It’s a funky little delight, a sonic explosion of ferocity and possibility. Seriously: It’s one of the longest-charting girl group songs in South Korea’s history, and it has everyone from Monsta X to Twice to BTS’s Jungkook under its spell. It takes all of SM Entertainment and producer Yoo Young-jin’s signature stylistic elements (the bass slide! the unexpected beat drop! the vocal growls!) and brings them to the nex-tuh lev-ul (the enunciation is key). Rhythmically, you never know where Karina, Giselle, Winter, and NingNing are headed. In a global musical landscape that often follows the same syncopated structure, “Next Level” is an electrifying punch to the gut. For some, the song is an acquired taste - too disjointed, too nonsensical (“that’s my naevis, it’s my naevis”), too odd - but that’s what makes it so perfect. Perhaps my biggest flex of 2021 is that I knew aespa’s “Next Level” was going to be a hit the first time I heard it. There is no doubt that IU is a master of her craft and a one-of-a-kind talent, but “Lilac” sure has a special place in our hearts, if only for the bittersweet aftertaste it leaves on our tongues. Yes, one day, as we grow old and gray, our memories of “the faces and scents of today” might fade, but there will never be any regrets about how it all played out. She compares her time in her 20s to a relationship, with this goodbye being a perfect farewell that she’ll treasure forever. That, precisely, is the tear-inducing beauty of “Lilac” – there has never been a more “perfect” and “glorious” goodbye. It would have been a sad moment too, had IU not stomped her feet and declared that the goodbye to an era of her life would not be anything less than celebratory and perfect. Somewhere between her spectacular high notes on “Good Day” and the twisting tragedy of “Love Poem,” we all grew up. Maybe it’s just us, but knowing that IU turned 30 this year came with some heartache - a lot of us realized just how much time had passed for us as well.
IU Captures an “Ivory-Colored Spring Climax’ to Her 20s in ”Lilac"
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