In March 2024, when the K-pop girl group NewJeans was awarded group of the year at Billboard 's Women in Music event, the crew was presented the honor by the unlikeliest of advocates: country star Lainey Wilson , who hinted at the distance between their respective worlds and this rare opportunity to bridge them. "It's a place where a gal who grew up in a small farming community in Louisiana gets to shine a light on an incredible group of K-pop performers from halfway across the globe," she said, applause roaring out before the group's name was even spoken. Indeed, the prized pony of ADOR, a sub-label of the juggernaut K-pop company HYBE, had spent the previous year affirming itself as an exciting next step in the genre's evolution. Billboard felt like the perfect American instituti

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