The New Black

* WT1
* WN1

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> “둘 셋, 안녕하세요. 뉴블랙입니다!”
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> "Two, three. Hello, we're The New Black!"
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**The New Black** (TNB) is a 5-member boy group under Lemon Entertainment. They officially debuted on June 19, 2014 with their title track "꽃불 (Fireworks)" from their first title album, First Chapter.

In 2015, they were hailed as the "3rd generation's representative".  As of Chapter x, they have reached numerous milestones. They are currently hailed as the "National Idol" and "Global Superstars".

## Background

Initially, Lemon Entertainment planned a 7-member boy group (temporarily referred to as 'Lemon Boys'), but their debut was delayed for two years after one member left and two members were released. Woojoo was the last member to join the group in November 2013.

The group name 'The New Black' was suggested by Jiho after seeing the term on Woojoo's K-Mart sweatshirt. The New Black is a colloquialism that originated in the fashion industry. It is used to describe a trend. "Where at one point black was a fashionable color in clothes, and the next color to become fashionable was referred to as "the new black".

Since their debut, the title tracks were produced and composed by Woojoo. Leehyuk and Joonghyun participates in writing the lyrics, with the occasional participation of Bijoo and Jiho. Joonghyun composes their hip-hop tracks.

### Image

Befitting of belonging to an agency specialising in actors, the members have great visuals enough to obtain the main visual position in other idol groups. Consequently, Lemon executives planned to pursue mysticism. However, the members excelled too much in entertainment shows to the point that well-known comedians considered them as part of their own. Eventually, the executives scrapped their plan and began their pursuit to claiming the 'Nation's Idol', a title that hasn't been claimed since SNH's Daylight, a 2nd generation girl group that debuted in 2006.

Two years after their debut, they were hailed as the "3rd generation's idol group representative" and later on as "Korea's National Idol".

## Chemistry

Prior to their debut, the agency was worried about the lack of cohesiveness among the members since their individual colours and personalities were too strong. Their worries were resolved once Woojoo was added to the debut group. Thanks to his leadership, they were able to combine their colours and support their strengths and weaknesses. A reporter once said this about their teamwork:

> "After a few conversations, I understood the structure of their group. They're subcontracting the brain. It was a structure in which each person was in charge of his talents and entrusted the judgment to the group's leader."
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TNB managers and Lemon Employees would often joke around saying, "they're weak when united but strong when alone." Current Lemon trainees have also adopted the same system, claiming that the "wisest" member (not the oldest or smartest) should lead the team to ensure harmony among the members. It is important to note that Woojoo was supposed to be the leader of TNT even though he belonged to the "maknae line" of the debut group.

**Skill ranking:**

* **Vocal line:** Leehyuk 💙, Woojoo 💜, Bijoo 💛, Jiho ❤️ ( - Junghyun 💚, rapper)
* **Dance line:** Bijoo 💛, Woojoo 💜, Junghyun 💚, Jiho ❤️, Leehyuk 💙
* **Rap line:** Junghyun 💚, Woojoo 💜, Jiho ❤️ (? Bijoo 💛, Leehyuk 💙)
* **Acting line:** Jiho ❤️, Woojoo 💜, Bijoo💛, Leehyuk 💙, Junghyun 💚
* **Composition line:** Woojoo 💜, Junghyun 💚, Leehyuk 💙, Bijoo 💛 (- Jiho ❤️)
* **Visual line:** 💜💛💚💙❤️ (everyone)
* **Entertainment line:** 💜💛💚💙❤️ (everyone)

**When it comes to:**

* **Entertainment:** Woojoo and Junghyun excelled in using their bodies (sports and body-gags), Bijoo for his mentoring and cooking skills, Leehyuk for his intelligence and Jiho for his wit and energy.
* **Music:** Woojoo and Junghyun produces and composes, Bijoo choreographs, Leehyuk writes the lyrics, and Jiho for artistic directions
* **Plan-making:** Bijoo wants to do everything together, Junghyun doesn't plan at all, Leehyuk writes dozens of detailed plans, Jiho likes to do anything, and Woojoo acts as the mediator.

**Official and unofficial sub-units:**

* **Woobiz:** Woojoo + Bijoo (Official, 2018)
* **BiLeeHo:** Bijoo + Leehyuk + Jiho (Unofficial)
* **SamBlack:** Junghyun + Leehyuk + Jiho (Unofficial)

**Roommates:**

* **First dorm:**
* **Second dorm:** Woojoo + Jiho | Bijoo + Leehyuk | Junghyun
	+ Room 1103, 11th floor of Building 101
	+ Spacious kitchen, two bathrooms
	+ Rigged draw lots due to Junghyun's snoring
* **Third dorm:** individual rooms with their personal spaces
	+ Moved after saesang invaded their previous dorm
	+ One floor above Teen Spirit
	+ Woojoo's recording studio, Bijoo's kitchen, Junghyun's gym, Leehyuk's spacious living room (+ cleaning equipment) and Jiho's game room

**Group quirks:**

* Whenever they're stressed, they have a "secret" habit of eating chocolate at the fire exit of the company. However, everyone in the company knows about it, indulging them like little children hiding from their parents.
* They removed the clocks in their practice room to ensure longer practice times. Scarlett and Lemon trainees did the same.

**Combinations:**

* performance duo
* naggers of the team
 **💜+💚** | * rapper duo
* blessed by entertainment gods
* outdated pop culture references
 **💜+💙** | * vocal duo
* black history contributors #1 and #2
* multilingual
 **💜+❤️** | * acting duo
* eldest and maknae
 **💛+💚** | * best friends (pre-debut)
* peacemakers until they're e/os opponent
 **💛+💙** | * cleaning fairies
* weakest members
 **💛+❤️** | * the spontaneous duo (every/anything)
 **💚+💙** | * survival duo (instinct v. preparation)
 **💙+❤️** | * maknae line
* rich line
* bickering line

## Discography

> Main article: Discography
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**ALBUMS**

* First Chapter (2014) - 1st single album
* Five Colors: The Red (2014) - 1st mini album
* Yellow, the Color of Sunshine (2015) - 2nd mini album
* Nine (2015) - 3rd mini album
* Blue Winter (2015) - 1st special album
* 낙화(落花) / Falling Flower (2016) - 4th mini album
* Deep Black (2016) - 1st full-length album
* 도깨비 / Goblin (2017) - 2nd special album
* Coin (2017) - 2nd full-length album
* Stationery (2017) - 2nd mixtape by Sweet Potato (Joonghyun)
* Midnight Sun (2018) - 3rd full-length album
* WAVE (2018)- 1st digital album by Woobiz (Woojoo and Bijoo sub-unit)
* Taste: Flavor (2018) - TBR (English album)

**Singles, OSTs and Collaborations**

* Something (2014) - Jang Sowon x TNB; collab; [Wishful Thinking] album, Jang Sowon
* Between (2014) - Jang Sowon x TNB; collab; digital track
* 밤바다/Night Sea (2014) - Leehyuk and Woojoo; digital track
* Starlight (2014) - New Black; fan song; digital track
* 어제에 관한 시(詩)/A Poem About Yesterday (2015) - New Black; <Sleep> drama, OST
* Thousand Dreams (2015) - New Black; <Nostalgia> movie, OST
* Blue Moon (2016) - Haley Blue feat. New Black; collab; digital track (English)
* METRO (2017) - New Black; digital track (English)
* Answer (2018) - Cold Brown and Woojoo; collab; digital track
* Uncle Bunny (2018) - T
* Like The Sun (Sun Ver.) (2018) - Woojoo (

## Filmography

> Main article: Filmography
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## Performances

> Main article: Performances
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## Quotes about New Black

* - “Because you live a boring life. There was such a thing. These are kids who sleep in the dorm because they don’t know what to do on holidays. I'm already living a boring life, but I think it's not humane to even steal my cell phone... … .” (159) Seokhwan There was a story like that. They sleep in the accommodation because they don't know what to do on holidays. Isn't it humanly wrong to take away your cell phone when you're already boring…….”
* They are fairies only in face, but monsters in heart.' - Woojoo on members 159
* When asked about what they would do on their day-off: Jiho wants to play games; Bijoo wants to visit a famous cafe; Junghyun wnats to tend on his garden; Woojoo wants to lie down and listen to music all day; and Leehyuk wants to go to a bookstore and buy a book. (159)
* "The director said, 'Our children's daily life these days is a sitcom. Take a picture of it and upload it.' 166 Manager Mingyu?

## References

1. ↑ Episode 258
2. ↑ the new black - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
3. ↑ Episode 173
4. ↑ Episode 1111
5. ↑ Episode 1109
6. ↑ Episode 1006
7. ↑ Episode 255
8. ↑ Episode 1021
9. ↑ Episode 172
10. ↑ Episode 233
11. ↑ Episode 151
12. ↑ Episode 162
13. ↑ Episode 174 | Kyunghee University Peace Hall
14. ↑ Episode 185 | A/N: Is it based on Hanteo Music Awards since it was held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium?
15. ↑ Episode 193 | 'January 28th. At the last music awards ceremony, we accomplished the feat of winning the rookie award again. 5 crowns. Except for KMA, where we didn't even qualify for, it was like receiving the rookie award at all awards ceremonies we participated in.'