NewJeans is nominated for Best New Female Group, Best Group Choreography (Female) for Hype Boy and Best R&B Song for Attention in the 2022 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support NewJeans and all your other favourite artists, songs and performances before voting closes this Friday by clicking here to vote.

As mentioned in the previous review for NewJean’s Ditto, I will also be covering the group’s first official comeback single, OMG, which officially dropped two days ago. This comes after the group debuted with Cookie (and pre-releases Attention and Hype Boy) in 2022, contributing to what has resulted in very intense battle for new female groups and debuts this award season in the KPOP industry.

It has been a couple of days since OMG‘s release and this short gap between release and review have really allowed me to evaluate the song and consider my thoughts on it. To me, OMG is an ‘alright’ song. I liked how NewJeans have forged themselves a unique sound in KPOP and this sound does comes through in OMG, despite the track gearing towards more mainstream pop and hip-hop influences. I enjoyed the upbeat nature of the instrumental, which comes to life as a result of the percussive and trap elements. NewJeans also sounds quite nice throughout the song. Their vocals really show off a youthful appearance compared to their previous releases and the brightness really cuts through the over-consistency that OMG was potentially heading in. What really held OMG back, for me, is the lack of a memorable element of some kind. Despite the number of listens of OMG over the last few days, I have failed to notice anything that really capture my attention and makes the song stay in my mind once the song ends. This is quite disappointing given the hype leading to OMG. Had the song had something more memorable to it, OMG could have ringed through. But because there isn’t a memorable ring or tinge to the song, I am not convinced that this is their greatest track. That being said, OMG had some pretty big shoes to fill following the likes the Attention and Hype Boy.

When I watch the music video for OMG, I can’t help but wonder whether the friends who Heesoo supposedly lost from the Ditto music videos (according to my theory) were sent to the asylum. When I wrote that storyline up based on what I saw, I hadn’t considered the events of OMG. But now watching the OMG’s music video and also considering how the school scenes were included as part of the performance videos, I am leaning towards a change my storyline – that Heesoo’s friends were sent to the asylum. The video also includes a bit of a twist towards the end, with the friends reminding themselves that they are actually NewJeans, which might also further alter the story theory I wrote for the Ditto music video. I quite liked the rewind montage that follows and the addition of a snippet of Attention to the video. Apart from that, I liked how they tackled the topic of mental health. It can be quite touchy topic, but my first impression of NewJean’s take was that it is light, felt liberating, and refreshing, which is much different to the more usual serious tone mental health garners in Western media.

I quite enjoyed the 90s touch some of their outfits had. It probably will be a case of regret in the future when NewJeans attempts more mature concepts, but it works really well at this point in time. As for the choreography, I really enjoyed the whole chorus sequence of the routine. Dubbed as the ‘OMG and crab dance’ according to the 1theKILLPO video, I do find the second half of the sequence to be more impressive, with the synchronisation and execution leaving me floored.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10