aespa - Rookie Thi Phi, criticized for "alum" and a comeback to become the No. 1 candidate to succeed BLACKPINK

aespa - the 4 rookie girls of SM - have bravery, market, reputation, shortcomings and also a lot of effort.

aespa has been asserting its talent and position in Gen 4 in particular and the Kpop arena in general. No matter who "talks about it", aespa is still performing well and closing a successful year of operation with its own distinctive and bold personality.

K-pop's concept of a virtual member is not "untouchable"

On November 17, 2020, the group that SM has cherished for a long time officially debuted with Black Mamba. In addition to the outstanding reputation of one of the big boys in BIG 3, aespa also received the attention of a large audience before because of the unprecedented concept in Kpop history - the virtual member concept.

The audience is so used to repetitive images in Kpop, girl groups go around with cute concepts, school uniforms, chic, sexy or girl crush, while boy groups often aim for a strong, energetic image. action, bad boy, army... Maybe this group will resonate and become more popular than the other.

Therefore, the appearance of a new concept - the concept of "real and virtual world avatar" cannot help but attract the attention of the public. As a creative company, SM always "releases" their own unique group models: f(x) with multi-style, EXO from another planet with special superpowers, Red Velvet with mysterious charm, magic, or a multi-unit NCT,... But the "ahead of time" concept for aespa can be considered the most risky move of this entertainment giant.

Although there are many mixed opinions not only about the new concept or the graphic quality of the "alum" characters, but this is also a unique point that helps aespa begin to be known more. The group follows a brand new and unique concept of Kpop, objectively speaking, it is very modern and suitable for the current digital age. As a pioneer, this image of aespa will surely leave a strong impression on the audience.

Debut with a disappointing visual lineup due to "deviation from SM", going back upstream after a year made fans "turn around" at the same time.

SM is famous for being a big flower garden in Kpop when possessing a high-class and quality visual lineup through each generation such as Eugene (SES), YoonA - Taeyeon (SNSD), Krystal - Sulli (f(x)), Irene - Joy ( Red Velvet)... When the aespa lineup was officially announced, the audience couldn't help but be surprised with 4 rookie girls with the "AI" shape, which is different from the traditional SM goddess standard.

Not only surprised, netizens are also not very "satisfied" with this visual set. Winter is the member who receives the least negative comments about her appearance. Having just debuted, NingNing was considered a "hole" in her body because her body was a bit "massive" and her face lacked elegance. Karina, who has the name "idol market", is also entangled in many plastic surgery controversies because of her strangely stiff face. Worse, netizens called Giselle the ugliest idol in SM history because she was drowned by her makeup and hairstyle.

Through each comeback, the 4 girls' visuals have become more and more noticeable. This is in large part due to SM's efforts to take care of domestic chickens when it comes to finding the right style for each member.

Winter with a face that suits Korean tastes is becoming more and more idol-like when wearing black hair. From the worst criticism, after a year, Giselle completely transformed with a gentle and luxurious lady's aura thanks to choosing the right makeup and hairstyle. After losing weight, NingNing has a toned, healthy body with a pretty face with big eyes like a doll. Karina has now become one of the top 4th generation beauties with surreal AI visuals.

"Touching" the audience because the more you listen to the songs, the more addictive they become

"Tangled, like a hot pot mixed".... must be the first comments that the audience hears every time aespa's new song. Next Level and Savage - aespa's promotional songs in 2021, are both entangled in controversy over difficult music.

Before Next Level could "storm" on the music charts - even reaching the top of the Billboard Global 200 at number 97 and 54 at Billboard Global - this song was badly criticized. The hip-hop genre doesn't suit Knet's taste and the unrelated transitions make Next Level criticized as flat, hard to hear, with a disjointed, awkward structure with many melodies mixed together.

Going to Savage - "a musical product that looks like it was assembled from 10 different songs" - also received many shakes of the head before helping the group sweep the rookie awards at year-end awards ceremonies. This "Next Level 2.0" version once again creates aespa's "hate before love after" brand with a powerful, modern melody, the more you listen, the more addictive it becomes.

However, aespa has proven that the group's music has a special charm: the more you listen to it... the more you like it. The proof is that songs like Next Level, Savage all have high rankings on the chart. In the top of the songs with the highest digital music scores in 2021 announced by Melon, Next Level ranked 5th among the "best" seniors - evidenced by the virality of this seemingly "flop" song.

aespa revealed dance weaknesses, disappointing because of the skill difference with the main dancer Gen 4

As the main dancer of aespa, but since debut, Karina has never been noticed and appreciated for her dancing skills. The opening dance stage with 5 Gen 4 idols at MAMA 2021 made the audience even more disappointed and ranked her in the group of Kpop's poor dancing idols.

Looking back at the other stages, Karina also did not stand out from the rest of the aespa in dancing skills. In general, her movements are still lacking in elegance, her body movements bring a heavy feeling, dancing according to the style of learning the movements but not feeling the music and rhythm. Many people think that Winter can also "balance" this main dancer position.

The fact that Karina was repeatedly criticized for her poor dancing is partly due to SM... steering her skills. This aespa member was originally recruited for vocals but was "forced" to be the main dancer of the group, so there are still many shortcomings. She herself does not have outstanding dancing skills and talents like other dance machines of Kpop. Karina needs more time to practice and improve gradually as fans expected.

The most stable vocal of Gen 4 or the poorest to abuse lip sync?

Undeniably, aespa owns a very high-quality vocal system, the best vocal technique in the Gen 4 girlgroup. Winter and NingNing are the main vocals, both have powerful, clear and towering voices that go high. Notes are smooth but not jarring.

Karina was originally recruited by vocals, so the singing segment is not inferior to anyone, she also holds the position of rapper in the group. Giselle's pronunciation is round and standard, the music is good, the style is also very stable. In the remake song released in December 2021 "Dreams Come True", Karina and Giselle were both surprised by their extremely sweet voices, not inferior to other group vocals.

However, for some reason, SM often abuses lip sync, causing aespa to receive many criticisms from viewers. Lip-syncing is inherently a sensitive issue in K-pop, which requires the dancing and singing skills of idols. Although recording or singing over the music is inevitable, to be recognized, top groups always need to be able to live at the top. Coming from SM, aespa can completely prove their ability to "swallow the disc" live, so being exposed for lip-syncing has a bad effect on the group's image.

Visual creates charisma but stage skills are controversial

aespa has visuals, vocals, and dances well, but lacks creativity in expression on stage. The group's performance skills are still limited. Although they have debuted for more than a year, it seems that performing in front of an empty stand (due to the COVID-19 epidemic) has made the 4 girls lack the emotions and spirit on stage like other idols. Only facing the camera, from aespa's movements, expressions to the aura in the performances are all the same, mechanically and like "students give cards", only the outfit and hairstyle are changed.

And is that why aespa can't even engage in lip-syncing, leading to superficiality and excessive "honesty" as if wanting to let the world know that the group is just moving their lips?

Even Winter recently received a lot of negative feedback because of her one-color expression and lack of emotion like a robot when she debuted with GOT and Step Back. Many people also questioned whether this lead vocal was too attached to aespa's AI concept and performed so lifeless?

It was also from the Step Back performance that Karina and Winter "revealed" as immature children when standing shoulder to shoulder with their seniors. The two aespa members were "beautifully chopped up" due to their "superficial" lip-syncing lips, no heart, unbroken movements showing the immaturity of the rookies. Participating in the dance challenge, Hyoyeon and YoonA also took the spotlight because of their better dancing skills and charisma.

Although causing the media to spend a lot of ink around their debut and performance skills, aespa is still trying to prove the bravery and talent of a group that comes from the prestigious SM furnace. With the impressive awards that aespa has achieved in the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, it can be said that the group is the strongest candidate to compete for the new generation "Kpop queen".

Succeeding in bringing a new musical wind with a magical and modern AI concept to the audience, gradually creating a distinct color with a unique personality in Kpop, aespa is expected to continue a successful career. of the seniors BLACKPINK, TWICE of Gen 3. In particular, aespa has a lot in common with BLACKPINK, and the group's path also has the same strategy as the senior. Although still controversial, the group's future prospects cannot be denied. If in 2022 aespa continues to release popular hits, the group will definitely reach even further. The future BLACKPINK "gives the throne" to juniors is predictable.

BLACKPINK will be "threatened" by YG's new girl group, will the internal "subversion" happen? Hoàng Phúc11:55:22 15/01/2022Can BLACKPINK keep its heyday when YG's new girl group debuts? In recent days, the BLACKPINK fan community has been stirred up by the news that YG postponed BLACKPINK's comeback to prioritize the debut of a new girl group in 2022. Although this information has not been...