"Forever" () is a song recorded by South Korean girl group

Aespa Aespa ( ; , commonly stylized in all lowercase or æspa) is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of four members: Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. They debuted on November 17, 2020, with the single " B ...

. Originally released as the group's second digital single on February 5, 2021, by

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

, it was later included on the group's second extended play ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

'', released on July 8, 2022. A remake of the song of the same name by

Yoo Young-jin Yoo Young-jin is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and vocal trainer under SM Entertainment. He has produced and written songs for H.O.T., S.E.S, BoA, Shinhwa, TVXQ, CSJH The Grace, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, Shinee, ...

as a part of SM's holiday album ''Winter Vacation in SMTown.com'' in 2000, "Forever" is a mid-tempo R&B

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

with an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

sound and warm lyrics about promising forever to a loved one. An accompanying music video for the song was published simultaneously with the single's release. The winter-inspired video follows Aespa in a winter wonderland in a snow globe with snow falling outside. The song debuted at number eleven on the US

World Digital Song Sales The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific s ...

chart, becoming their second entry overall and received generally favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

Background and release

On January 29, 2021, SM Entertainment announced Aespa would be making a comeback with "Forever", which is a remake of a single by

, released for SM Entertainment's holiday album ''Winter Vacation in SMTown.com'' in 2000. On February 1, 2021, concept photos were released for Karina and Ningning. The following day, concept photos were released for Winter and Giselle. "Forever" was released for digital download and streaming as a digital

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on February 5, 2021, by

Composition

"Forever" was written and composed by

while production was handled by

Lee Soo-man Lee Soo-man (, born 18 June 1952) is a South Korean business executive and record producer who is best known for being the founder of SM Entertainment, a multinational South Korean entertainment company based in Seoul. He has also been referred ...

. The song has been described as a mid-tempo R&B

with an

sound and

string instruments String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the Str ...

playing in the background. In terms of

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

, the song is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

D-flat major D-flat major (or the key of D-flat) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. It is enharmonically equivalent to C-sharp major. The D-flat major scale is: : Its ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 184 beats per minute. At four minutes and fifty-eight seconds long, it is the longest song in Aespa's catalogue. Lyrically, it tells the story of a wintry romance and promising forever to a loved one. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' described it as "departure from both the image and sound" Aespa presented in their previous single " Black Mamba".

Critical reception

"Forever" received generally favorable reviews from

. In a three-star review of "Forever", ''

''s Ruby C said that the quartet added a "feminine touch" to their rendition. "The remake manages to do justice to the original, and may even be a little more believable, thanks to Aespa's sweet, girlish charms", she added. Writing for ''Hypebae'', Ye-eun Kim described "Forever" as a "fresh, love-themed track" that shows a "completely different side of the virtual hybrid K-pop group". Irene Chou of ''

The Brown Daily Herald ''The Brown Daily Herald'' is the student newspaper of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Established in 1866 and published daily since 1891, The ''Herald'' is the second-oldest student newspaper among America's college dailies. I ...

'' called it "a soft ballad's late-winter feel" and praised the group's "impressive" vocals atop the "flawless execution of eye-catching choreography".

Music video and promotion

In the lead-up to the release of "Forever", the group released photo and video teasers for the track, which served as a promotional tool for their return. An accompanying music video was uploaded to SM Entertainment's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel on February 5, 2021, and has accumulated more than 46 million views on the platform. The video was directed by the production company Sunnyvisual. Portrayed in a winter style, the visual depicts Aespa in a winter wonderland in a snow globe with snow falling outside. In one scene, the ae versions of the group are looking at their human versions from outside the snowglobe. On February 6, 2021, Aespa released the "Cozy Winter Cabin" version performance video. In the video, the Aespa members are sitting in a cozy cabin as the snow falls outside. On February 8, the "Glitter Snowball" version was released. On February 10 the group released the "Romantic Street" version. During the group's attendance at the Second World Cultural Industry Forum (WCIF), Aespa performed the single along with " Black Mamba" and " Next Level" on a stage combing AR and XR technologies.

Track listing

* Digital download / streaming # "Forever" () – 4:58

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

. Studio * SM Big Shot Studio –

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, engineered for mix, mixing * Studio-T – recording * Sonic Korea – mastering Personnel *

– vocals, background vocals *

– lyrics, background vocals, recording, digital editing, composition, arrangement, music and sound supervisor, directing, mixing engineer, mixing * Sam Lee – bass, guitar * K Strings – strings * Shim Sang-won –strings arrangement, conducting * Oh Seung-geun – recording * Oh Se-young – recording assistant * Cheon Hoon – mastering * Shin Soo-min – mastering assistant

Charts

Release history

References

{{Aespa 2021 songs SM Entertainment singles Korean-language songs Aespa songs Songs written by Yoo Young-jin