Maps of Music

My World (2023)

Where the lyrics of My World take you, and where it was really made.

The EP that brought aespa back to the 'real world' was made in studios spread across Seoul and recorded in several different rooms.

Key places

Recording credit for track 1 at Seoul Studio (2023)

Recording site Big Hit Studios, Seoul — The credits list Seoul Studio for recording track 1 of My World. Track 1 is “Welcome to My World”, the pre-release single featuring Naevis. The point is placed at city level only, so the exact building is not confirmed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Private company studio, not open to visitors.

Album story

Overview

• My World: third extended play by South Korean girl group aespa
• Released 8 May 2023 by SM Entertainment
• Six tracks, including pre-release single “Welcome to My World” featuring Naevis
• Lead single “Spicy” reached the top three on the Circle Digital Chart
• Brighter pop sound than the dark, futuristic hyperpop of Savage (2021) and Girls (2022)
• Draws mostly from dance and R&B
• Styles range from alternative pop and dream pop to synth-pop and ballad
• Described by aespa as a return to the “real world” from Kwangya

Background

• On 16 February 2023, Lee Sung-soo released a 30-minute video saying Lee Soo-man delayed aespa's music
• Environmentalist motifs planned for songs were scrapped, according to that video
• 16 March 2023: SM announced an early-May release
• 17 April 2023: title, six-track listing and four versions with 11 covers announced
• 24 April 2023: “Spicy” announced as lead single
• 26 April 2023: Naevis revealed as a virtual artist on “Welcome to My World”

Recording

• Recording credits list multiple SM studios and outside studios across tracks
• Seoul Studio is credited with recording track 1
• Karina said “Spicy” was chosen because the group had first listened to it a long time before
• Naevis' vocals on “Welcome to My World” were added after the group asked to sing the song
• Mixing and mastering credits include 821 Sound for all tracks

Cover

• Eleven different covers across four versions of the EP

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Aespa is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment.
• The group is known for popularizing the metaverse concept and hyperpop music in K-pop.

Members

• Karina (leader, dancer, rapper, vocalist), Giselle (rapper, vocalist), Winter (vocalist, dancer), Ningning (vocalist, dancer).

Career

• Debuted on November 17, 2020 with the single "Black Mamba", which set the record for the most 24-hour views of a K-pop group's debut video.
• "Next Level" (2021) won Song of the Year at the 19th Korean Music Awards.
• The EP Savage (2021) was the highest-charting debut album by a K-pop girl group on the US Billboard 200 at number 20.
• The EP Girls (2022) became the best-selling album by a K-pop girl group in history and the first to sell one million copies in its first week.
• Performed at Coachella in 2022 and held the Synk: Hyper Line tour (2023) and the Synk: Parallel Line tour (2024–2025).
• Released the first studio album Armageddon in 2024; "Supernova" topped the Circle Digital Chart for eleven weeks.
• Released the second studio album Lemonade in 2026.

Reception

At release

• The EP was met with generally favorable reviews from critics.
• NME's Rhian Daly: My World might water down the layers of SMCU in its songs, but it doesn't dilute the sound that Aespa have become known for.
• NME: Naevis is much more subtle here and is easily missed, though she is there for attentive listeners.
• Clash's Sharifa Charles: a remarkable showcase of Aespa's versatile talent that ventures into uncharted territory.
• AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung gave the EP 4 out of 5, calling it an absolute breath of fresh air in the K-pop realm.
• Dork's Abigail Firth: the EP shows a new side of the group while doubling down on their versatility.
• IZM critic Seonghyun Han: not a declaration of territorial occupation but a signal to cross the border and open a gateway; named “Welcome to My World” a highlight.

Records

• Circle Album Chart: debuted at number one with 1,420,178 copies sold in a week (19th week of 2023)
• Hanteo Chart: more than 1.6 million copies in the first week of release, surpassing Blackpink's Born Pink
• Certified double million by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA)
• Pre-orders: more than 1.5 million copies reported in less than a week
• Circle Album Chart monthly top: 1,949,219 copies sold in May 2023
• United States: number nine on the Billboard 200 with 39,000 copies sold, the group's second consecutive top-ten album
• Topped Billboard World Albums and Top Album Sales charts
• IFPI Global Music Report 2023: twelfth best-selling album worldwide, 2.1 million units

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Naevis, the AI character from aespa's SMCU storyline, was revealed as a virtual artist on “Welcome to My World”.
• Six music videos were released on 2, 3, 4, 8 and 29 May 2023, for six different tracks.
• The “'Til We Meet Again” video uses tour footage from the Synk: Hyper Line concerts and includes footage of aespa in Sydney.
• Karina said aespa had sung with an AI character for the first time and that Naevis' sound blended smoothly with the members.
• “Welcome to My World” peaked at number 64 on the Circle Digital Chart, while “Spicy” reached number two.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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