aespa Shows They're the Future of K-Pop with 'Next Level'
SM Entertainment's latest girl group, aespa, has dropped their highly-anticipated single "Next Level" and showing how they usher in the next generation of K-pop music.
"Next Level" is a remake of the A$ton Wyld track of the same title, originally appearing in the official soundtrack for the 2019 action film "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw."
In their own version, aespa adds their own style with their vocals and re-arrangement, breathing a new life to the hip-hop dance track with a signature bass riff and groovy rap.kwang
The song was accompanied by the release of a futuristic music video featured across all SM Entertainment and aespa SNS channels.
In the four-minute "Next Level" MV, the members Karina, Giselle, Winter, and NingNing are seen against a variety of retro-futuristic backgrounds including cities in space and surreal, neon-colored wastelands.
Both the lyrics and the music video serve as a continuation of the story they presented with their debut single, "Black Mamba," released last November. It follows aespa, together with their virtual counterparts "ae," going to the land of "Kwangya" to find the "Black Mamba."
This mamba, featured in their debut MV, is responsible for sowing discord and disconnecting aespa and their digital selves.
aespa immediately sent the K-pop world in a frenzy as they made their debut, with the "Black Mamba" MV being the fastest debut music video to surpass 100 million views.
The song also ranked in different music charts including QQ Music, China's largest music monitor, and Billboard - immediately establishing them as the latest super rookies.
As for their unprecedented concept of performing together with their digital counterparts, Karina explained in their recent press conference that they are "an eight-piece group." She adds that they, with their virtual avatars, took lessons to fully understand their concept.
