AOA goes sporty for summer on third EP

AOA’s Jimin, Choa, Hyejeong, Seolhyun, Mina, Yuna and Chanmi are back as lacrosse players for their third EP, “Heart Attack,” dressed in sporty blue and yellow outfits for the stage.

Monday they held a press showcase at the AX-Korea Concert Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, styled in the format of a sports contest.

On their long-awaited comeback, Hyejeong noted, “It‘s been eight months since we all performed together as a group. We missed each other so much during our individual promotions, and we’re glad to be back together.”

“We did very well last year, and we‘ve got high hopes for this season,” said Choa.

Those high hopes are well-justified; on the day of the EP’s release, “Heart Attack” hit the No. 1 spot on seven charts in Korea, as well as on a Chinese chart.

“It‘s unbelievable,” said Jimin. “We’ve never performed in China, and we haven‘t even really kicked off our promotions in Korea yet. We’re so grateful.”

The EP “Heart Attack” contains a total of six tracks. Four of the songs, including the title track, were created by hit-maker Brave Brothers.

“Heart Attack” is a summer dance song with a heavy electronic sound and a danceable beat. The lyrics are about a girl who falls in love at first sight and is unable to contain her excitement about her new crush. In the music video that crush is a lacrosse player. 

“For this (music video) we received special training from the Korean national lacrosse team,” said Jimin. “They taught us everything from basic postures to how to handle the ball.”

The seven girls of Ace of Angels hit three home runs last year with “Miniskirt,” “Short Hair” and “Like a Cat” -- sexy performances that marked their transition from cute to sexy.

With this EP, they emphasized a more sweet, girl-next-door appeal. “Since we’re performing in the summer, we thought it would be better to come out with a cool, refreshing song that lets us smile and laugh on stage,” Jimin said.

According to Choa, that shift from sexy to sweet was also reflected in the choreography. “The choreography is a lot more bouncy than our past sultry dances,” she said. “It took a lot of practice, but we love that we can bring more energy to the stage.”

When asked about whether AOA would ever return to their original girl band concept, Choa answered, “We’re all still practicing our instruments. Our original concept was a transformer concept, moving freely between a band and dance group format.”

She continued, “At this point in time, we wanted to show you all that we could with the dance concept. We’re planning on giving diverse performances as a group, as units and as solos in various genres, so keep watching us.”