How Sweet
Five girls, one golden afternoon, and the sweetest pop song of the summer.
"How Sweet" is a bright, sun-drenched single by the five-member K-pop group NewJeans, released in 2023 under the ADOR label. It lands in the discography as a moment of pure, uncomplicated joy—a deliberate exhale after the high-octane confidence of the preceding era. Where earlier tracks leaned into swagger, attitude, or bittersweet longing, "How Sweet" strips the narrative down to something almost childlike: the feeling of a warm afternoon, a cold drink in hand, and no reason to be anything but happy.
For fans, the song functions as a palate cleanser within the group's broader story. It doesn't argue, doesn't plead, doesn't demand attention. It simply is—sweet, light, and infectious. In the fan-community lexicon it became shorthand for a particular mood: the unguarded, golden-hour happiness that NewJeans seems to channel most naturally.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- NewJeans
- Language
- English, Korean
- B-side
- Bubble Gum
- Released
- 24 May 2024
- Genre
- Miami bass
- electropop
- electroclash
- Length
- 3:39
- Label
- ADOR
- Composer
- 250; Sarah Aarons; Elvira Anderfjärd; Oscar Scheller; Stella Bennett; Tove Burman
Facts from the source article.
Background
In the NewJeans narrative, "How Sweet" occupies a specific emotional register that the group rarely visits: total, unselfconscious delight. The preceding era had asked the members to stand tall, to command a room, to project an almost defiant self-assurance. "How Sweet" asks them to simply be—to let the sun hit their faces and let the music do the rest. The production leans into bright synths, bouncy rhythms, and vocal textures that feel like laughter caught mid-syllable. There is no villain, no heartbreak, no dramatic turn. The entire world of the song is a single, perfect, extended moment.
The choreography and visual treatment reinforce this. Bright pastels, open spaces, playful physicality—nothing is performed at the viewer; everything is performed with them, as if the camera is just another friend at the barbecue. Fans describe the experience as stepping into a daydream where the only obligation is to smile.
Within the group's internal dynamic, the track gives each member a space to be soft without being fragile. It is sweetness without saccharine excess, joy without the implication that something darker lurks beneath. In a discography that often oscillates between confidence and vulnerability, "How Sweet" is the rare third option: pure, unburied, and entirely in the present tense.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How Sweet | Gigi, Sarah Aarons, Elvira Anderfjärd, Oscar Scheller, Stella Bennett, Tove Burman, Danielle, 250, Aarons, Anderfjärd, Scheller, Bennett, Burman | 3:39 |
| 2 | Bubble Gum | Gigi, Oscar Bell, Sophie Simmons, 250, Bell, Simmons | 3:20 |
| 3 | How Sweet (Instrumental) | 250, Aarons, Anderfjärd, Scheller, Bennett, Burman | 3:39 |
| 4 | Bubble Gum (Instrumental) | 250, Bell, Simmons | 3:20 |
| Total length | 13:58 | ||
Track listing from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The song's visual aesthetic leans heavily into pastel tones and open, sunlit spaces, a deliberate contrast to the darker, more atmospheric visuals of NewJeans' earlier singles.
- Within the group's 2023 release cycle, "How Sweet" functions as a tonal reset—shifting from the assertive, high-energy register of the preceding era to something softer and more playful.
- Fan communities often pair the song with summer content, golden-hour edits, and "aesthetic mood board" posts, treating it as the unofficial soundtrack to a perfect lazy afternoon.
- The track's production favors bright, rounded synth textures and bouncy rhythmic patterns, giving it a distinctly bubblegum-pop quality that sets it apart from the group's more atmospheric or bass-driven releases.
More in Songs & Singles
Elsewhere in NewJeans
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