A supernova is a phenomenon of a star exploding. Originating from the Latin, nova bears the meaning of ‘new’, which refers to a temporary new bright star. However, aespa’s ‘Supernova’ is seen to be steadily climbing the music chart and there is no hint of it becoming a temporary hit.
Serving as a pre-release of their 1st full-length album ‘Armageddon’, ‘Supernova’ was released on May 13, 2024. Meanwhile, the whole album is set to be launched on May 27, 2024, along with the other eight B-side tracks with diverse genres.
In their first studio album, aespa will feature two leading title tracks, with the first, ‘Supernova’, described as a dance song that expresses explosive energy containing cool movements and powerful choreography.
Through the music video, aespa showcases their ‘superbeing’ concept with each member possessing superhuman ability. Karina, being the first member to appear, falls down from the sky and crashes on top of a car without a scratch, showing her exceptional strength.
The scene hooks the viewer right from the start and it becomes more and more captivating as Ningning, with her lighter-finger, enters alongside the levitating Winter. They created havoc; and this is where Giselle makes her grand entrance as a time-warper, undoing all of the destruction.
Leading up to the big day of ‘Armageddon’, aespa builds fans’ anticipation by releasing several music videos of their B-sides namely ‘Long Chat (#❤︎)’, ‘Licorice’, and ‘Live My Life’.
Similar to ‘Supernova’, ‘Long Chat (#❤︎)’ braces us with explosions, but this time, it’s popcorn. It begins with the girls trying to recount a seemingly bizarre and hard-to-believe story, which is then revealed through the music video. Continuing to embody the space or otherworldly concept, ‘Long Chat (#❤︎)’ brings a more playful and quirky nuance to it.
As the title suggests, not to mention the hashtag plus emoticon, ‘Long Chat (#❤︎)’ is obviously a love song. A corny one, in fact. It is a rather easy-listening song with a heartwarming instrumental backdrop. The use of the ‘corn alien’ concept in the music video is by no means a random choice.
Lines like “Ha-ah, I’ll be the girl who likes a Long Chat” or “Bedtime’s here but can’t stop the typing” directly express the corniness of this song, which perhaps a lot of people can relate to. The girls are craving a long chat, with black hearts, emojis, and apparently, hashtags too.
In contrast to the lighthearted ‘Long Chat (#❤︎)’, maintaining their uniqueness, aespa showcases eccentric concepts which can be seen through ‘Licorice’ MV. Here, they step into the role of Power Rangers engaging in an epic battle against the quirky foe: a mint-chocolate monster.
True to form, aespa never comes to play and without fail approaches their role with dedication — whether as superbeings, martial artists, iconic Friends characters, or even alien-slash-corn-farmers — as they seamlessly morph into their own anime-like version of Power Rangers, perfecting the charm of the comic ‘Licorice’ music video.
Moving on to the lyrics, ‘Licorice’ sparks diverse portrayals, but one thing is for sure, it portrays the essence of aespa itself. aespa is known for their not-easy-listening songs throughout their careers and they remain consistent about it.
The line “A whole different type, never seen this stuff” boldly expresses aespa’s identity as an artist — though the song’s meaning may probably be anything but that. Despite the unconventional sounds, aespa manages to keep on lingering, “like Licorice~”.
From astronomers to Power Rangers; aespa has real range. In the ‘Live My Life’ MV, aespa depicts the theme of friendship and girlhood. They are living the real life. The four girls radiate joy as they sing and have fun with each other’s company.
In this song, aespa presents their strong vocals accompanied by the band music that adds up to their overall performance. Capturing the authenticity by using a camcorder to record most of the footage, ‘Live My Life’ is brimming with youth and carefree-ness.
Through the lyrics of the song, aespa conveys the idea of freedom. Greeted by Karina’s opening line: “Bye to the boring, rigid way of thinking. Say what you really mean. Don’t lie to yourself”, aespa is inviting the audience into a world of honesty, where one should not deceive themselves and start living their chosen life. Topped with the last line in the chorus: “And I, as a main character”, as a form of empowerment, stressing the individual agency in building one’s narrative.
Disclosing four out of ten songs from their forthcoming full-length album through stunning music videos, aespa had previously released a highlight medley. Meanwhile, the title track ‘Armageddon’ seems to still be kept under wraps until D-Day.
Check out the remaining B-sides of ‘Armageddon’ and share which one is your pick!
