THE DEBUT OF SM'S NEW GIRL GROUP:

~ ÆSPA ~

Picture taken from SM's official website. 

Members from left to right: Karina, Giselle, Winter, Ningning.

Hello everyone, it’s Swan here!

I initially wanted to wait a bit until their next comeback so I could talk about their debut in a “group presentation” format, but the hype was a thing and SM hasn’t debuted any new girl group in a while. So, I figured out that I’ll do a commentary about their debut. I want to touch several things such as the members, the concept, the song and the MV. This won’t be a group presentation format but I will include facts in there so you can get familiar with the girls.

Picture taken from Soompi.

The Member's avatars from left to right: Giselle, Winter, Karina, Ningning. 

Who is æspa?

On November 17^th 2020, SM entertainment’s new girl group æspa debuted with their song “Black Mamba”. The group consists of four members: Winter, Karina, NingNing and Giselle. You can watch the official MV for their song "Black Mamba" here.

Lee Soo Man, the CEO and founder of SME, first introduced the group at the 2020 World Culture Industry forum. He talked about SM Culture Universe (SMCU) as the core vision and future of the entertainment industry, as the new goal for the industry, ÆSPA being the first project of SMCU.

At the core of æspa’s concept: Interaction and communication through a space between the real world and the virtual world, which is the digital world. Every member has an “avatar” who represents another version of themselves living in the virtual world. They each live their lives apart in different world but reunite to share their experiences and talk about what they are going through. Eventually, they’ll be able to visit each other’s world.

Their name comes from combining “æ” derived from “Avatar X Experience” & “aspect”. The underlying meaning is various innovative activities to come with the theme of “Experiencing a new world via the encounter of the “avatar”, your other self.

Their fandom name is “My”, “나의” in Korean.

 

Stage Name: Karina

Birth Name: Yoo Ji Min

Position: Leader, Center, Face of the group, Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist

Birthday: April 11, 2000

Nationality: Korean

Stage Name: Giselle

Birth Name: Uchinaga Aeri

Position: Main Rapper, Vocalist

Birthday: October 30, 2000

Nationality: Japanese-Korean

Stage Name: Winter

Birth Name: Kim Min Jeong

Position: Visual, Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer

Birthday: January 1, 2001

Nationality: Korean

Stage Name: Ningning

Birth Name: Ning Yizhuo

Korean Name: Jeo Ye Tak

English Name: Vivian Ning

Position: Main Vocalist, Maknae

Birthday: October 23, 2002

Nationality: Chinese

My commentary:

• The concept
  The concept is, to say the least, new. I believe we’re in an era today where technology is a major part of our lives. However, it can appeal to a certain extent. I’m glad the avatars didn’t appear too much in the MV because at the end of the day we’re still talking about human idols. In that sense I hope promotions won't be focusing too much on the avatars and more on the girls themselves. Now that I think of it, æspa is like a sister group to NCT in the sense that their concepts are more on the badass end of the industry. Red Velvet is the only active girl group under SM right now and they can't always be promoting. And Red Velvet already has a very distinct sound. So because the "girl crush" concept is the trend now, SM had no other choice than to debut a new group, and æspa embraced the girl crush concept really well. 
  
  Last but not least, I have heard people comparing æspa to K/DA because of the "virtual concept" and to other girl groups like Everglow and Itzy because of the similar choreographies. Concerning K/DA, I totally see why people started comparing them because yes, the concept is kind of similar. Now, did they copy them? In my opinion, no. K/DA is from start to end a virtual group. The characters are virtual and the MVs are all CGI and special effects. And whatever a group does, they always add their personal touch to it. Since these groups are not from the same company, the team working behind the scenes are probably not the same too (maybe there are some exceptions, but generally it's not the same people if the artists are not from the same company). Now, for the choreography, it is true that the dance moves are similar, but because the concept is also similar in the way that it's a powerful and a "girl power" concept, some popular moves have to be included in the choreography. And those moves can be found in every single girl group choreography. It's all about the concept and the vibe of the song. So stop saying they plagiarised, they didn't. 
  
  
• The members
  The group consists of four members, two of them are Korean, one is Japanese-Korean, and one is Chinese. I think SM has this overall strategy to have mixed groups as much as possible so promotions in overseas countries would be easier and would be more lucrative. I also think it’s great, I mean from a business point of view the more your “product” is diversified the more chances it has to “perform well” on the market. And the fact that they are only four leaves more room for character improvement. After only 3 times viewing the MV I can already tell them apart and kind of distinguish their positions (vocal, rapper, dancer). I really look forward to know more about the members.
  
  
• The song
  For a debut that’s a really good song. I’ve seen comments saying that the hype was too high and that the song didn’t match expectations, that the drop at the first chorus was “overdone” and that the vocals seemed “fake”. You can have your own opinion, but I think that their vocals are really good for a debut. SM sure knows how to train vocalists; they really have the best vocalists in the industry. The “Ayayayaya” part in the chorus is THE catchy/hooky part. I also loved the bridge with the harmonies and the descending vocals (I think Winter and Ningning were the ones to show off their vocals there).  was just surprised by the lack of rap. There wasn’t really a “rap” part like in any other typical Kpop song and that left me wanting for more. 
  
  
• The MV
  This MV screams CGI and special effects and is definitely a very high budget production. The MV is in accordance with the concept obviously, and I got the storyline on the 3^rd listen which is something to celebrate because I NEVER catch a thing about a storyline before the 5^th or 6^th listen. I believe the story is all about a Virus (the æspa portrayed by the snake and the malefic character appearing after the 2^ndchorus I think) that comes and makes the communication between the real and the virtual world impossible. At the end of the MV you can see some glitches, and the subway was clean but as the snake passes by it gets bad. Now this is only my personal opinion but I tend to like songs more than MVs unless the MV really leaves a mark. Maybe that’s because I don’t quite catch the stories behind the MVs but no matter how much money they put in it the song will have much more impact on me. And Black Mamba isn’t an exception. As much as the MV portrays the story, I still think the song is what made me curious about the group.
  

Conclusion:

I think this group has a lot to offer. I believe that their concept, as scary and experimental as it may be, will bring a new fresh air in the industry. I think it's very hard for a group to stand out today even if they're coming from one of the big four (SM, JYP, YG, Big Hit Labels). Hundreds of new groups are debuting every year. Having money is not enough, they have to stand out in a way whether through their concepts, their songs, their attitude, etc. And I believe they will stand out, if not through their concept it'll be through their personalities because they're young and have a whole other perspective on the industry and they have a very different background from idols born in the 90s. I don't really know what I was actually expecting from them but they, for sure, fulfilled my expectations. I look forward to their upcoming activities and to know more about the girls themselves. 

That's it guys, I hope you enjoyed reading about my opinion on ÆSPA's debut. I'm eager to know what are YOUR thoughts about this debut, so I'm waiting for your comments in the comment section and I'll see you all very soon!

Love, Swan

 

Sources: Soompi, SM official website, Kprofiles, Wikipedia