Meet Aespa! The brand new K-pop girl group introduced themselves to the world on Monday (Nov. 17) with the release of their debut single “Black Mamba.”
In the single’s neon-colored music video, the foursome — Karina, Giselle, Winter and Ningning — deliver non-stop choreography flanked by a bevy of female back-up dancers as the giant black snake of the song’s title slithers its way through the clip.
“I’m ejected, good is not enough to break your greatness/ I’m exhausted, your existence has grown, swallowing all of the greed/ I’m the aespa, there can’t be two/ Monochrome to colors/ This is evo, evolution,” Giselle and Winter sing on the second verse, before Ningning and Karina take over on the pre-chorus, declaring, “Oh, I make a dangerous joke/ You’re charming but gotta deny/ It will swallow everything/ Black mamba.” (English lyrics courtesy of Genius.)
As SM Entertainment’s first new girl group to debut since Red Velvet bowed in 2014, the company took a multicultural approach to forming Aespa: Karina and Winter are both from Korea, while Giselle hails from Japan and Ningning from China. The group’s name is purportedly taken from the English combination “ae” — initials for “Avatar x Experience” — as well as the word “aspect.” According to SM, each of the girls will also have an animated, virtual counterpart.
Ahead of their official debut, Ningning was initially introduced as a part of pre-debut training team SM Rookies back in 2016, while Karina was featured in the music video for “Want,” the 2019 solo track by superstar Taemin of Shinee and SuperM.
Get acquainted with the girls of Aespa by watching the colorful “Black Mamba” video below.
