SM ENTERTAINMENT
aespa performs at The Prudential Center in Newark, Feb. 11.
Two hours before curtain time for K-pop quartet aespa’s Synk: Parallel Line Tour stop in Newark, Feb. 11, attendees queuing up at Prudential Center’s main entrances had already spilled onto Edison Place and Lafayette Street, shivering restlessly in either excitement or snowy night chill or both. I hesitated to lump them together as fans — or “MYs,” as aespa stans were called. Typical of K-pop concerts, this crowd was mostly young and diverse. But among the homemade signs and sprinkles of Sbongs — aespa’s management-sanctioned clear dome-topped lightsticks — were a couple of random Candybongs, official wands of an entirely different K-pop ensemble.
Were these orange- and maroon-haired girls here for the wrong show? As most Asian Americans will tell you, being perceived as interchangeable is our kryptonite.
SM ENTERTAINMENT
aespa at The Prudential Center.
The group’s 2023 tour, which had The Barclays Center in Brooklyn as its tri-state stop, was preceded by a flurry of stateside promotions, including appearances on “Good Morning America,” “The Daily Show” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” While aespa then scaled back its U.S. activities to almost none, its popularity in its native South Korea exploded as the single “Supernova” sat atop charts for more than 100 days in 2024. Perhaps this explained the presence of casual fans among the capacity crowd, seemingly indifferent and possibly just there to bear witness to a milestone in K-pop history. During the preshow parade of music videos, the venue didn’t drown in the routine singalongs. Section 17, directly next to stage right, sat through the opening number, “Drama” — highly unusual at K-pop concerts.
After shedding the crinolines from their white dresses and marshaling their eight backup dancers toward the B-stage, aespa members Karina, Winter, Ningning and Giselle worked the crowd sufficiently for the folks in Section 17 to finally get on their feet for the second number, a remix of the debut single, “Black Mamba.” The group performed a meticulously blocked set of 24 songs, mostly uptempo with rigorous choreography. It was quite a show.
Three songs and a video segment in, aespa had already busted out the aforementioned megahit, “Supernova.” At this point, the place had a proper K-pop vibe at last. Produced by three-time Grammy winner Dem Jointz, the song had a zipper-like bassline and a syncopated beat that played exceptionally well in an arena setting. The crowd was now whipped into a full frenzy.
The show’s third segment began with each member’s solo stage. Unlike the batch from the previous tour that never saw proper releases, the latest four solo tracks were dropped on digital platforms last October, with Karina’s “Up” being a fixture on South Korean charts. The audience’s familiarity with these was obvious.
SM ENTERTAINMENT
aespa at The Prudential Center.
One major issue with the setlist was the inclusion of songs like “Die Trying,” inspired by Netflix’s “Rebel Moon” movie; “Hold on Tight,” from the “Tetris” soundtrack; and “We Go,” from “Pokémon Horizons: The Series.” These arbitrary selections took up slots that could have gone to bona fide hits such as “Girls” and “Savage,” both staples of the 2023 tour but dropped from this outing’s setlist. Another unnecessary inclusion was the single “Gone” from naevis, a vocaloid and recurring character in aespa’s elaborate lore that connected its music videos. It was interesting only marginally, in case you ever wanted a gloomy glimpse into virtual concerts of tomorrow. “Welcome to MY World,” an actual aespa track that featured naevis, would have been a much better choice to serve the purpose.
The emphasis on uptempo songs and intricate choreography came at the expense of vocal performances. After 17 songs — “We Go,” to be precise — aespa members were too exhausted to stand for a water break, yet they had four more songs to do, plus another three for the encore. “Just Another Girl” and “Life’s Too Short,” both encore numbers, were the only real mid-tempo songs in the mix. It was too bad, because Ningning and Winter, both exceptional singers, didn’t get much of a chance to flex their vocal chops until the end. The fact that some of the harmonizations were pre-recorded did nothing to help the group beat lip-syncing allegations. A few well-placed ballads would have facilitated a better pace for performers and patrons alike.
As the crowd waited for aespa’s return to the stage for the encore, the dance cam plucked unsuspecting audience members and challenged them to perform some of the group’s dance routines. The lack of energy and enthusiasm in Section 17 in the beginning most certainly did not prepare us for the near flawless covers of signature moves from hits like “Next Level” and “Whiplash.” MYs definitely came to represent. When the cam landed on a man sporting a long gray beard — who presumably was dragged there — he too busted a move, and got louder cheers than any of the other participants. A good time was indeed had by all.
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