Aespa’s “Next Level” Producer Breaks Down The Song’s Unusual Structure & Explains That “Beat Drop”
Last month, popular YouTube channel ReacttotheK uploaded a video reacting to aespa‘s latest no.1 hit, “Next Level”—and even the classically trained musicians had trouble understanding the structure. So, this week, “Next Level” producer Adam McInnis appeared on the channel to explain the song’s form to everyone, tying in everything from the chorus to the unexpected “beat drop.”
First off, ReacttotheK host Umu explained why the structure of “Next Level” throws listeners off so much. “K-Pop fans are used to each section of a K-Pop song being very obvious,” says Umu. “Next Level,” on the other hand, “Used a lot of the repeated instrumental and threw in completely new material at unexpected times.” If you were confused by the track’s form at first, don’t feel bad—even Umu, as a musician, said her brain “malfunctioned” trying to make sense of it. Thankfully, co-producer Adam McInnis laid everything out clearly.
Part of music is there are rules that work and then there’s rules that you have to break. If you follow rules that everyone’s going to expect, then the expectations are always going to be without extra value, because it’s ordinary. Sometimes breaking a rule makes something extraordinary.
— Adam McInnis
While many listeners have said that the track sounds like four songs blended together, there are actually reasons for the frequent shifts in tone. First off, “Next Level” starts with its first verse. While the first verse sounds a lot like the chorus, especially since they both start with the same iconic line (“I’m on the next level“), listen closely and you’ll notice the structure is slightly different.
Right when it comes in, it kind of previews or foreshadows the chorus.
— Adam McInnis
Next, McInnis says the song goes into its pre-chorus, which you might know by the lines, “oo-wee-oo-wee” and “too hot, too hot.” According to the producer, “oo-wee-oo-wee” also serves as a hook and the way to take your ear “to another place” to transition the song.
That’s why we took it to that ‘oo-wee-oo,’ and the high frequency, and that part that you can’t get out of your head once you hear it.
— Adam McInnis
Next up is the chorus, again repeating, “I’m on the next level.” But after that, things switch up. The producer described the next section—the repeated “La la la la la la“—as a re-intro. McInnis went on to say that this part of the song feels almost childlike, creating a spark in the song through contrast before bringing things back to the original form.
We have this song that starts off sounding like it’s almost in a spy movie. It’s all this cool bass line, it’s got this rolling bass that goes through, and then it has this swagger to it. But then all of a sudden it goes, ‘La la la la la la,’ so it’s so opposite from what you’ve already been expecting.
— Adam McInnis
Next up is the second verse, but then there’s another shift in feel. SM Entertainment songs are often praised for their bridges, so perhaps that’s why they doubled down here and went for not one but two bridge sections, each with two distinct parts.
The first part of the first bridge is the repetition of, “Watch me while I work it out,” which then transitions into incredible singing. Instead of going straight into a rap section like most songs would, McInnis says a vocal section was added to take it somewhere “beautiful.”
The visual on that with the fire in the background, the lava, it’s just like, where are we going? They take it to that part vocally, which is beautiful.
— Adam McInnis
As for the second bridge, that all takes place after, “Beat drop—Naevis, calling.” “Let’s throw it to this real kind of bridge where there’s the rapping section,” said McInnis of this section, which he described as a “new jack swing” vibe.
After that, the song becomes relatively simple again, heading back to the pre-chorus and the final two choruses. All in all, the song actually makes a lot of sense when it’s broken down: verse, pre-chorus, chorus, transition, verse, bridge one, bridge two, pre-chorus, and chorus.
“Maybe perhaps the killing point is that we have so many different emotions and stories going with each section,” suggested Umu, and Adam McInnis confirmed that she’s right on the money. The producer went on to say that the “rollercoaster” of emotions, always bringing you back to the “I’m on the next level” line, is the reason this song gets so hooked in people’s minds.
Yes, there’s formulas and yes, there are rules and yes, you use them, but then if you know how to play with them and almost interact in a different way with them, you create different reactions.
— Adam McInnis
And though SM Entertainment and the song’s producers may have taken a leap of faith by breaking all the rules with “Next Level,” it worked. This week, the song became one of the few to ever hit no.1 on the Melon 24Hits chart!
