Song Review: AESPA Pre-Release New Single "Supernova"

aespa (에스파) - Supernova 

Release Info & Mini Bio 

AESPA, the four-member girl group under SM Entertainment that debuted on November 17, 2020, released their eighth digital single today on May 13, 2024, titled "Supernova". This single will act as a pre-release for the group's first full-length album "Armageddon" that is scheduled to be released on May 27, 2024. This single is the follow-up to the group's seventh digital single "Regret of the Times (2024 aespa Remake Version)" that was released on January 15, 2024. 

Review 

"Supernova" samples Afrika Bambaataa’s "Planet Rock", a well-known hip-hop song from 1982, but it is way more than that. The track showcases aespa's uniqueness, blurring the lines between pop, dance, hip-hop, and electronic music into a vision that is undeniably aespa. The song was crafted by SM's star producer KENZIE, famous for creating many K-pop hits, including SNSD's 2007 megahit "Into the New World". 

"Supernova" mixes different genres and styles in a solid and cohesive song that never gets boring or repetitive, but it definitely requires repeat listenings to get all that it has to offer. It starts minimally with a hip-hop sound based on bass, then the dance elements come through with catchy synth melodies, before the various samples take over the soundscape and turn it into another direction. 

The music video for "Supernova" features the group's signature powerful performances and innovative visual effects in which the members are transformed into formidable characters navigating a cityscape imbued with magical realism. The music video's point is to encapsulate aespa's unique identity through conceptual visuals that incorporate contemporary technologies like AI.