Aespa Drops New Music Video ‘Next Level’
Aespa made their first comeback with “Next Level” on May 17. The group held a press conference with Soompi on the same day discussing their new avatars, the filming process of the music video, the concept of the new song, and how they feel about the comeback. Aespa’s teaser for “Next Level” which was released on May 15 has exceeded more than four million views. SM Entertainment teased the appearance of the group’s avatars, which are a huge part of Aespa’s identity. When the concept for the group was released, SM Entertainment introduced virtual avatars that would be paired up to each live member. Their company is beginning to move Aespa towards a virtual platform with the addition of more avatars as members.
The four-member group debuted on November 17, 2020, around the same time that many other rookie groups debuted such as ENHYPEN and Treasure. SM Entertainment is better known for its inclusion of idols from many different Asain-rooted origins. One of their primary groups, NCT, has Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Asian-American members. The creation of Aespa followed suit with two non-Korean members: Giselle, who is both Korean and Japanese, and Ning Ning who is Chinese. Aespa’s makeup is very similar to Blackpink, another four-member group originating from one of the other “Big Three” companies in the K-pop industry. Aespa has also introduced a new type of “girl crush” theme that collects the sound from different music genres—electronic, R&B, and hip hop undertones—to create a concept of their own.
“Next Level” was designed to be a continuation of the versions of themselves they presented in their debut “Black Mamba”. The new comeback is also a single rather than an EP that most groups release. The aesthetics of “Next Level” also contrast with the general direction that most girl groups follow during the summertime, like Oh My Girl’s recent comeback “Dun Dun Dance”. In fact, this song is a remake of the OST for the film “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” whose lyrics detail a whole journey the girls go on to find their virtual avatars. It frequently mentions a place called Kwangya where the girls must travel to find the Black Mamba which interfered in aespa’s connection with their æ aespa (their avatars), causing the world to fall into chaos.
The girls were asked their perspective on “Next Level”. They all seemed very excited, and Karina shared, “We worked hard to show a performance that’s cooler and more relaxed than ‘Black Mamba,” while Winter commented, “The choreography is made in a way that’s fun and easy for everyone to follow along. It’d be great if many people followed along.” The girls wanted to focus on the improvements they’ve had since “Black Mamba” as Giselle says: “We portrayed our powerful selves, so it’d be great if you could focus on that.” Aespa has also added insight to how their avatars work hand-in-hand with the girls. Since the group is technically made of eight members, both the avatars and the live members have to understand each other. They’ve stated that the avatars take bits and pieces of their data enabling all the members to work well together. Winter concluded by saying, “A world like this in which we meet our other selves and go on an adventure has yet to be seen anywhere else before. I’m looking forward to it because I think it’s a style that’s uniquely our own.”
HELP aespa doing the cutest “moooooh weeee” part of Next Level pic.twitter.com/Mpg6aBtUrw
— ♡ ᵃᵉˢᵖᵃ (@yoojimx) May 17, 2021
Aespa’s “Next Level” will certainly shake up the K-pop industry. Aespa has already been chosen as the first K-pop group to be Givenchy brand ambassadors. More and more opportunities are presenting themselves to the girls every day. On top of this, they became the Rookies of the Year at the 10th Gaon Chart Music Awards for the digital category in 2020, as well as reaching No. 138 on Billboard’s Global 200.
Columnist | K-pop Stan | Tweet me @senaho5
