The ascendent K-pop girl group NewJeans returned yesterday with “Ditto,” their fifth song since debuting this summer via ADOR, a subsidiary label of the entertainment giant HYBE. The single quickly topped a number of Korean charts and made the Genius Top Songs chart twice, as both the original song page (which is part Korean, part English) and the full English translation landed inside the Top 20.
“Ditto” is the first taste of NewJeans’ forthcoming debut single album, OMG, and it’s meant to signal a seasonally appropriate vibe shift after the effervescent tunes the group released in August on their self-titled debut EP. “If the debut album showcased NewJeans’ summer, this single album will be one that showcases NewJeans’ winter,” said ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin in a statement. Sure enough, “Ditto” has a laid-back (if twitchy) dance sound that nods to Baltimore club and a set of lyrics that find the five ladies of NewJeans looking for some reciprocation from their crushes.
Group member Minji grabs a writing credit on “Ditto,” alongside Oohyo, The Black Skirts, 250, and Ylva Dimberg. Minji’s bandmate Hanni takes the first chorus and begs to know where she stands, romantically speaking. Here are the lyrics, translated fully into English:
Stay in the middle
Like you a little, don’t want no riddle
Say it, say it back, oh, say it ditto
Can’t wait ’til the morning, so say it, ditto
In the first verse, group member Haerin references the passage of time. She’s been into this person for roughly as long as NewJeans have been an active group.
My feelings for you
Like the memories we share
Have grown so big
Summer’s already gone and it’s autumn
Been waiting all this time
Hyein steps in for the pre-chorus and tries to capture in words the sound of her racing heart.
I got no time to lose
I had a long day
I miss you
Ra-ta-ta-ta echoes my heart (Ra-ta-ta-ta)
“Ditto” arrived with two music videos (“side A” and “side B”), both of which boast a fuzzy camcorder aesthetic reminiscent of the pre-smartphone era.
After you watch both clips, read all the lyrics (translated or not) to “Ditto” on Genius.
