Surpassing their own limits, SM Entertainment girl group aespa sets a new record for crossing 50 million views with their latest single, "Next Level."
Released last May 17, the "Next Level" music video on YouTube managed to exceed 50 million views in just three days, 10 hours, and 20 minutes since it debuted. It shattered aespa's previous personal record for the highest number of views in the same time period for their debut "Black Mamba."
With this trajectory, aespa might be on the way to set new career highs and records with their latest song. As of May 26, ten days after its debut, the music video on the SM Entertainment YouTube Channel already has close to 79 million views.
A Viral Phenomenon
When aespa debuted on November 17, 2020, the music video for their first song "Black Mamba" was also uploaded to the SM Entertainment YouTube channel. In its first nine hours, aespa crossed 10 million views, making it the fastest K-pop debut MV to make the achievement in history. Within 24 hours, it already had 21.4 million views, making it the most viewed debut video by a K-pop group - a record that remained untouched since Itzy debuted with "Dalla Dalla" in 2019.
On January 8, 2021, the "Black Mamba" music video managed to secure 100 million views after 51 days and 12 hours since its debut. This gave the newest SM Entertainment quarter another achievement: the fastest debut MV to reach 100 million views.
Next Level
In the "Next Level" music video, the four members Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning are shown in an array of futuristic settings such as a city in the sky, a space capsule, and a neon-colored wasteland. The song is an all-new Korean-language remake of the A$ton Wyld track featured in the original soundtrack for the 2019 film "Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw."
Additionally, both the song and the MV serves as a continuation of the concept presented in the "Black Mamba" release, with the girls going to "Kwangya" in search of the titular black mamba.
This character has been revealed to be behind the chaos happening in the group's universe, disconnecting the aespa members with their virtual counterparts.
Furthermore, the "Next Level" song makes a number of references to their own concept, an in-universe continuity shared between the two hit MVs.
Additionally, Karina sings about NAVIS/ NAEVIS in the second verse of "Next Level," referring to the group's AI system that connects the real-world members and their virtual avatars.
An 8-Piece Group
Aespa, under SM Entertainment, employs an unprecedented concept: that of actual K-pop performers and their digital avatars. The members Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning all have their "ae" versions, with their digital partners being ae-Karina, ae-Giselle, ae-Winter, and ae-Ningning.
In an online press conference prior to the release of "Next Level," the group's leader Karina said: "We are an eight-piece group." She went on to explain that they carefully studied the concept and their characters to better present the idea to the audience. Giselle, in support of their leader's statements, says that they plan to show "diverse content with our avatars" in the future.
Watch the Next Level MV below:
