[NewJeans] - 'Hype Boy': Unraveling the Multi-Verse of First Loves (4 Member MVs Explained)

Okay so... can we talk about how NewJeans literally broke the internet with their debut? "Hype Boy" wasn't just another comeback—it was like they handed us four different keys to the same story and said "figure it out." And honestly? We loved every second of it. Each member got their own mini-movie about crushing on these boys who turned out to be... well, let's just say not what we expected. Buckle up because we're diving deep into all four versions and trust me, the connections are *chef's kiss*.

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Table of Contents (Find Your Story)

1. Quick Summary: The Vibe Check
2. Credits
3. The Stories You See on Screen (A Multi-Verse Explained)
4. Lyrics & meaning
5. Behind the Scenes & Visual Insights
6. Fan Takeaways
7. Frequently Asked Questions (Q&A)
8. Sources & Technical Data

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Quick Summary: The Vibe Check

Here’s the thing about “Hype Boy”—it’s basically NewJeans saying “what if we made falling in love feel like a choose-your-own-adventure game?” Four different music videos, four different perspectives, but they all connect in the most satisfying way. You’ve got Danielle and Haerin dealing with the same two-timing basketball boy, Minji watching her lime-haired crush become a walking red flag, Hyein simping for an artsy boy who literally doesn’t notice she exists, and Hanni chasing her dancer dreams. It’s messy, it’s real, and it’s exactly what young love feels like. The best part? They all realize friendship matters more than these boys ever did.

Credits

The Stories You See on Screen (A Multi-Verse Explained)

So ADOR really said “let’s make K-pop fans work for it” and dropped four separate MVs on the same day. Genius? Absolutely. Confusing at first? Also yes. But once you start connecting the dots, it’s honestly brilliant how everything weaves together.

DANIELLE & HAERIN ver. (The Basketball Boy Saga)

This one hits different because you’re watching two friends slowly realize they’re being played. Both girls are crushing on the same guy at this pool party—he’s got that classic “I’m athletic and charming” energy going on. He gives them both red heart candies (smooth move, buddy), and for a hot minute, they’re both falling for it.

But here’s where it gets good: they catch on. Maybe it’s the way he’s working the same moves on both of them, or maybe they just compared notes. Either way, these two go from potential love rivals to detective partners real quick. They end up pranking him because honestly? He deserved it. The whole thing is basically a masterclass in “sisters before misters,” and I’m here for it.

MINJI ver. (Lime Hair, Don’t Care)

Minji’s story is painfully relatable if you’ve ever tried too hard to impress a crush. This boy has bright lime-green hair—super distinctive, right? So she goes and matches her nail polish to it because that’s what you do when you’re in deep. Cute gesture, very “I notice you.”

Plot twist: he dyes his hair hot pink.

Now she’s sitting there with lime nails and a pink-haired boy, and if that’s not a metaphor for young love, I don’t know what is. But wait, there’s more! He draws something cute on her hand (heart eyes moment), but then she spots that his entire arm is covered with other people’s names. Including Hanni’s. Yep, this boy is out here collecting hearts like Pokémon cards. Minji’s face when she realizes? Priceless. Sometimes the fantasy crashes hard into reality, and this MV captures that gut-punch perfectly.

HYEIN ver. (The Invisible Girl Complex)

Oh man, Hyein’s version physically hurts to watch because we’ve ALL been there. She’s crushing on this quiet, artistic boy who’s always sketching—let’s call him Picasso Boy. He’s in his own world, completely absorbed in his drawings. And Hyein? She’s trying everything.

The background literally moves backward in time while she’s focused on him, which is such a cool visual way to show how time stops when you’re looking at your crush. She tries to help when he drops his inhaler. She sends him a selfie (brave move). His response? Basically crickets.

The ending kills me though. She invites him to watch her perform—probably spent days hyping herself up for it—and when she looks for him in the crowd, he’s wearing VR glasses. Not even watching. Just… off in virtual reality while she’s pouring her heart out on stage. If you’ve ever performed for someone who didn’t show up (physically or mentally), you felt that moment.

HANNI ver. (Plot Twist: It’s Not Even Romance)

Hanni’s story threw everyone for a loop because it’s not really about a crush—it’s about admiration and ambition. She discovers this talented dancer online (the “No Face Dancer” because, well, he doesn’t show his face in videos), and she becomes obsessed with learning from him. She’s practicing constantly, dreaming about joining his crew.

There’s this really cool dream sequence where she imagines him reaching out his hand to her, and his name floats around in this virtual space. It’s less “I want to date you” and more “I want to BE you” energy.

When they finally meet and he reveals his face? It’s the boy from the pool party in Danielle and Haerin’s video. Mind. Blown. Suddenly all these separate stories are part of the same universe, and you realize ADOR was playing 4D chess with our emotions this whole time.

The way these MVs interconnect is actually insane. The boys show up in each other’s stories. You’ll catch the basketball boy in the background of another video, or spot the lime-haired guy (or pink-haired, depending on when you’re watching). It’s like ADOR created this whole ecosystem of teenage experiences—the good, the bad, the cringe, the growth—and let us explore it from every angle.

Lyrics & meaning

What the Song’s Actually Saying

“Hype Boy” is that moment when you’re SO into someone that you convince yourself you just get them on a deeper level. You know, that “‘Cause I know what you like, boy / You’re my chemical hype boy” line? That’s the classic “we have a special connection” delusion we’ve all had at 2 AM thinking about our crush.

The lyrics walk this interesting line between confidence and vulnerability. They’re not shy about expressing feelings—there’s something refreshing about that directness—but there’s also this underlying current of “please notice me, please feel the same way.” It’s bold and uncertain at the same time, which honestly? That’s exactly what crushing feels like.

What makes it hit different is that each MV adds its own flavor to these lyrics. The same words mean something slightly different when you’re watching Hyein desperately trying to get noticed versus Danielle and Haerin realizing they’re being played. The song becomes a different experience depending on whose story you’re following.

Why That Hook Won’t Leave Your Brain

Let’s talk about why you were humming this for weeks after first hearing it. That “‘Cause I know what you like, boy / You’re my chemical hype boy” hook is engineered to stick. Danielle and Haerin lead the chorus, and their vocal textures playing off each other create this dynamic that just… works.

But here’s what’s clever: the song builds this tension in the pre-chorus, and you’re expecting some massive EDM drop, right? Nope. Instead, you get this softer, pulsing future-bass moment that kind of washes over you. It’s not aggressive—it’s dreamy and hazy, like remembering a summer night where something almost happened. That restraint is what makes it memorable. The hard drops are everywhere in K-pop; this gentle wave? That’s what made people stop scrolling.

The whole sound screams “summer poolside at sunset”—synth-pop with bubblegum sweetness and those subtle moombahton grooves. It’s the musical equivalent of that golden hour filter everyone uses on Instagram. And it works because it taps into something universal about youth and possibility and those moments that feel infinite even though they’re not.

Also, can we appreciate that Hanni helped write the lyrics for their DEBUT track? Having an actual member’s perspective baked into the song from day one gave it this authenticity that fans connected with immediately. It’s not some 40-year-old songwriter trying to imagine what teenage girls feel like—it’s actual teenage girls telling their story.

Behind the Scenes & Visual Insights

Okay, so the rollout strategy was legitimately wild. They dropped “Attention” first—no warning, no member introductions, just “here’s a song, figure out who we are.” Everyone’s scrambling trying to identify the members, and theories are flying everywhere.

Then BAM. Next day. Four music videos. FOUR.

I remember the chaos in real-time. Fans didn’t know which one to watch first. Do you pick your bias? Watch them in order? The comments sections were going crazy trying to figure out how the stories connected. And that was exactly the point—ADOR basically turned their debut into an interactive puzzle.

It’s called “reverse-tracking” apparently. By making fans go back to “Attention” to connect the dots, they guaranteed everyone would watch everything multiple times. Views go up, engagement goes up, and fans feel like they’re discovering something rather than being told. Pretty smart for a rookie group that nobody had heard of 48 hours earlier.

The production details are where you see how much thought went into this. Each MV has its own visual style—Danielle and Haerin’s has this playful investigation vibe, Hyein’s feels more melancholic and dreamy, Minji’s is subtle in how it shows her emotional journey. They could’ve just filmed four versions of the same video, but instead, they created four distinct short films that happen to share a universe.

And that soft future-bass drop we talked about? In the behind-the-scenes context, that choice creates a “signature sound” that sticks with you long after the song ends. It’s not trying to blow your eardrums out—it’s trying to live in your head rent-free. Mission accomplished.

The whole thing transformed “Hype Boy” from a song into an experience. You weren’t just listening to a track—you were entering the NewJeans universe, picking your path, and slowly realizing all the paths converge. That’s not just music marketing; that’s storytelling.

Fan Takeaways

Let’s be real: “Hype Boy” didn’t just become a hit—it became a whole cultural moment. For fans (myself included, not gonna lie), getting four different MVs felt like ADOR actually cared about giving us content. Not just “here’s a song, bye,” but “here are four different entry points into our world, pick your favorite.”

I spent hours going back and forth between the videos, pausing to spot the boys in different scenes, reading theories on Twitter about who was who and when everything happened chronologically. The fandom basically became a collective detective agency, and it was so much fun. You’d see posts like “WAIT in Minji’s version at 1:23 you can see Basketball Boy in the background!!” and everyone would lose their minds.

The TikTok challenge blew up globally, which made the whole thing even bigger. Suddenly people who didn’t even follow K-pop were doing the choreography, and that brought more people into the NewJeans universe. It created this snowball effect where the innovative MV strategy led to social media virality which led to chart success which led to more people checking out the MVs.

When NME ranked it the #1 K-pop song of 2022, fans felt vindicated because we’d been saying this since day one. Sometimes the charts and critics take a while to catch up to what fans already know.

But honestly? Beyond the numbers and accolades, “Hype Boy” is special because it made the debut feel personal. Every fan has their favorite version, their favorite storyline, their own interpretation of how everything connects. It’s the rare K-pop release where you can return months later and notice something new. That’s the kind of replay value that turns casual listeners into dedicated fans.

Plus—and I think this matters—the themes are just so relatable. Everyone’s been the person who liked someone who didn’t like them back (Hyein’s version), or realized someone wasn’t who you thought they were (Minji’s version), or had to choose friendship over a boy (Danielle and Haerin’s version). These stories aren’t fantasy—they’re real experiences wrapped in incredible production value.

Frequently Asked Questions (Q&A)

What was the unique MV release strategy for NewJeans' 'Hype Boy'?

NewJeans released 'Hype Boy' with four separate narrative music videos, each focusing on a specific member or duo (Danielle&Haerin, Minji, Hyein, Hanni). This innovative multi-MV approach allowed fans to choose their viewing order and piece together the overarching story of youthful crushes from different perspectives, enhancing engagement and making their debut uniquely immersive.

How do the different 'Hype Boy' member MVs connect?

The individual member MVs are intricately connected through shared characters (the 'Hype Boys') and overarching themes. For instance, the 'Basketball Boy' in Danielle & Haerin's MV also appears in other stories, and the 'No Face Dancer' in Hanni's MV is revealed to be a character from another member's narrative. These connections create a cohesive, interconnected storyline, showing how the girls' different experiences with crushes are part of a larger, shared journey.

What is the main theme explored across all 'Hype Boy' MVs?

The central theme of all 'Hype Boy' MVs is the universal experience of youthful crushes and the tension between ideal expectations and real-life outcomes. Each MV explores different facets of this theme, from the excitement of a new crush and the heartbreak of unrequited love to the strengthening of friendships through shared experiences of navigating romantic feelings.

Sources & Technical Data

Credible Sources

• NewJeans (뉴진스) 'Hype Boy' Official MV (DANIELLE&HAERIN ver.)
• NewJeans (뉴진스) 'Hype Boy' Official MV (MINJI ver.)
• NewJeans (뉴진스) 'Hype Boy' Official MV (HYEIN ver.)
• NewJeans (뉴진스) 'Hype Boy' Official MV (HANNI ver.)
• Wikipedia: 하이프 보이 (Hype Boy)