No More “Favoritism”: Aespa Fans Happy With Line Distribution For “Welcome to MY World”
Yoo Young Jin‘s departure from SM Entertainment took the K-Pop spaces on the internet by storm. The news shocked many, especially fans of SM Entertainment groups that Yoo had previously written and produced for. In particular, aespa fans had mixed reactions to the producer’s departure, with the prospect of a change in creative direction for the fairly young girl group exciting some while making others nervous.
Today, aespa’s pre-release single “Welcome To MY World” for their upcoming mini album My World was released on multiple streaming services in South Korea and internationally. A music video for the track was also uploaded on YouTube, which has the four girls looking as stunning as ever. While the song received mixed reactions from non-fans, Korean and international netizens, MYs seem to have nothing but good words to say — with fans looking especially pleased by the line distribution between the members.
Across the girl group’s past releases, the difference in lines between the members: Karina, Winter, Giselle, and Ningning has always been a topic that received a lot of attention. Fans of Ningning, in particular, have been disappointed by the lack of singing time for their idol even though she holds the main vocalist title in the group.
ok so no one's gonna talk about how bad is ningning's screentime and lines in their comeback??? imagine singing your line but it was the other members showing on the screen 🤨 pls.. ningning isnt just an extra. that girl is THE MAIN VOCALIST
— ً (@gellieuvr) July 8, 2022
The fans’ frustrations with the group’s line distribution only grew with time passing. The situation escalated to the point where many started accusing Yoo Young Jin, aespa’s main producer and seemingly the man in charge of their discography, of “favoritism.” The line distribution on today’s release brought back attention to the accusations, as fans pointed out the difference in Ningning’s lines following Yoo’s departure.
since the demon himself YYJ is gone, aespa released two songs and ningning got most lines. yet people thought it's not about favoritism 😭
— 🏛 (@zhuosung) May 2, 2023
freed from the monster that is yyj and got 50 seconds of lines for ningning pic.twitter.com/E3apoKPwq8
— ؘ (@ningcentric) May 2, 2023
According to fans, “Welcome to MY World” is one of the songs with the “fairest” line distribution in aespa’s discography. In graphics made by MYs, Ningning and Winter, the main and lead vocalists of the group, have the most lines. This comes as a bigger surprise when fans note that SM Entertainment’s upcoming AI soloist Naevis is featured and has singing parts in the track.
SHE'S ACTUALLY TOP2 IN LINES I'M CRYINGGG https://t.co/Q9mQsOeM17 pic.twitter.com/sbPeyhrs32
— g; | AESPA LOCKDOWN 🌶️ (@krnsana) May 2, 2023
With the pre-release single receiving nothing but positive reactions from the fans, they can now look forward to the title track, “Spicy,” set to release next week. “Welcome to MY World” has not only pleased MYs and fulfilled all their wishes, but the track has also made them even more excited for aespa’s “new direction” — with many sharing how much they’re looking forward to the official comeback date.
ningning got good lines good screentime and served the most in the mv. happy today!
— ؘ (@firenings) May 2, 2023
wtmw is actually so refreshing and different, both sound and music video wise. seated for this new direction, especially if it means ningning getting more lines and screentime.
— ؘ (@ningcentric) May 2, 2023