Why did those who had been evaluated as “4th-generation representative girl group” with such great achievements right after their debut suffer from these belated criticism?
aespa‘s career, which started with “Black Mamba” in November 2020, was simply a “flower road.” They set a record of entering the Billboard chart immediately with their debut song and quickly topped the music broadcasting and music charts. It was natural that this group, who achieved the so-called “big hit” for each song released such as “Next Level” and “Savage,” quickly became a representative group of the 4th-generation idol market.
Less than two years after their debut, they already secured a series of positions, so their smooth moves seemed to be guaranteed. However, unexpected noises have recently followed aespa, turning on a red light in their moves forward.
The core of the controversy surrounding them lies in the question of their ‘skill’ and critical views. This is quite a sensitive issue for aespa, who has been promoted as a “skilled group” since their debut.
It was after the “Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival” (hereinafter referred to as “Coachella”) in April that aespa’s skills was put on the cutting board in earnest. At that time, aespa was invited as the first main headliner among K-pop girl groups, drawing keen attention. However, as they performed all the stages live, some members’ voices were seen shaking, which led to questions about aespa’s skills.
Of course, some opinions make sense that aespa, who debuted in the pandemic situation, has not been able to show their optimized capabilities in practice because there have been very few opportunities for them to experience large-scale outdoor live stages. However, the problem was that aespa’s “skilled idol” image began to shake.
Adding fuel to this was the lip-syncing stage aespa showed at a university festival recently. aespa, who stood on the stage at the Korea University Festival last month, lip-synced all four songs, and was criticized by netizens as well as the audience at the scene. Netizens pointed out that it is insincere for a singer to perform lip-sync performances, not to mention how high their performance fees were.
As the controversy escalated, netizens even raised suspicions that “Isn’t aespa lip-syncing because they are lacking skills?” Their shaky performances at Coachella earlier only fueled this question even more.
In this regard, aespa and their agency SM Entertainment have not expressed their position. Amid this situation, aespa plans to release their second mini-album “Girls” on the 8th of next month and make a comeback. This activity is expected to be an important turning point for aespa. When they finally overcome negative public opinion by proving their real skills, the green light will be turned on again for aespa’s outstanding moves.
Source: daum
