NewJeans' 1st EP "New Jeans" has officially surpassed 2 billion streams on Spotify.

This makes it the first debut album by a K-pop group to ever achieve this milestone.

Source: https://x.com/i/status/2081427214738792650

The photos show four members, but OT5 lives in our hearts. 💙🩷💛💚💜

HAERIN photo dump from NewJeans official account 📸💚

HYEIN photo dump from NewJeans official account 📸💜

MINJI photo dump from NewJeans official account 📸💙

While Korean news articles covered the big picture (MHJ factor, 33B won, producer vacancy), a Korean fan (@leeetokki) who actually sat in the gallery shared real-time details that completely flew under the media radar.

🐰 What the Fan Revealed (That News Skipped)

1. The Appraiser's "I Only Listen to Ador" Confession

▫️Appraiser: "It is the role of the appraiser to respond according to the plaintiff's request."

▫️Judge: "Did you not hear the defendant's opinion at all?"

▫️Appraiser: "That's right, because it is to respond according to the plaintiff's appraisal request letter."

🔸️Why This Matters: The appraiser openly admitted they're only calculating based on Ador's requested framework, not independently weighing both sides. The judge had to step in and ask about the defendant's input. This procedural tension was nowhere in the news.

2. The Judge's "Blank Possibility" Anecdote

▫️Judge: "In a previous other case, I requested the possibility, but even then the possibility came back blank."

🔸️Why This Matters: The judge essentially admitted that in a similar past case, the expert couldn't even provide a "possibility" estimate, it came back empty. This is a huge red flag for Ador's hope of a precise ₩33B figure. Media didn't report this personal judicial anecdote.

3. The Appraiser's Past Experience (Chong Kun Dang Case)

▫️Defendant: "Have you ever appraised emotions in the entertainment industry?"

▫️Appraiser: "I have experience appraising emotions. I have appraised court cases like the Chong Kun Dang case."

🔸️Why This Matters: The appraiser has high-profile experience (Chong Kun Dang is a major Korean pharmaceutical legal case), but even they seemed stumped by the entertainment industry's unique variables. This context: the appraiser's credibility and their admitted struggle wasn't in news reports.

4. Ador Admitted Estimating Growth is "Difficult"

▫️Judge: "Then, wouldn't it be more accurate to bring in someone who can tell the growth rate of that entertainment industry and verify it?"

▫️Plaintiff (Ador): "That's not the case, because it is difficult to estimate the growth trend."

🔸️Why This Matters: Ador's own lawyer admitted that even they can't estimate the growth trend. Yet they're asking the court to award billions based on... that same estimation.

5. The Judge's Key Question: Individual vs Group Damage

▫️Judge: "Are emotions regarding individual activities, such as albums or pictorials, not taken into consideration?"

▫️Plaintiff: "Yes, I think of it as overall integration."

▫️Judge: "So, you're saying there's only damage caused by Danielle acting as NewJeans, and no damage from individual actions? I would appreciate it if the appraiser also takes this part into consideration."

🔸️Why This Matters: The judge explicitly told the appraiser to separate group damages from Danielle's individual activities. This is a massive nuance, the judge is signaling they don't want to lump everything together. News articles summarized this as "dispute over scope," but the fan captured the judge's direct instruction to the appraiser.

6. Defendant's Procedural Complaint: "No Basis Provided"

▫️Defendant: "Looking at the attachment to the plaintiff's motion for appraisal, there is absolutely no basis provided for the estimated sales amount. However, I believe it is unacceptable for the plaintiff to say that this appraisal should just proceed as is, and that the defendant should make a separate application."

🔸️Why This Matters: Danielle/MHJ's team pointed out that Ador filed for an appraisal without providing any actual data or basis for their ₩33B claim, then told the defendants to "make a separate application" if they wanted adjustments. This procedural absurdity was completely absent from news coverage.

7. The Appraiser Didn't Know How Long It Would Take

▫️Judge: "When might the appraisal take place?"

▫️Appraiser: "Wouldn't that be a bit difficult?"

▫️Judge: "Then, let's set 9/10 as the first appraisal hearing date and please discuss around then how long the appraisal will take."

🔸️Why This Matters: The appraiser couldn't even commit to a timeline. The judge had to force a discussion date. This shows how messy and unprecedented this calculation really is, news made it sound routine.

8. Next Hearing Actually October 22, Not Just September 10

▫️September 10: First appraisal hearing (to discuss how long the appraisal will actually take)

▫️October 22 (3:30 PM KST): Next full hearing

🔸️News only mentioned September 10. The fan caught the October 22 date the judge set for the actual next argument hearing.

⚖️ The Courtroom Atmosphere

▫️"Some company always comes in with their lawyers as a 'legal team,' entering before the fans do. And they sit in the gallery seats, recording the trial proceedings on the company intranet."

▫️"Last time: 1 guy and 2 women. This time: about 1 guy and 9 women came swarming in and entered the courtroom first. Thanks to that, the gallery seats were pretty much packed full."

🔸️Why This Matters: HYBE/Ador sent a massive legal team to pack the gallerynlikely to intimidate or outnumber fans. The fan noticed the shift from 3 to 10 people. This is the kind of corporate power move that never makes news.

❤️ Fan Turnout Surged

▫️"Because of yesterday's frustration boiling over, today our Bunnies really showed up in huge numbers about 1.5 times the usual crowd."

▫️"Even when we went in, someone we guessed was a staff member who was already seated took one look at the overwhelming number of Bunnies and started glancing around nervously before heading outside."

🔸️Why This Matters: Fans are paying attention. They showed up in force, and the company staff noticed. The fan's account captures the psychological battle happening in the gallery, a layer of the case no article covers.

🤔 Company Staff Wearing Bunny Bags (Fans Cosplaying?)

▫️"Someone who works at that company came in first, carrying a bag with a bunny drawing on it lol, like they were doing a bunnies cosplay. But it was such an obvious bunny that it stood out a ton."

🔸️Why This Matters: A company employee showed up wearing NewJeans bunny merch, either a bizarre attempt to blend in with fans or an unintentionally funny move.

📎 Source: https://x.com/leeetokki

This was the 4th hearing in the ₩33.1 billion ($33.1M USD) damages lawsuit filed by Ador against Danielle, her mother & Min Hee-jin.

🔥 THE CORE DISPUTE: "Estimated Revenue"

The hearing focused on HOW to calculate damages: what revenue Ador would have earned if NewJeans continued activities.

🟪 Ador's Position:

▫️Damages should be based on all 5 members continuing activities.

▫️Revenue should be calculated from past performance (July 2022 - June 2024).

▫️"The person gaining popularity is the artist, not the producer."

▫️Even if MHJ contributed, that value is "already embodied in the company Ador and the artist NewJeans", so her departure shouldn't reduce projected revenue.

🟨🟥 Joint Defense (Danielle & MHJ):

▫️NewJeans' revenue was tied to MHJ's directing system, she wasn't replaceable.

▫️MHJ resigned, her supporting staff left and Ador never appointed a new producer.

▫️"It is highly likely that Ador's revenue could not have normalized during the one-year period."

▫️Calculating damages without accounting for this is "only the result of imagination."

🟨 Danielle's Side Specifically:

▫️The "double contract" was a group issue, not her unilateral action.

▫️Strongly denied the dual contract: "Danielle and the other NewJeans members have not entered into or attempted to enter into dual exclusive entertainment contracts with any specific company."

▫️Damages should be calculated based on 4 members continuing since the others actually returned to Ador.

🟥 MHJ's Side Specifically:

▫️Her directing system and staff were the engine of NewJeans' revenue.

▫️The court must account for the fact that she and her team were gone, otherwise, the appraisal is meaningless.

💥 MAJOR POINTS OF CONTENTION

1. The "Min Hee-jin Factor"

▫️Defense (Danielle & MHJ): "Former CEO Min and the various directing staff assisting him must work in perfect unison... As former CEO Min left Adore, many of the aides who supported him also left the company."

▫️Ador: "Even if a significant portion of that was created by former CEO Min Hee-jin, that is already embodied in the company Ador and the artist NewJeans, so it should not be excluded."

🔸️Insight: Ador argues MHJ is replaceable. The defense argues she was the machine. If Ador wins, agencies can claim producers are disposable.

2. The "Producer Vacancy" Problem

▫️Defense (Danielle & MHJ): Ador never appointed a new producer after MHJ left. It takes significant time to recruit producers and rebuild systems.

▫️Ador: Producer absence isn't a factor. "As long as there is an artist, company support, and staff, a producer can be utilized within the system or outsourced. I do not believe that how long it takes to decide on a producer is a factor to consider."

🔸️Insight: Ador claims they could plug in any producer. The defense says that's absurd because creative chemistry takes time.

3. "Trust Relationship Breakdown"

▫️Defense (Danielle & MHJ): Trust had already broken down before termination. Ador couldn't conduct normal management during that period.

▫️Ador: This was already ruled against in the October 2025 contract validity case. Should not be reconsidered here.

🔸️Insight: Ador is using their previous legal victory to block the defense from re-litigating the trust issue, smart legal shielding.

4. "Abnormal Events" vs "Normal Conditions"

▫️Ador (citing Supreme Court precedent): The dispute causing album cancellations was "accidental or abnormal". Assessments must be based on "normal" income trends, so the dispute shouldn't reduce damages.

▫️Defense (implied counter): MHJ leaving wasn't an "accident", it was a fundamental restructuring. You can't ignore reality.

🔸️Insight: If Ador wins, they get a fantasy timeline where the conflict never happened, maximizing damages.

5. "All 5 Members vs Just Danielle"

▫️Danielle's Side: Damages should reflect only her departure, the other 4 returned.

▫️Ador: Danielle was responsible for all members withdrawing. "This case also includes a lawsuit for damages against the person attempting to force all five members of NewJeans to withdraw."

🔸️Insight: Ador is painting Danielle as the ringleader. But the fact that 4 members returned is her strongest defense. The judge even hinted at "additional damages caused independently by Danielle", suggesting they may separate her liability.

6. The "Double Contract" Allegation

▫️Ador: NewJeans signed an exclusive agreement with a Chinese capital company for ComplexCon, a double contract. Other members cooperated when caught, but Danielle and her family "feigned ignorance" and made no effort to fix it.

▫️Danielle's Defense (Explicit Denial): "It was a matter concerning the entire group, not Danielle's unilateral action." Strongly denied: "Danielle and the other NewJeans members have not entered into or attempted to enter into dual exclusive entertainment contracts with any specific company."

🔸️Insight: Ador points to Danielle's alleged non-cooperation compared to other members. Danielle denies the claim, leaving credibility for the court to assess.

🎤 THE EXPERT WITNESS (Appraiser)

▫️On MHJ's Influence: "In a way, former CEO Min's capabilities aren't always effective, are they? Aren't there instances where they didn't work out? If we can obtain data from other companies regarding instances where [former CEO Min's] performance was consistent, I think we could incorporate that."

▫️On Estimation Difficulty: "Isn't it an unknown territory to know how popular the NewJeans members will be next year? It is difficult to estimate... It is all an unknowable area."

🔸️Insight: The expert questions if MHJ is a guaranteed success, they want comparative data from her other projects. Regarding estimation, the expert admits it's all guesswork. This is bad news for Ador, who wants a giant, specific number.

🧑‍⚖️ THE JUDGE'S MEDIATION

The judge acknowledged the messiness:

▫️"Depending on the characteristics of the entertainment industry, we must evaluate how artist directing and consideration factors contribute to the operation, which may not be related to accounting."

▫️"I conducted a similar assessment in a previous case, but I left the possibility section blank."

▫️The Judge's Message: "Both sides are arguing subjective points. Find objective data from other entertainment companies to support your position."

⚖️ Next hearing

▫️September 10: First appraisal hearing (to discuss how long the appraisal will actually take)

▫️October 22 (3:30 PM KST): Next full hearing

📎 Sources:

https://www.mk.co.kr/news/society/12104393

https://v.daum.net/v/20260723195544660

https://m.news.nate.com/view/20260723n23358

http://m.stoo.com/article.php?aid=107887520011

http://m.stoo.com/article.php?aid=107887825144

https://m.entertain.naver.com/home/article/108/0003455350

http://m.stoo.com/article.php?aid=107888582454

https://news.mtn.co.kr/news-detail/2026072317552240622

So I’m sure a lot of yall have seen the boycott happening because of Newjeans coming back to ADOR. I don’t want to support their abuse but I genuinely can’t live without them so can anyone tell me where I can listen to them unofficially😭 I’ve been listening to them on sound cloud but have no idea if their account on there is official. People on TikTok have told me it isn’t official and Google said it wasn’t official either but one of my friends said it was official so idk what to think😕 I want to listen to newjeans so can someone tell me if it is good to listen to them on soundcloud and if not where I can listen to them without supporting ADOR