{"id":7251,"date":"2025-12-30T09:40:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T09:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251"},"modified":"2025-12-30T09:40:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T09:40:58","slug":"k-pop-band-breaks-up-after-bitter-feud-with-record-label","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251","title":{"rendered":"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n

Kelly Ng<\/span>and<\/span><\/p>\n

Jake Kwon,<\/span>Seoul correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Watch: ‘Trusting time’ – NewJeans discusses court ruling in record label dispute<\/figcaption><\/p>\n
\n

Chart-topping K-pop band NewJeans is losing one of its members in what is yet another twist in the group’s bitter year-long feud with its record label.<\/p>\n

Ador announced on Monday that they had “terminated” their contract with 20-year-old Danielle Marsh and the return of Minji remains uncertain, leaving the band with three members. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday, local media reported that Ador is suing Danielle, her family member, and ex-boss Min Hee-jin for $32m in damages. None of them have spoken publicly yet. The BBC has reached out to Hybe, Ador’s parent company, for comment.<\/p>\n

Coming less than two months after reports that NewJeans would return to the label as a band of five, this news dashes fans’ hopes of a comeback.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Many took to social media with the slogan: “NewJeans is five or nothing, while others questioned why Danielle was singled out.<\/p>\n

“Does this make any sense??? NewJeans without Danielle isn’t NewJeans. Do you think you can just erase a member this easily? Give us back Danielle,” one wrote in an X post.<\/p>\n

“It’s not fair at all. Free NewJeans [all 5 members],” another wrote on Instagram. “All they wanted to do was to be [artists] and make their fans happy.”<\/p>\n

NewJeans, which became the eighth biggest-selling act in the world a year after their debut in 2022, were seen as a game-changer by critics for their blend of 1990s R&B and sugar-coated pop melodies. <\/p>\n

Then came a dramatic fallout with Ador in 2024, sparked by the controversial dismissal of the agency’s former CEO Min Hee-jin, whom NewJeans regarded as a mentor.<\/p>\n

The move shook the K-pop world, setting off a battle between hugely successful and very young stars – they are between 17 and 21 years of age – and a South Korean entertainment giant, Hybe, which owns Ador.<\/p>\n

NewJeans accused Ador of “mistreatment” and “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation”, then announced they would leave the agency. Ador in turn launched a lawsuit blocking their departure, which it won in October this year. A district court ruled that NewJeans must honour their contract with the label which runs until 2029.<\/p>\n

A month later, local media reports indicated that all five members would return to the agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NewJeans have delivered remarkable success since they debuted in July 2022<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Then in a surprising turn, Ador issued a statement on Monday, saying it would take legal action against a family member of Danielle’s and Min, who founded the label and created NewJeans before her dramatic departure. <\/p>\n

Both of them, Ador claims, “bear significant responsibility” for the fallout between the agency and the K-pop group. <\/p>\n

Monday’s statement did not mention a lawsuit against Danielle, saying only that Ador had decided it was difficult to continue working with her, and told her they would be ending the contract. <\/p>\n

Ador also claimed that NewJeans’ members had been “exposed to persistently distorted and biased information” which led to “significant misunderstandings” about the label.<\/p>\n

That statement named two other NewJeans members: Hanni, who it said decided to remain with the label after “extended conversations” which included her family, and Minji, who is still in “ongoing conversations” with the agency.<\/p>\n

It’s been a whirlwind for fans, especially since Ador initially announced in November that only two members, Hyein and Haerin, would return to the agency, sparking fears the group would split up.<\/p>\n

These fears were allayed when Hanni, Danielle and Minji said in a separate statement hours later that they too would return – but only for a short time, as it turns out. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ador announced on Monday would terminate its contract with NewJeans member Danielle Marsh<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

“NewJeans is a very important group that changed the world of female K-pop acts. For the music listeners and fans, it has been the hope to see their return as a full five-member team. That’s no longer possible,” music critic Lim Hee-yun told the BBC, adding that this outcome would not “make anyone happy”.<\/p>\n

Mr Lim believes Ador would be pressured to recruit new members into the group, especially if Minji also leaves the label.<\/p>\n

It is hard for three-member groups to find success in the K-pop industry, where fans pay close attention to the relationships and chemistry between members.<\/p>\n

Danielle’s future as a musician is also uncertain.<\/p>\n

“Not only will there be a large part of the public that see her negatively [because of this controversy], but the record labels will too… She might need to pursue being a solo act as an actor, model, or an influencer,” Mr Lim said.<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Leehyun Choi and Hosu Lee in Seoul<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kelly Ngand Jake Kwon,Seoul correspondent Watch: ‘Trusting time’ – NewJeans discusses court ruling in record label dispute Chart-topping K-pop band NewJeans is losing one of its members in what is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[2794,310,837,6169,8243,8244,1022],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nK-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ador says it has dropped NewJeans member Danielle Marsh while the return of Minji remains uncertain.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label - Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ador says it has dropped NewJeans member Danielle Marsh while the return of Minji remains uncertain.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-30T09:40:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FriscoTimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FriscoTimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a19164ce1d831906a076fe0ad133471f\"},\"headline\":\"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-30T09:40:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251\"},\"wordCount\":799,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Band\",\"Bitter\",\"breaks\",\"feud\",\"Kpop\",\"label\",\"record\"],\"articleSection\":[\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251\",\"name\":\"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label - Frisco Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-30T09:40:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ador says it has dropped NewJeans member Danielle Marsh while the return of Minji remains uncertain.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":576},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\",\"name\":\"Frisco Times\",\"description\":\"Your Gateway to San Francisco's Stories\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Frisco Times\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Frisco Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/FriscoTimes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/friscotimes\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a19164ce1d831906a076fe0ad133471f\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e5ed783f9b26be57eee85bf9b23488a?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e5ed783f9b26be57eee85bf9b23488a?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label - Frisco Times","description":"Ador says it has dropped NewJeans member Danielle Marsh while the return of Minji remains uncertain.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label - Frisco Times","og_description":"Ador says it has dropped NewJeans member Danielle Marsh while the return of Minji remains uncertain.","og_url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251","og_site_name":"Frisco Times","article_published_time":"2025-12-30T09:40:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FriscoTimes","twitter_site":"@FriscoTimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a19164ce1d831906a076fe0ad133471f"},"headline":"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label","datePublished":"2025-12-30T09:40:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251"},"wordCount":799,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg","keywords":["Band","Bitter","breaks","feud","Kpop","label","record"],"articleSection":["World"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251","name":"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label - Frisco Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-30T09:40:58+00:00","description":"Ador says it has dropped NewJeans member Danielle Marsh while the return of Minji remains uncertain.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/aaf57e70-e499-11f0-9890-3187c4f9b06f.jpg","width":1024,"height":576},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=7251#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"K-pop band breaks up after bitter feud with record label"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/","name":"Frisco Times","description":"Your Gateway to San Francisco's Stories","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization","name":"Frisco Times","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Frisco Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/FriscoTimes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/friscotimes\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/a19164ce1d831906a076fe0ad133471f","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e5ed783f9b26be57eee85bf9b23488a?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e5ed783f9b26be57eee85bf9b23488a?s=96&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org"],"url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}