On Oct. 6, Seoul girl group Aespa stopped at the Oakland Arena for their \u201cSynk: Compl\u00e6xity\u201d tour in a flashy demonstration of K-pop perfection.<\/p>\n
Aespa debuted in 2020 as SM Entertainment\u2019s first girl group since Red Velvet, consisting of four human members \u2014 Winter, Ningning, Karina and Giselle \u2014 and their digital AI avatars \u2014 \u00e6-Karina, \u00e6-Giselle, \u00e6-Winter and \u00e6-Ningning. In all, it makes for a concept so difficult to grasp that the idols themselves took classes in order to understand it.<\/p>\n
Needlessly convoluted branding aside, Aespa\u2019s hyperpop sound and glossy, high-tech aesthetic helped them amass a dedicated fanbase known simply as \u201cMY.\u201d<\/p>\n
The arena was illuminated in part by the collective glow of lightsticks, a staple of K-pop concert culture. Fans waited for Aespa, who were unaccompanied by openers, to appear, but were met instead by a projection of their music video for \u201cWelcome to MY World,\u201d a 2023 single featuring n\u00e6vis, the group\u2019s AI-synthesized idol.<\/p>\n
Then, a prologue played, beginning a series of video snippets that continued throughout the concert as interlude segments. The script featured as much nonsensical techy jargon as those \u201chacking into the mainframe\u201d memes, but none of that mattered when the idols walked on stage, beginning their latest hit \u201cLemonade.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLemoade\u201d is an average K-Pop number, which is to say that it involved intricate choreography for each member, who performed with precision and unfaltering energy. Aespa\u2019s militant accuracy makes Western acts look weak by comparison; even Tate McRae, arguably American pop\u2019s strongest dancer of the current moment, switches between singing and dancing rather than doing both simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Between songs, the audience barked in anticipation of the next number, a common practice at K-pop concerts.<\/p>\n
Aespa played several new hits, including \u201cWhiplash,\u201d during which main vocalist Winter belted an impressive high note while confetti went off, hyping up the crowd and underscoring her talent. The group also played its debut single, fan favorite \u201cBlack Mamba,\u201d which features challenging choreography and fierce bass.<\/p>\n
The storyline continued with the digital fabric of Aespa\u2019s fictional universe being seemingly hacked, leaving the group\u2019s members to save the world. The idols said weird, dystopian things such as, \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe whether what was in front of my eyes was real or corrupted\u201d \u2014 things that felt eerily reminiscent of real-life AI apocalypse concerns. Before anyone could digest anything, though, Aespa came out again in new, all-white outfits to sing gentler songs, namely \u201cCount on Me,\u201d during which members abandoned choreography in favor of sitting on a set of bleachers.<\/p>\n
Then, the idols took a break from music to introduce themselves, a redundancy in front of an audience that is likely already parasocially obsessed with the members, but adorable nonetheless. They played \u201cKiss N Tell,\u201d a song much cutesier than other recent hits such as \u201cWDA (Whole Different Animal)\u201d and \u201cDirty Work,\u201d which moved the show through the group\u2019s eras and created a delightfully varied discography.<\/p>\n
After another interlude with the same unsettling qualities as a yassified \u201cBackrooms,\u201d Aespa showcased the individual talent of their members with duets such as \u201cLollipop\u201d by Giselle and Ningning and \u201cSerenade\u201d by Karina and Winter, as well as solo songs. Seeing each member isolated made their individual talents and branding clearer, elevating each of them from being cogs in the well-oiled Aespa machine to standalone stars. Winter\u2019s solo, \u201cSaddle Up,\u201d stood out due to her sassy stage presence and flawless riffs, but each member thrived in the spotlight.<\/p>\n
The group reunited for powerful performances of \u201cArmageddon,\u201d and its breakout hit \u201cNext Level,\u201d which highlighted Ningning and Winter\u2019s vocals in breathtaking high notes.<\/p>\n
Aespa, similar to its audience, cannot be pigeonholed. Aespa\u2019s music isn\u2019t just K-Pop or hyperpop or hip-hop, as its members don\u2019t subscribe to any one aesthetic; rather, they encompass it all. This reflects in their fanbase, who aren\u2019t wholly composed of stereotypical Korean fangirls, but people of all ages from all over the world who share a singular love for Aespa.<\/p>\n
As the idols went backstage for the last time, an audience participation segment ensued, allowing audience members ranging from tween girls to elderly men to copy Aespa\u2019s choreography. More than just music, Aespa\u2019s work is motivational and unifying. Aespa may not be equipped to write sci-fi, but they left Oakland, and the many kinds of fans of the Bay Area, with a next-level performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Oct. 6, Seoul girl group Aespa stopped at the Oakland Arena for their \u201cSynk: Compl\u00e6xity\u201d tour in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[123387,2007,192454,135796,192446,192447,192450,127279,178582,192448,139658,192451,30427,192445,192455,192443,143,72842,145,144,192453,192452,110491,192442,46526,192449,192444,167833,3162],"class_list":["post-494856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-aespa","tag-ai","tag-armageddon","tag-backrooms","tag-black-mamba","tag-count-on-me","tag-dirty-work","tag-giselle","tag-karina","tag-kiss-n-tell","tag-lemonade","tag-lollipop","tag-my","tag-naevis","tag-next-level","tag-ningning","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-arena","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-saddle-up","tag-serenade","tag-sm-entertainment","tag-synk-complaexity","tag-tate-mcrae","tag-wda-whole-different-animal","tag-welcome-to-my-world","tag-whiplash","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}