, 1970) is a South Korean comedian, MC, singer, and songwriter who debuted on television in 1993, appearing on MBC. He co-hosted the top-rated comic variety programme ''Infinite Challenge'' and also hosted ...

's web show on YouTube. NewJeans performed at the K-Wave Concert Inkigayo on June 2, 2024. The single album debuted at the number one spot in South Korea.

Reception

'''s Tássia Assis, praises the group's continuation of their signature style, blending Y2K influences with fresh elements. Assis suggests that tne song feels like a safe, even lukewarm, addition to their discography. While the song is enjoyable and fit well with their previous work, the release lacks the innovation and impact of their past singles like "

Hype Boy "Hype Boy" is a song by the South Korean girl group NewJeans, taken from their debut extended play (EP), '' New Jeans'' (2022). ADOR, an independent division of Hybe Corporation, released four music videos for the song on July 23, 2022, each fo ...

" or " Ditto." Jeff Benjamin included it in his list of "the 20 best K-pop songs of 2024 so far." He praised the track as a refreshing breakup anthem with a breezy, summery feel, highlighting the group's harmonies and how the song becomes more infectious with each listen. "How Sweet" was featured at number 35 on ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'' list of the best songs of 2024.

Accolades

Track listing

All tracks are arranged by

250 __NOTOC__ Year 250 (Roman numerals, CCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Gratus (or, less frequently, year 1003 ''Ab urbe condita''). The den ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2024 singles 2024 songs Hybe Corporation singles NewJeans songs Songs in Korean Miami bass songs Songs written by Sarah Aarons Songs written by Danielle Marsh Song recordings produced by 250 (musician) South Korean pop songs Electropop songs Music videos directed by Shin Hee-won