K-pop group NewJeans, now known as NJZ, announced during a show at ComplexCon Hong Kong yesterday that they would be going on hiatus.
It was the first time NJZ appeared together since a Seoul Court granted the band’s management company ADOR — whom they’ve been in a prolonged dispute with since mid-2024 — a preliminary injunction blocking the girl group from “organizing their own appearances and conducting any independent activities".
During the show, the group debuted a new song entitled 'Pit Stop'. Subsequently, they addressed their fans (Bunnies) in English and Korean.
“This stage means so much to us and every single one of you who gives us strength just by being here,” Hanni and Dani said. “It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment."
The speech concluded an hour-long headlining set in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 11,000 fans at the AsiaWorld Expo Arena, Hong Kong’s largest live music venue. The set was mostly composed of R&B covers including TLC’s 'No Scrubs' from Dani, UPSAHL’s 'Smile For The Camera' from Minji, 'Dontcha' from Haerin, SWV’s 'Use Your Heart' from Hyein, and Ghost Town DJ’s 'My Boo' from Hanni.
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Read Hanni and Dani’s full statement below.
“This stage means so much to us and every single one of you who gives us strength just by being here. It is really hard for us to say this, but this might be our last performance for a little while. Out of respect for the court’s decision, we’ve decided to pause all our activities for now. It wasn’t an easy decision, but we believe this is something we need to do at this moment.
Honestly, we’ve known from the start that this journey wasn’t going to be easy and even though we accept the court’s ruling and this whole process, we had to speak up to protect the values that we believe in, and that was a choice that we don’t regret at all. We surely believe that standing up for our dignity, our rights and everything we deeply care about is something we had to do, and that belief will not change.
We understand and know that today’s news might be disappointing or upsetting but it was not an easy decision for us to make either. But at the moment for us, it’s about protecting ourselves so that we can come back even stronger.
There was a lot that we had to go through … things that really we only know about. But even [through] all that, there are so many things that we wanted to share with you guys and so many fun plans that we are excited to announce. But right now, though, it feels too hard to keep going at this pace, and as strong as we are trying to stay, it has honestly taken a bit of mental and emotional toll on us. However, this doesn’t mean that we are going to give up. We will keep pushing forward no matter what, and coming to Hong Kong and receiving all this love and support from you guys at ComplexCon gave us so much strength.
Right now, our hearts are a little bit worn out, and it feels a bit too hard to keep going at this pace. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to give up; we’re going to keep going. With this decision we’ve made, we’re respecting the court’s decision, and for now, it’s just us taking a step back to pause, take a breath and gather our hearts and ourselves before moving forward.
To everybody who has been believing in us and supporting us through everything from the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and we love you so, so, so, so much, and we can’t express how grateful we are, and we promise, no matter what the circumstances we will meet again soon.”
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