Super Shy

"Super Shy" is a song by the South Korean girl group NewJeans, featured as the first of three singles from their second extended play, ''Get Up'' (2023). ADOR, a division of Hybe Corporation, released the song for download and streaming on July 7, 2023, alongside the prologue song " New Jeans." Later, "Super Shy" was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States through Interscope Records on August 15, 2023. It is a mix of liquid drum and bass, bubblegum, and Jersey club, featuring a staccato kick drum pattern. Written by Gigi, Kim Dong-hyun, Erika de Casier, Kristine Bogan, Frankie Scoca, and NewJeans member Danielle, it is about a shy person who expresses their feelings to a crush.

Music critics praised "Super Shy" for its innovative and captivating production. Many publications including ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Pitchfork'', and ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song in their 2023 year-end lists. The single was NewJeans' third number-one hit on the South Korean Circle Digital Chart. It also reached number one on the Singaporean chart and on ''Billboard'' Hits of the World charts for Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Elsewhere, it became the group's best-charting song on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 peaking at number two and on charts of several countries including the United Kingdom and the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Directed by Shin Hee-won, the music video features NewJeans flash mobbing in Lisbon, Portugal. Critics noted its vibrant visuals, blending Y2K nostalgia with modern trends. The choreography, by Black.Q and Eunju Kim, showcases the members performing waacking and easy to follow moves, with NewJeans dressed in youthful outfits. To promote the single, the group appeared on various South Korean music programs, resulting in six first-place music program awards, including a triple crown on ''Inkigayo''.

Background and composition

Following the release of ''OMG'' — their first single album — in January 2023, ADOR CEO and creative director Min Hee-jin revealed NewJeans was preparing a new album in an interview with ''Cine21'' later that month. In April, Min stated in an interview with ''Billboard'' that the group had finished recording earlier that month. South Korean media outlets reported that the album would be released in July 2023, preceded by a prerelease track set to be released on July 7. ADOR announced in June that NewJeans would release their second extended play, ''Get Up'', on July 21, 2023, which would feature six songs. These include the triple title tracks "Super Shy", "ETA", and " Cool With You", along with the prologue song " New Jeans". In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'', member Hanni described the upcoming tracks as "fresh", saying that the EP "definitely has a lot more variety to offer, in not just genre of music and dance style, but what we are striving to express and show to you".

"Super Shy" was composed by Erika de Casier, Kristine Bogan, and Frankie Scoca, who also served as producer. It is a liquid drum and bass and bubblegum Jersey club song that features a staccato kick drum pattern. ''The Guardian'' Ben Beaumont-Thomas said that the production "sits somewhere between liquid drum'n'bass, UK garage and Jersey club", and ''Pitchfork'' Olivia Horn wrote that the drums evoked "a hiccuping heartbeat". The lyrics of the song were written by de Casier and Bogan along with Gigi, Kim Dong-hyun, and NewJeans member Danielle. The song's lyrics depict a shy person expressing their feelings to a crush.

Release and performances

Two days before the release, ADOR posted a video teaser on YouTube Shorts featuring the instrumental version of the song in the background and showing NewJeans' official light stick, the hashtag "ImSuperShy", and the release date. In an accompanying press release, they presented "Super Shy" as the perfect song for the summer. It was released by ADOR for digital download and streaming on July 7, 2023. NewJeans promoted the song in partnership with YouTube Shorts through a dance challenge released under the hashtag "ImSuperShy". For the campaign's design, YouTube won silver at the 2024 Clio Music Awards. "Super Shy" was sent to US pop radio format by NewJeans' local distributor Interscope on August 15, 2023. NewJeans performs "Super Shy" with 20 backup dancers. They first showcased this performance, along with the song " New Jeans," on the South Korean ''Music Bank'' show on July 14, 2023. They also performed both songs on ''Inkigayo'' on July 16, 2023. NewJeans appeared on ''Music Bank'' to perform all three singles from ''Get Up'' on July 23, 2023, the day of the EP's release.

Reception

"Super Shy" was met with critical acclaim from music critics. Kim Ho-hyeon of ''IZM'' highlighted the song's minimal sound with dynamic elements showcasing technical skill. Noting how the vocals blend with the overall sound, supporting enigmatic lyrics, he mentioned that the track's lack of a strong melody may not immediately captivate listeners. "Super Shy" was named the best K-pop song of 2023 by ''Billboard'' and ''NME'', and appeared within the top 10 on multiple other critic lists. ''Times of India'' opined "the song ..encapsulates the innovative spirit of K-pop in 2023, leaving an indomitable imprint on the musical landscape.

Commercial performance

"Super Shy" debuted at number 27 on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart in the issue dated July 2–8, 2023. It rose to number one the following week. The song debuted at number one on Singapore's Top Streaming Chart, the Malaysia International chart, and the ''Billboard'' Hits of the World charts for Hong Kong and Taiwan, earning NewJeans their first number-one in Hong Kong. It also became NewJeans best-performing song in the United Kingdom, debuting at number 59 on the UK Singles Chart in the issue dated July 14–20, 2023. In the United States, it debuted at number 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the chart issue dated July 22, 2023, with 9.2 million official US streams and 2,000 downloads sold, becoming their highest-charting song in the country. A week later, the song peaked at number 64. The song debuted at number two on both the ''Billboard'' Global 200 and the ''Billboard'' Global Excl. US in the chart issue dated July 22, 2023, with 63 million streams and 6,000 downloads sold worldwide. It attained NewJeans' largest amount of one-week streams for a song, surpassing " Ditto"'s peak of 46.5 million one-week streams, and became NewJeans' best performing song on ''Billboard'' Global 200.

Music video

Produced by Min Hee-jin, the music video for "Super Shy" was released on Hybe's YouTube channel in conjunction with the song. It was directed by Shin Hee-won, who had previously directed music videos for NewJeans' songs "Attention" and "Hurt". The musical-style video starts with Danielle riding a red bicycle through the streets of Lisbon, Portugal, to go meet the other members in a park. Later on, they notice that an exercise group is dancing to "Attention" and soon join them to perform "Super Shy", prompting flash mobs in squares, parks, streets, and markets among others. Created by Black.Q and Eunju Kim, the choreography was based on waacking and purposefully includes simple movements. In the video, NewJeans are dressed in a youthful style, donning hairstyles like bleached blonde hair and bangs, and wear cheerleading uniforms and tennis skirts. David Renshaw of ''The Fader'' noted the influence of filmmaker Wes Anderson's visual style throughout the video.

Reception

Jaeden Pinder of ''Pitchfork'' named it the best music video choreography of the year, stating that it distinguishes itself amid the high-energy K-pop scene with its bashfulness and impressive synchronization. ''Vogue Singapores Azrin Tan highlighted the video's imagery, which features NewJeans's signature aesthetic, blending Y2K nostalgia with modern trends. Tan noted Danielle's cottagecore look, Hanni's blonde hair, Hyein's "trendy" skunk stripes, Haerin's "innocent" floral accent, and Minji's tone-on-tone style; the writer opined that each member's style contributed to the video's visual appeal, along with their dynamic choreography and energy. Similarly, ''W Magazine'''s Noh Gyeong-eon highlighted how NewJeans wore costumes featuring illustrations by Migo, emphasizing their girlish charm and creating a cohesive cheerleader aesthetic with a sporty and individualistic twist.

Accolades

"Super Shy" won six first place music program awards, including a triple crown (or three wins) on ''Inkigayo''.

Track listing

*Digital download and streaming
# " New Jeans" – 1:48
# "Super Shy" – 2:34

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the EP's lyric book.

Locations
* Recorded, engineered and edited at Hybe Studio
* Mixed at Brecks Farmhouse Studios
* Mastered at Becker Mastering, Pasadena, California

Credits and personnel
* Frankie Scoca composition, instrumental, programming
* Erika de Casier composition, lyrics
* Kristine Bogan composition, lyrics
* Gigi – lyrics
* Donghyun Kim – lyrics
* Danielle lyrics
* Heejin Min vocal directing
* Jungwoo Jang vocal directing
* NewJeans background vocals
* Emily Kim background vocals
* Pyungwook Lee engineering
* Bakyeong Wang engineering
* Yeji Cha vocal editing
* Nathan Boddy mixing
* Dale Becker mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

* List of ''Inkigayo'' Chart winners (2023)
* List of ''M Countdown'' Chart winners (2023)
* List of ''Show! Music Core'' Chart winners (2023)
* List of ''Show Champion'' Chart winners (2023)
* List of Circle Digital Chart number ones of 2023
* List of number-one songs of 2023 in Singapore
* List of number-one songs of 2023 (Malaysia)

References

{{NewJeans

2023 singles
2023 songs
Songs in Korean
South Korean pop songs
NewJeans songs
Hybe Corporation singles
Number-one singles in Singapore
Music videos directed by Shin Hee-won
Bubblegum pop songs
Circle Digital Chart number-one singles
Drum and bass songs
category:jeresy club songs
Songs written by Danielle Marsh
Number-one singles in Malaysia