How aespa’s ‘Hot Mess’ Connects To The Rest Of Their Discography

It’s been almost four years since aespa (and their aes) started lighting up our lives, yet they’re still finding innovative new ways to show us new sides of their art while also building on the worlds they’ve already created. Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning’s debut Japanese single, ‘Hot Mess,’ is such a fun addition to their catalog that includes throwbacks to many of their past songs! Whether you’re a new MY or a longtime fan and just want to make sure you’ve caught everything, here’s our breakdown of the references you can keep an ear (and eye) out for.

“A hot mess…”

From pretty much the beginning of aespa, MYs have had a joke that Giselle is the resident Hot Girl of K-Pop because of her talent and the fact that her high school yearbook quote was Paris Hilton’s “that’s hot” catchphrase. Since then, it’s made its way into their music in the form of Giselle’s ‘2HOT4U’ solo, as well as the OT4 songs ‘Next Level,’ ‘Spicy,’ and ‘Supernova.’ 

Giselle is the only Japanese member of aespa, so it’s cute that aespa made the name of their Japanese debut tie into one of her inside jokes!

“In the blink of an eye, time’s up…”

The first of a few different references to aespa’s Drama mini-album and era! The girls remind us not to blink and miss something important after warning someone not to let their guard down on ‘Don’t Blink.’ 

“If you likе it, I can take you to MY WORLD…”

Face it, everyone loved it when aespa took us to their world on the MY WORLD mini-album last year! With songs like ‘Spicy’ and ‘Thirsty,’ it really was one of the most iconic eras of the girls’ career so far. Another iconic aespa song notably references MY WORLD, but we’ll get to that shortly…

“Hidden ænergy, dream designer…”

From the first time we heard ‘ænergy’ on aespa’s 2021 Savage mini-album, we know it’d go down in history as one of the best opening tracks in K-Pop history! It set the scene for a powerful EP that let aespa show off their fierce personalities, and the title describes their strengths and charms. Here, they’re flaunting how those strengths and charms have let them design the life of their dreams.  

“Drama has begun, this is not fiction…”

We think the strongest ties ‘Hot Mess’ has with any past aespa song are with ‘Drama!’ Not only is there this name-drop, but both songs reference MY WORLD and there are a whole lot of connections in the ‘Hot Mess’ music video. Let’s break them down!

During the first chorus of the ‘Hot Mess’ video, one shot shows Winter through a car backup camera that says, “Check surroundings for your safety.” It kind of reminded us of the ominous message we got in the beginning of the ‘Drama’ music video: “Please follow [these] rules while watching the Drama. Look back immediately when you feel a presence in the dark. If your reflection in the mirror tries to shake your hand, do not let it.” 

Winter winds up freefalling off a building during the bridge of ‘Hot Mess,’ much like she does in the ‘Drama’ music video after Ningning seems to drop her. Later in the ‘Drama’ video, Winter refuses to let Karina fall the same way, and keeps a tight grip on her wrist.

Finally, the last chorus of ‘Hot Mess’ shows aespa as giants in a modern city. Yup, you know where we’re heading with this: it almost definitely connects to the Giant teasers from the Drama era! We think this is the most clear confirmation that ‘Hot Mess’ and ‘Drama’ belong in the same universe.

The animated characters in the ‘Hot Mess’ music video also reminded us of the ones we see in the ‘Savage’ video, and ‘Drama’ mentions ‘Savage’ in its chorus! Could this be another connection? Maybe each of these three songs take place in the same section of aespa’s multiverse, and these animated characters are their versions of aes…

Which track on aespa’s Hot Mess single album is your favorite? Did you notice all of these references on your own? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! 

Check out more sweet aespa content! 

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AESPA:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE