aespa: NEXT LEVEL Review

As I told you in my recent post, Next Level is my era. Now, let's start with the Next Level MV teaser! The intention of this post is for me to reminisce about the time when Next Level managed to pull me into its metaverse with the aespa girls.

I never had the chance to watch this on time because I became a fan of aespa (MY) on June 5th, 2021. By that time, it's going to be a month old already. There's this sadness that has grown in me realizing I missed their Black Mamba debut! I also missed getting hyped about the Next Level's comeback too, but I guess it doesn't matter because right now I'm still a MY who supports the girls all throughout.

Teaser Previews:

The Song:

SM Entertainment Confirms That Aespa’s “Next Level” Is A Remake Of An OST From “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” (source: Koreaboo)

“The song was remade for aespa with their own unique colors.”

During the press conference for their comeback, SM Entertainment revealed that the song was actually a remake of a song from a famous movie series.

The title track, ‘Next Level,’ is a remake of the OST of the same name from the movie Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw. The song was remade for aespa with their own unique colors, and stands out with a groovy rap and the members’ powerful vocals. —SM Entertainment

Giselle added, “It’s a song that I loved after watching the movie ‘Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw’, so I’m happy to hear it in our own voices.” The original song by A$ton Wyld was indeed altered to fit the group’s particular style, and the girls have worked hard to prepare for this comeback.

This is not the first time in K-Pop that a group’s song was a remake, and most of the time, they buy the rights for the music, so it is legal and not plagiarism. For SM Entertainment specifically, some popular remake songs are SHINee‘s “Juliette,” Girls’ Generation‘s “Dancing Queen,” f(x)‘s “Hot Summer,” and more. Outside of SM Entertainment (a.k.a. other companies), some examples are I.O.I‘s “Whatta Man,” Baby V.O.X‘s “Play Remix,” T-ARA‘s “Do You Know Me,” and more.

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I'm not big fan of the movies but if it happened that there's something captured me it'll not be the new movies that needs to be seen in the cinemas. Except for action movies, thrillers and sometimes horror ones. I get them and I love its effects on me. That's why action films like The Fast and Furious is one of my favorite installments of all time. It's part of my childhood, damn those customized racing cars. Yes! They can pull me into a chase every single time.

At first I really don't have the plan to watch the film Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw but when my younger brother got a copy of the movie in his laptop I took my chance. I watched the movie first way before discovering aespa's Next Level. Honestly, the part where they played the Next Level original sound, I didn't even remember where and when exactly it was played during the movie.

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and when I discovered aespa via Google News and making me drawn to the Next Level Music video. My world changed, for real. Read How aespa pulled me back to KPop here

The Music Video:

A scene in the music video, where Aespa is seen in a futuristic VFX with colorful computer graphics

On May 15, 2021, a 28-second video teaser for "Next Level" was uploaded on the official SM Town channel, with the official video being released two days later. The visual was released on SM Entertainment's official YouTube channel on May 17, to coincide with the digital release of the song. The accompanying music video for the track was directed by Paranoid Paradigm. aespa reveled that SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man directed their performance video from choreography, composition, stage movement, camera work, outfits, and gestures.

source: wiki

Merchandise: Kpop Wiki Fandom

Achievements: Kpop Wiki Fandom aespa achievements

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My MV Fave parts:

1. Sound (intro)	-with this kind of tone I'm pulled as quick 1,2,3
2. Transition to next Fit
3. Entrance	-lyrics mood setter
4. Cool fx
5. CGI
6. Lyrics	-especially the adlibs
7. Choreo
8. Blend	- Video fx transition
skipped #9	Totally consumed *sorry lol
10. High Notes
11. Beat Drop
12. aes
13. THE Fits
14. Vocalists/Rappers/Visuals	- all rounder members
15. Camera Work
16. Their Lore	- Metaverse in Kpop

The thing here is that, aespa wake my inner sound curiosity out of my whole being when I heard Next Level for the first time. I didn't even managed to check their visuals out at first because I was really diving into their Music Video concept. This really goes to show how music really captures us even in random situations. Sometimes in the most unexpected way possible. Blessed to have an open mind and mirrors art in music appreciation. aespa captured me with their music; and I'm here to stay.

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The Influence, Popularity, Achievements

"Aespa is not only a girl group, but aespa is also a concept, aespa is kpop revolution, aespa is the future". - Teddy Zee

When people say “be original,” — they don’t realize this — they don’t mean “do something entirely new that no one has ever fathomed before.” They really mean “be different.” If you’re just copying other people, why would anyone pay attention to you instead of to those other (probably better) people? Being original isn’t about being new. It’s about being different from everyone else and doing what you do in your time and field.

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NEXT LEVEL PERFORMANCES

• aespa MV reaction

• MV behind the scenes

• The Performance Stage #1 / #2 / #3

• Dance practice

• Company ver.

• Be Original dance performance

• Relay dance

• [이터널 리턴 X aespa] GRAND OPEN Special MV (Next Level)🎬 - Full ver.

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aespa Next Level made waves!

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These are some of my favorite NEXT LEVEL MV Reactions by Youtubers

I wish I could say more but every single time I'm talking about aespa's Next Level there's a need for me to consumed by it again making me speechless reminiscing my aespa discovery phase.

Thank you for staying until the end. <3