After years building up their repertoire of powerful, edgy pop bangers, in 2024, aespa finally clinched their first chart-topper on Circle Digital Chart – Korea’s equivalent of the Billboard Hot 100 – with the hyperpop phenomenon ‘Supernova’. The song would herald the start of a landmark year for the K-pop girl group, who would go on to release their acclaimed debut album ‘Armageddon’ and embark on a huge world tour.
Just over a year on from that moment, and aespa have kicked off yet another world tour. Days before sitting down to speak with NME, the group played three sold-out shows at Seoul’s KSPO Dome for their new ‘Synk: Aexis Line’ tour, which will bring them to Japan, China, Indonesia and more. “Everything went by really fast, we’re so excited for [the international dates of] our tour to start off,” Giselle says. “We kicked it off with a very successful start [in Seoul], so we’re very excited for the rest.”
Lucky fans who managed to snag tickets to these shows were treated to a nice surprise: an early taste of four songs from aespa’s new mini-album, ‘Rich Man’, including its empowering, rock-influenced title track that also doubles as the girl group’s latest single. “It was the first time for us to perform [a song with rock band vibes], so the reception was great. Because of that, we’re looking forward to the official launch of our new songs,” Karina says.
Fans have been having a lot of fun with the ‘Rich Man’ trailer, coming up with many theories about what’s going on. What’s your take on it?
Giselle: “When we got told about the whole concept of the trailer and what it’s about – we get to see the outline before we go into filming – we were all like, ‘Hmm, very interesting’. But we didn’t understand it 100 per cent until we actually were in the moment and filming it.
“We all really liked the fact that we didn’t portray the meaning of ‘Rich Man’ literally through money or through like luxury, and it was portrayed more creatively. [It was more about being] happy and confident with yourself, rich in a mindful way.”
In the trailer, I also really loved how the four of you spoke different languages to each other. Especially for Giselle and NingNing, who were speaking in your native languages – how did that feel?
NingNing: “It was very refreshing to do the acting in our own mother languages. And it actually goes with the concept of ‘Rich Man’, which means to be yourself and be free. And because I was speaking the language that I speak the best, I was really able to be true to myself. That whole journey and experience was very special, and because it’s my first time acting in Chinese, I was actually able to find a new side to myself.”
‘Rich Man’ also references the famous Cher quote about how she doesn’t need a rich man because she is one herself. Tell us more about your new song and what it’s all about?
Karina: “What makes the song very special is its message. It’s not about material wealth, but about self-confidence and believing in yourself. So the opening line says look for someone who can do everything for you – but that’s you. So, I’m already a rich man because I trust and love myself.”
The song also features a rockier, electric guitar sound that’s really cool. Who or what were you guys channelling on the song?
Karina: “What’s special about ‘Rich Man’ [being a rock-inspired song] is that it makes your heart beat and it gives you that electric energy, and that’s what we really like and found very special – especially when you’re even on stage, when you’re performing with a band.”
Winter: “Each member has a very different approach to music, but overall, because aespa have very unique characteristics and image, whatever genre that we pursue, we can definitely make it our own.”
Diving a little bit deeper into the mini-album itself, what are your thoughts on how diverse the six songs on the project are?
Winter: “Different genres, from hip-hop to R&B to pop, all speak to [us as a group]. There isn’t any single genre that speaks to aespa. We basically take all these new genres and make [them] our own. So that was a new side of us, too.”
Aside from the title track, what were your personal favourites from the EP and why?
Giselle: “I like ‘Angel #48’. It’s very bubbly and cute. And with the question that you asked before about genre, I feel like we have a couple [of] songs similar to ‘Angel #48’, this vibe that’s like ‘Thirsty’ and ‘Lucid Dreams’. I feel like ‘Angel #48’ and ‘Thirsty’ go in the same category, where it’s just kinda cute, but not awkward cute. Something like this as a title track would also be really cool and new for us.”
Karina: “I like ‘To The Girls’ best because it has that heartfelt, encouraging feeling to it. I love the lyrics and think that the sound is something that I would like to share with our fans.”
Winter: “I also like ‘To The Girls’. The first track is ‘Rich Man’, the last track is ‘To The Girls’, which feels like this is a nice [full circle] ending to the whole album.”
NingNing: “My favourites are ‘Angel #48’ and ‘Bubble’ because both songs have that freshness to [them] It also gives you that youngness as well as dreamy feelings, so when you’re listening to it, you naturally smile.”
It’s been nearly five years since your debut, and a lot has happened for aespa over that time span. How does it feel now, having come so far since your first single, ‘Black Mamba’, in 2020?
Karina: “As a team, we feel like we definitely grew as professionals. We have tried many things, [and] there have been a lot of challenges that we have overcome together. We are also contributing a lot more. For this concert, we performed something that we also participated in writing for the solo performances.”
Any expectations, goals, or accomplishments you guys have in mind for the future?
NingNing: “We always have high expectations and look forward to something, but it doesn’t always come true. So instead of focusing on that, we want to always deliver what’s best and also try very hard and keep that positive energy within us. If we do that, we can then achieve more than expected and get what we don’t even expect in the future.”
aespa’s new mini-album ‘Rich Man’ is out now via SM Entertainment
