Having debuted in November 2020 with hit single “Black Mamba”, K-Pop girl group Aespa (stylized as aespa) has stayed in the public’s eye ever since. 

Their debut single, which consisted of a genre mixture between electropop and an EDM sound, landed them a spot in the Billboard Global 200, staying there for at least two weeks.

Their first official EP, Savage, was released in October 2021. Savage had reached #20 on the Top 200 chart. Its lead single of the same name had also marked the group’s first entry into the Top 40 for the Billboard Global, cementing them as a global sensation. 

This was later proven with the 2023 release of their single “Supernova”, which reached into the top 20 for the previously-stated chart, staying there for 25 weeks. It had also achieved several hundred “Perfect All-Kills” (PAKs) in South Korea, meaning the song had concurrently reached #1 on several Korean music charts for nearly five months.

Their sixth EP, Rich Man, was released on September 5th, 2025. The four-membered girl group, which consists of members Karina, Winter, Ningning, and Giselle, all add their own unique touches to each track, giving all songs their own feel and making the EP feel fun to listen to the whole way through. 

The EP is comprised of six songs: title track “Rich Man”, “Drift”, “Bubble”, “Count On Me”, “Angel #48”, and “To The Girls”, lasting for a runtime of around 20 minutes. It consists of a variety of genre mixtures, ranging from fast-tempo dance and hip hop to even including some R&B influences. The title itself, Rich Man, is an homage to the iconic Cher, who stated in a 1996 interview, that when her mother told her to settle down with a rich man, she responded with “Mom, I am a rich man.”

Aespa wanted this EP to be about redefining what it means to be a “rich man” and embracing the best version of yourself. “It’s not about material wealth, but about self-confidence and believing in yourself,” group leader Karina said in a NME interview. 

The songs that stood out to me the most were “Drift”, “Bubble”, and “Angel #48”. These songs were so incredibly fun to listen to and they all shared their own meaning of self-confidence, self-worth, and finding beauty in who you truly are. Even though these three tracks are my personal favorites, the rest of the EP is still great.

“Rich Man”: The first track of the EP, also serving as its title track. It opens up with the group’s lead rapper, Giselle, saying, “My mom said to me, ‘Find someone who can give you everything’, and I said, ‘Mom, I already have everything’”. From then on, it moves right into a high-tempo and exciting beat that can be felt throughout the rest of the EP. It’s meant to pump you up and give you a bit of a thrill. The repeated lyrics “I am a Rich Man, Imma carry myself, I am a Rich Man, I’m my own biggest fan” are meant to invoke confidence into the listener, basically telling them to not listen to the haters and to be your own person. I think this song is awesome, fun and great to put on if you ever need to be energized, so I’m giving it a 8/10.

“Drift”: By the first second of this song, I knew I was going to love it. It opens up with a whistling tune and members Giselle and Ningning singing “Let’s go, let’s go, get the drift in”. This song is all sorts of catchy and addictive the more you listen to it. It follows the theme of self love and not caring about what others think, hence the lyrics “Haters gon’ hate when we do what we do”. The lyrics compare a high-speed car drifting to one’s life being experienced to the fullest. It also emphasizes the importance of always having friends that’ll support you by your side, which is noted in Karina’s and Ningning’s shared verse, “Can’t stop, won’t stop, baby, no fear, got my girls all here”. This song has a very “cool” feel the whole way through, with the whistling tune an integral part of it. Near the end of this song, actual sounds of a car drifting come in, representing the finale of an intense, but rewarding journey. I found the vibe of this track to be very fun, so I’ll give it a 9/10.

“Bubble”: This was the song that immediately caught my attention. It begins with members making slight references to the phrases used in the popular children’s toy, “Bop It”. “Bubble” starts off with a fun beat and ends with a fun beat. The song’s upbeat dance tune and fun lyrics are meant to encourage the listener to not let negativity get the best of them and instead to just live their best life. They want people to embrace all that life has to offer hence the continuous references to the Bop It toy, which is shown in the lyrics, “Let me see you, bubble pop it, yeah, twist it, turn it, flick it, pull it, bop it”. These lyrics can also be taken as dance moves one may do, which highlights how fun it could be to listen to this track. Though, my only gripe with it is that these lyrics can get repetitive at times, which makes it a 7.5/10 for me.

“Count On Me”: A stark contrast to the previous songs on the EP. This one begins with a calm, dreamy synth that continues throughout the song. It’s about caring deeply for someone else and wanting to be the person they can lean on the most when they need support, even through the hardest times. They want the other person to “be a little selfish” as they can always count on the members. With its R&B influences, the members sing with a tender and gentle voice throughout, emphasizing the vulnerability they feel for this person. Aespa usually has one or two softer-sounding songs on each of their releases, and this one was no different. I’ll give it a 7.5/10.

“Angel #48”: An incredibly dreamy-sounding song, and is the one track on the EP that is fully in English. Described as “very bubbly and cute” by Giselle, this song is about having hope in your dreams becoming a reality, especially when it comes to romantic love. They play into spiritual manifestation and support as well by beginning the song with the mention of a “guardian angel” with lyrics later in the song going by “With my guardian angel (I manifested you in my life, don’t let me go)”. Further on, they sing about their love finally coming to them with the help of manifesting. I personally find this track to be a cute song with cute lyrics accompanying it. It has a very tranquil feel when you listen to it and it definitely gets stuck in my head at times. I’d recommend this song to anyone who wants something calming to listen to and with that, it’s a 9/10.

“To The Girls”: As the title suggests, this song is for the girls and is meant to empower them and their womanhood. Its lyrics are hopeful the whole way through and unites women in their power, perseverance, and solitary. With lyrics like “Just sit down and watch, ‘cause nothing can make us stop” and “We’re harder than steel”, they display women as courageous and determined, fighting through the issues they have to face. The members’ vocals have a confident tone throughout, emphasizing the idea that women are full of strength and poise. For me, this song was definitely a grower. The beat and production had felt a bit out of place for me when listening to the EP for the first time, but I’ve learned to appreciate the song anyways. It’s a fine song, so it’ll be getting a 7/10.

There’s a song for everyone in this EP. It has a great range of genres, allowing each of the six songs to be unique in their own way. It has exciting, head-bopping music to songs you can simply relax to. I’ll personally recommend to anyone who wants to give K-pop a chance and overall, Rich Man is worthy of an 8/10.