NewJeans member Hanni has shown her huge influence on Spotify with a recent cover performance at Tokyo Dome.

On July 22, Spotify revealed that streams for Matsuda Seiko's ‘Aoi San-Show’ (Blue Coral Reef) soared by about 530% after Hanni’s cover at Tokyo Dome.

NewJeans held their ‘Bunnies Camp 2024 Tokyo Dome’ fan meeting on June 26 and 27. During the event, Hani’s cover of Matsuda Seiko’s ‘Blue Coral Reef’ caught a lot of attention, causing a major spike in streams of the original song on Spotify.

The 1980 hit by Japanese artist Matsuda Seiko saw a remarkable 530% increase in streams in the week following Hanni's performance.

Currently, NewJeans has around 17.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify and has racked up billions of streams. Over the past month, Tokyo, Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Taipei had the most streams of NewJeans’ music, while the top countries were the United States, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brazil.

Spotify is also celebrating NewJeans' second anniversary with a global campaign. They’ve added special audio messages from the members to the ‘This is NewJeans’ playlist and are offering share card images for fans who have streamed their music the most, so they can show off their achievements on social media.

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Actress Lim Ji Yeon is finally opening up about the unexpected backlash she received after showing support for actor Jung Woo Sung during his controversial return to the public eye.

In an interview on January 23rd, following the end of her drama The Tale of Lady Ok, Lim Ji Yeon spoke candidly about the situation that caused a stir at the 45th Blue Dragon Film Awards in November last year.

At the event, Jung Woo Sung made his public return after facing controversy surrounding an “illegitimate child” with model Moon Ga Bi. While Jung Woo Sung took the stage to apologize, Lim Ji Yeon was seen clapping and cheering for him.

Reflecting on that moment, Lim Ji Yeon shared, "It was a brief moment, so it’s hard to say whether it was right or wrong." She added, "I didn’t expect the public’s reaction. On the other hand, I was cautious since The Tale of Lady Ok was airing at the time."

For those who missed it, Jung Woo Sung and Moon Ga Bi, who had been in a relationship since 2022, revealed last year that they were expecting a child.

The actor took full responsibility for the situation and issued an apology during the awards ceremony, saying, "I’m sorry for causing concern and disappointment to everyone who has shown me love and support. I will bear all the criticism, and I promise to take full responsibility as a father to my son".

However, while Jung Woo Sung addressed the controversy, it was Lim Ji Yeon’s show of support that sparked controversy.

She cheered enthusiastically for Jung Woo Sung, while actress Hye Ri, who was seated next to her, kept a neutral, expressionless face. This led to a wave of criticism from some netizens who questioned Lim Ji Yeon’s reaction.

It’s worth noting that Lim Ji Yeon’s agency, Artist Company, was co-founded by Jung Woo Sung and actor Lee Jung Jae, both of whom currently serve as directors.

Could this connection have influenced Lim Ji Yeon’s public display of support? She’s still processing the response, and fans are curious to know how she’ll handle the fallout moving forward.

Source: [1]