"Welcome to My World" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group
Aespa featuring
Naevis
The SM Culture Universe (SMCU) is a shared universe produced by SM Entertainment.
Development
By 2004, SM Entertainment had been working to produce their own culture universe. During the planning stage, Lee Soo-man thought of creating a world ...
. Written by Ellie Suh, Hyun Ji-won, and Danke alongside
Mich Hansen
Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen.
Career
Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...
, Jacob "Ubizz" Uchorczak, Celine Svanbäck, and Patrizia Helander, it was released as a pre-release single for their third extended play ''
My World'' 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 ...
on May 2, 2023.
Background and release
On February 16, 2023,
Lee Sung-soo released a 30-minute video stating: "
Lee Soo-man was the reason why Aespa's music has been delayed" and that the group was supposed to release new music on February 20. Moreover, he added that Soo-man wanted to start "injecting environmentalist motifs of tree-planting and sustainability into songs" which were eventually later scrapped as they "did not fit the world of Aespa" and made the group "upset". On March 16, SM Entertainment announced that Aespa would be releasing a record in early May. On April 17, it was announced that the group's third extended play titled ''My World'', and containing six tracks, would be released on May 8. It was also announced that "Welcome to My World" would be pre-released on May 2. On April 26, it was revealed that Naevis, the AI character in Aespa's
SMCU storyline, would featured in "Welcome to My World" as a virtual artist. The song alongside its music video was released on May 2.
Composition
"Welcome to My World" was written by Ellie Suh (153/Joombas), Hyun Ji-won, and Danke (Lalala Studio), composed and arranged by
Mich Hansen
Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen.
Career
Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...
, and Jacob "Ubizz" Uchorczak with Celine Svanbäck, and Patrizia Helander participating in the composition. It was described as a "dreamy" and "majestic" pop and
alternative pop song characterized by "guitar riff and orchestra" with lyrics about "inviting Naevis
nd the listenerto the music world of Aespa". "Welcome to My World" was 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 ...
of
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable compositi ...
, 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 152 beats per minute.
Music video
The music video portrays the members "taking a road trip to a forest and connect with nature" with "a mysterious aura
ollowingthem
hroughouttheir journey", later revealed to be Naevis, "a personified AI system from the group's
orld.
Commercial performance
"Welcome to My World" debuted at number 122 on South Korea's
Circle Digital Chart in the chart issue dated April 30 – May 6, 2023;
on its component charts, the song debuted at number 34 on the Circle Download Chart,
number 157 on the Circle Streaming Chart,
and number 162 on the Circle BGM Chart.
In the following week, it ascended to number 64 on the Circle Digital Chart,
and number 68 on the Circle Streaming Chart.
In Singapore, the song debuted at number 26 on the
RIAS Top Regional Chart in the chart issue dated May 5–11, 2023.
In Vietnam, the song debuted at number 27 on the ''
Billboard Vietnam
''Billboard Việt Nam'' is an online Vietnamese music magazine, owned by Purpose Media Company Limited in partnership with ''Billboard''. The magazine made its first public appearance as an organizer of the New Year's Countdown Lights 2018 in H ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
in the chart issue dated May 18, 2023.
Critical reception
On ''
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 ...
''s midyear list of the best K-pop songs of 2023, Abby Webster wrote that the song "set the tone with a perfected alchemy of hard and soft (or, in their parlance, salty and sweet)" and called it "a welcome oasis in their digital terrain".
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from EP's liner notes.
Studio
* SM Yellow Tail Studio –
recording,
digital editing
Digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital ...
* Seoul Studio – recording
* SM Starlight Studio – digital editing
* Doobdoob Studio – digital editing
* SM Concert Hall Studio –
mixing
* 821 Sound –
mastering
Personnel
*
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 ...
– executive producer
*
Aespa – vocals,
background vocals
* Ellie Suh (153/Joombas) – lyrics
* Danke (Lalala Studio) – lyrics
* Hyun Ji-won – lyrics
*
Mich Hansen
Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen.
Career
Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...
–
composition,
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
* Jacob "Ubizz" Uchorczak – composition, arrangement
* Celine Svanbäck – composition
* Patrizia Helander – composition
* Kriz – vocal directing, background vocals
* Goldbranch – orchestral recording, orchestral arrangement, orchestral programming
* SM Classics Town Orchestra –
orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...
* Moon Jung-jae – piano, orchestral recording
* Lee Jong-han – orchestral programming
* Noh Min-ji – recording, digital editing
* Jeong Ki-hong – recording
* Choi Da-in – recording
* Lee Chan-mi – recording
* Jeong Yoo-ra – digital editing
* Jang Woo-young – digital editing
* Nam Koong-jin – mixing
* Kwon Nam-woo – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Release history
References
{{Aespa
Aespa songs
2023 singles
2023 songs
Songs in Korean
SM Entertainment singles
Warner Records singles
Alternative pop songs
South Korean pop songs
Songs written by Cutfather