aespa Makes Ambitious Debut As SMTOWN’s Newest Girl Group
There is a new girl group in town and aespa is their name. After weeks of anticipation, SM Entertainment’s latest girl group has finally made their debut. It’s been six years since SM Entertainment has debuted a girl group (with Red Velvet previously holding the title) and this group has certainly hit the ground running.
The meaning behind their name is a combination of “Avatar X Experience” and aspect, which in turns creates aespa (source) . But what has also caused quite the buzz about the group is that the members have avatar counterparts that are debuting alongside them. The asepa lineup consists of WINTER, NINGNING, KARINA and GISELLE. In the lead up to their debut, as aespa members were being announced, their avatar counterparts were also revealed and carry the same name as the four ladies except with “æ” before the name. The avatars are animated versions of the members, all with their own persona, but many get the opportunity to see the avatars and the aespa members interact through teaser videos.
“Black Mamba”
Titled “Black Mamba,” aespa kicks off their debut with their first ever single. “Black Mamba” is all about the confidence and charisma that one can carry. But it also contains a lot of allusions to how a snake, such as a black mamba, can be cunning and full of deceit. It will take a few listens and it may be confusing at first to understand, but this song is about the girls talking to themselves and their inner dark thoughts. On one end, these ladies are confident in themselves and know that they have the ability to pull things off, but there is another side of them that can be dark and just as powerful if untamed. But there can only be one and “Black Mamba” takes listeners on a journey of finding this balance of light and dark.
Taking a step back and focusing on the music video, the combination of neon colors against darker hues like black and purple is the overall aesthetic as it features not only the members donning outfits of the same colors but as well as the sets and animated effects (whether it be 2D or 3D animation). As the title of the song suggests, a massive black mamba is also seen slithering around different areas of the set and eventually appears in human form through the eyes of KARINA. Viewers also get to see a good majority of the choreography as well for “Black Mamba.” The music video does contain a lot that will take a couple of views to really understand what is happening, but as the song describes different personas and aesthetics, viewers get to see the different realities and realms that aespa lives through. At the very end of the music video, like how SuperM’s “One (Monster & Infinity)” had previously teased the debut of aespa, “Black Mamba” features veteran artist BoA, further building the anticipation for her return at the beginning of December.
As SM Entertainment’s newest girl group, there are some big shoes to fill and live up to the name of being an artist within one of the biggest companies in K-Pop to date. aespa has thrown the gauntlet and they make a promising debut. It is curious to see how the avatar versions of the members will come into play for the girl group, as many only have had the chance to get a glimpse of them prior to their debut and only briefly in a few seconds of the music video. It’s still very much early on in their career but one thing that is for sure is that all eyes are on them. The anticipation of what they will bring to the table next is going to be all that everyone will be talking about in the days to come. Nonetheless, aespa makes a solid debut and many will just have to wait and see what they will do next.