Aespa’s Rich Man, released on Sept. 5, is the most recent mini-album in a string of releases that completely undermines SM Entertainment’s masterful production and the group members’ blossoming vocal talents.
The K-pop girl group dropped its long-awaited sixth mini-album shortly after the Aug. 29 start of its Synk: Aexis Line concert tour. Attendees at the Aug. 29-31 concerts at the KSPO Dome in Seoul got an early listen to four of the album’s six tracks, along with a new solo piece for each member.
The teaser for the mini-album’s title track of the same name premiered two days before its release. A ripping electric guitar-driven beat dominates the video, which features Winter racing a truck down a football field and a CGI animation of Giselle’s dog, Cooper, in a football helmet, vaulting over the offensive line to retrieve the ball. At 20 seconds of pure, unbridled hysteria, the teaser perfectly embodies the deliberate chaos of post-Drama Aespa.
The title track opens with a reference to a 1996 interview Cher had with Dateline NBC, where she recounted a story of her mother telling her to marry a rich man, followed by her response: “Mom, I am a rich man.” Aespa said during an interview that the message of “Rich Man” is about self-contentment rather than material wealth. The creative team behind the music video chose a more literal interpretation of the lyrics, casting the members as football players, sports commentators, monster truck drivers and farm workers — the implication being the members are empowered and self-sufficient, particularly from men.
The title repetition in the preceding mini-album’s “Whiplash” can be attributed to a stylistic choice that embraces the song’s hypermodern, runway-esque aesthetic. The self-affirmation-chanting chorus of “Rich Man,” though initially less audibly offensive than the former, lacks any lyrical depth or notable musicality. The post-chorus of “la la las” attempts to convey a feeling of carefree energy to suit the rock theme but instead comes off as a lazy placeholder for proper lyrics. Unlike the teaser, the striking instrumentals are toned down for the members’ vocal parts, which are too low-energy for a rock-inspired production such as this, giving the entire song a dull quality.
“Drift” sports a powerful pre-chorus followed immediately by an anti-drop, “Whistle”-style chorus. Unlike Blackpink’s “Whistle,” however, the series of four awkward chirps in the background detracts from the album’s intended theme, especially following a lackluster opening track.
“Bubble” is quintessential TikTok dance challenge music, though admittedly it becomes enjoyable once the melody kicks in. Neither “Bubble,” “Count on Me” — the mini-album’s token R&B track — nor “Angel #48” have any distinguishing qualities that signal they were intended to serve as anything other than B-sides — in other words, filler. Not even “To the Girls” can measure up to its predecessor, “Just Another Girl,” being a watered-down, lower-energy remake of an already generic-sounding pop song.
The team behind Aespa invested all of its resources into creating a low-risk mini-album promoting a positive, feel-good message: You are powerful and self-sufficient. Unfortunately, the same effort wasn’t put into innovating new genres within K-pop, something Aespa was originally renowned for. Given the quality of Whiplash and most recently Rich Man, fans can only hope the group still has the means to capitalize on its waning interest.
