Hype Boy

Lore & Background

The South Korean idol girl group NewJeans was formed and signed with ADOR, an independent division of Hybe Corporation, under the direction of its CEO Min Hee-jin. The group's debut single, "Attention", was surprise-released on July 22, 2022, without any prior information regarding the group's lineup. The following day, ADOR announced a four-track extended play (EP), New Jeans, which was set for release on August 1, and released "Hype Boy" as the group's second single. "Hype Boy" was accompanied by a 50-second clip introducing the five members' names and four music videos specific to the members' perspectives. Of the four music videos, three were for individual members Minji, Hyein, and Hanni, and one was for a collective unit of Haerin and Danielle. Min explained that by unveiling "Attention" without confirming the members' names and subsequently releasing "Hype Boy", which featured the members individually, she anticipated that viewers would revisit the first video to seek further information about them. In each video, the members invite their "hype boy", or love interest, to a gathering with them, though the scenarios differ—for example, Minji's video involves a car and a party, while Hyein's involves a school setting. They ultimately see a different side of their "hype boy" contrary to what they initially admired or anticipated.

In Their Own Story

Gigi, Ylva Dimberg, and the member Hanni wrote the lyrics to "Hype Boy", a song that captures the essence of young love akin to a daydream. It contains lyrics in both Korean and English, and runs for two minutes and 56 seconds long. The chorus is sung by the members Haerin and Danielle: "'Cause I know what you like, boy/ You're my chemical hype boy." According to NME's Rhian Daly, Hanni's input helped usher in a female perspective for a girl-group song, which deviated from the "male gaze" that had dominated K-pop idol music. Dimberg and 250 produced "Hype Boy", and the latter programmed the instrumentals. It is composed in the key of E minor, with a tempo of 100 beats per minute. "Hype Boy" is propelled by pulsing synthesizers and distorted instrumentals. It is a future bass, bubblegum pop, and synth-pop song that incorporates influences of 1990s R&B and electronic music, while its rhythms evoke moombahton. The members sing with their unmanipulated vocals over R&B beats. According to the South Korean digital music site Melon, "Hype Boy" is a hybrid of moombahton and electropop that has a "unique pre-chorus" and highlights individual members' vocals.

Reader's Guide

To promote "Hype Boy", NewJeans performed the song on the South Korean music programs of M Countdown, Music Bank, and Inkigayo in 2022. They performed the song across various music festivals, including the KCON in Saudi Arabia, the 2022 KBS Song Festival and 2023 K-pop Super Live in Seoul, Lollapalooza in the U.S., the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan, and Music Bank in Mexico. At year-end award shows, it was performed during the 2022 The Fact Music Awards, 43rd Blue Dragon Film Awards, 2022 Melon Music Awards, twice during the 2022 MAMA Awards, and 37th Golden Disc Awards. NewJeans also featured the song during a live performance at the 36th Tokyo Girls Collection and their July 2023 Bunnies Camp fan meeting. Commercially, "Hype Boy" debuted at number 116 on the Billboard Global 200 and peaked at number 52. It set the record for the longest-charting song by a K-pop girl group on the Billboard Global 200 chart, spending 42 weeks in total. On the national Circle Digital Chart, the single peaked at number two. The Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) certified it double platinum for surpassing 200 million streams in South Korea. In Japan, "Hype Boy" peaked at number 41 on the Japan Hot 100 chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for accumulating over 100 million streams.

Did You Know?

• NME named "Hype Boy" the best K-pop release of 2022.
• "Hype Boy" charted for 51 weeks on the Billboard Global 200.
• The song was accompanied by four music videos released on July 23, 2022, each focusing on different members and their narratives.
• Hanni, a member of NewJeans, co-wrote the lyrics for "Hype Boy".
• By January 2023, "Hype Boy" surpassed BTS' "Butter" as the most-streamed song on Spotify in South Korea.

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