Bet on this rookie group! K-pop group AIMERS made their debut on November 17 with their extended play STAGE 0. BETTING STARTS. With four tracks, the mini-album is the group’s first token on the game board.
Place Your Wager: “Fight Inside”
Opening with the simple keys of a piano, the title track “Fight Inside” is a vocal heavy, high-tempo track with boundless energy. The music video is partly set in front of the famous Paradise Diner, featured in many other music videos, such as EXO Xiumin’s “Brand New” video released just last month. The song is both an introduction to the group and an invitation for listeners to follow along.
The video opens with a scene of member Seunghyun reading My Sweet Orange Tree, a bestselling story detailing a boy’s escape from harsh reality into the magical world of his imagination. Likewise, the music video calls viewers to celebrate this new world that has opened with AIMERS’ debut. With the line, “Switch, get out of this frustrating timeline,” the boys beckon the listeners with their warm smiles and bright energy. In a twinkling outro, the boys question, “Who am I? Who was I?,” while also inciting listeners with, “What you gonna do? / What, what you wanna do?” The message seems to call listeners to embark on this journey with AIMERS and explore the depths of this new imaginative world.
Playing Games with the B-Sides
The EP actually opens with “INTRO : BETTING STARTS,” a lyricless video-game tune. The group performed the dance for the song at their debut showcase. Full of swagger and popular dance moves, such as the sturdy, the dance showcases the boys’ endless energy and determination even at debut. The end of the song comes with the sound of a coin dropping into an arcade game machine; the boys are ready to start the game.
Next comes “NEMO,” a track with a chill rock song. It’s a song about perspective. The word “네모 (romanized as nemo)” in Korean means “square.” Reflecting on this, the song speaks of all the square things in vision while growing up. The members sing, “A square gift wrapped in paper/ I guess I have to rip it open and enjoy my life.” One day, they take a piece of paper and turn it into a paper plane, and throwing it shows the members the expansiveness of the world and all the story. “NEMO” speaks on this process of aging and how growing up has offered a new outlook on life, making it known that even when getting hurt, it is still worth it to say embrace the beauty of the world.
The last track on the album, “Colors,” is a hip hop track with the repetitive line, “Hunnit million colors in my head.” In a drab, monotonous world, the song speaks of one person who’s color and idiosyncrasies bring color to AIMERS’ life. While “This world is drawing paper / There’s nothing in it, really,” this person in the song is exciting and different every time. The group also performed this sweet love song at their debut showcase.
As the album title suggests, this is just stage 0 of AIMERS’ arrival. There is much more to come. To keep up with it all, follow the group on Twitter and Instagram, and listen to STAGE 0. BETTING STARTS on Spotify and Apple Music!
Want more music coverage? Check out our piece on B.I’s new EP Love or Loved, Part. 1 here!
