The feud between K-pop powerhouse HYBE and its subsidiary label Ador is showing no signs of subsiding, with the former filing a police report against the latter’s CEO, Min Hee-jin, for alleged breach of trust, Thursday.Nevertheless, girl group NewJeans — which is represented by Ador — is creating a splash after pushing forward with the release of the music video, “Bubble Gum,” Saturday. “Bubble Gum” is one of the tracks to be included in the quintet’s upcoming album, “How Sweet.”The music video has exceeded 10 million views on YouTube as of Sunday, demonstrating the group’s global popularity. It reportedly surpassed the 5-million mark in less than 13 hours after its release.”Bubble Gum” is a feel-good song marked by simple drum patterns and synth sounds.”From its beginning to end, the clip captures the natural sides of the members, who blow bubble gum and play pranks on each other,” Ador said in a statement, Saturday. “It is a song that’s easy to listen to.”The bitter conflict between HYBE and Ador first erupted on Monday after HYBE accused Min of attempting to spin off Ador from the parent.
Min, however, denied the allegations during a press conference in Seoul on Thursday, insisting that she was accused in response to her making a protest to stop HYBE from copying NewJeans’ formula in producing another group. She specifically referred to ILLIT, a new girl group that debuted under HYBE’s sub-label, Belift Lab, in March.Min also said HYBE has been mistreating NewJeans from the very beginning, prioritizing the debut of Le Sserafim — a female act managed by HYBE’s subsidiary, Source Music.HYBE refuted Min’s claims on Friday, adding that she is threatening the company by holding NewJeans hostage.Despite the ongoing row, HYBE said NewJeans still plans to put out its new album, “How Sweet” on May 24 as scheduled.”We will give unwavering support for the psychological well-being of the members and their new release,” read the company’s statement. “We will soon meet with their legal representatives to discuss measures to protect them.”NewJeans is the first group launched by Ador, which debuted with its self-titled EP in 2022. It is one of the household names in the K-pop scene today, with four of its songs including “Super Shy” (2023) achieving 500 million streams on the world’s largest streaming platform, Spotify. Min, the 카지노사이트킹 former creative director at SM Entertainment, is the group’s producer.