Aespa's 'Armageddon'…The Multiverse Soundtrack You've Been Waiting For

Aespa’s First Full Album, ‘Armageddon’

(MHNSports Reporter Sun Shin) Aespa (Karina, Winter, Giselle, Ningning) is set to kill the charts with their first full album featuring unique visuals and concepts.

On the afternoon of May 27th, at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Aespa held a media showcase to celebrate the release of their first full album, 'Armageddon'.

This album, released 3 years and 6 months after their debut, is Aespa's first full album in 4 years. It includes a total of 10 songs, including double title tracks.

Regarding the album, Karina encouraged interest by saying, "I previously mentioned that we would return with a full album that we are 100% satisfied with, and we have come back with a confident title track, so I hope you will love it."

Winter added, "Many people say that the song has an iron flavor, but the album includes not only iron flavors but also warm ballads, bright and cheerful dance songs, and pop genres to showcase various colors. What's special about this album is that it marks the beginning of the second narrative of our expanded multiverse. As our universe expands into the multiverse, I believe we can show more grand and diverse concepts, so I'm looking forward to it."

When asked if there was any pressure for their first full album, Karina said, "We were able to prepare it thanks to the support and love we received. I feel grateful to the public for making the start of our first full album satisfying through 'Supernova'. I also thank our hardworking members and agency staff."

The title track 'Armageddon' is a hip-hop dance song featuring a weighty sound and rough, restrained vocals. The lyrics convey the message of meeting different versions of oneself in different worlds to become a complete 'me'.

Karina explained, "It's a song that opens the beginning of the second season of our universe. One of the members once described 'Supernova' as having a can flavor and 'Armageddon' as having a soil flavor. Just as 'Armageddon' is dry and deep, it may be difficult at first but becomes more addictive with each listen, in true SM tradition."

Regarding the 'Armageddon' music video, Karina said, "We filmed it with a superhuman image that we've never shown before. When the teaser came out, it seemed like our fans were quite shocked, but the music video is more detailed and beautifully packaged, so I hope you'll love it."

Giselle added, "This music video had the longest shooting time. 'Black Mamba' was the longest before, but we traveled around the country, including Yeongju and Suwon, to shoot it. Many people worked hard on this music video."

Regarding the AI cuts implemented in the music video, Karina said, "Honestly, I was very anxious. While it fits the concept, we were worried about how it would be received. We kept asking if it was right and if it was the final version. However, since there were responses like 'It's refreshing', 'It's fun', and 'What is this?' while continuing to watch, I think it was a good decision to trust the company," she said, giving a cold sweat to the company staff.

The other title track 'Supernova' was pre-released on the 13th, achieving high success by topping major domestic music charts.

Karina expressed gratitude for 'Supernova' by saying, "Supernova has become a meme. When the teaser came out, many people called it 'Iron Sailor Moon', and I'm looking forward to what expressions will be created when 'Armageddon' is released."

Having warmed up with 'Supernova', Aespa recently drew attention by performing live with hand mics at a university festival stage. Winter reflected, "Since our trainee days, we practiced with hand mics without any backing track, and I think people appreciated that aspect."

Aespa's new album was also produced in a CDP version, replicating the form of the highlight medley previously released. However, it showed hot popularity by selling out on the day of pre-order. The members revealed that they could not even get their hands on this version.

Winter conveyed her wish, "I heard it sold out because so many people bought it. It's an album we really want to have, and I hope more stock will be available so we can give it to our family and acquaintances."

Notably, just before Aespa's comeback, a message from HYBE and CEO Min Hee-jin was revealed, causing a stir with the message, "Can you step over Aespa?"

Karina clarified their relationship with NewJeans by saying, "We recently met NewJeans at a music show, and we exchanged heart gestures to cheer each other on as colleagues." She continued, "We are aware of the message, and we thought our first full album would do well. However, I believe the love from the public comes from our hard work, and we thank you for loving 'Supernova'."

Finally, Karina mentioned their aspiration to perform at Coachella again, saying, "We felt it was unfortunate that we had a short preparation time when we performed at Coachella before. If we get to perform again, we want to practice harder and take the stage."

Aespa's first full album, 'Armageddon', was released on the 27th at 6 PM.

 

Photo by MHN Sports reporter Lee Ji-sook