Seven people, in Korea and Japan at once — AEN debuts

In three lines

• AEN debuted on August 5 with the mini album 'A NEW ERA OF NOW'.
• They are a seven-member group: four Korean members and three Japanese.
• The official music video released is the Japanese version of the title track.

How the debut album is built

Here is yesterday's release.

Item	Detail
Artist	AEN
Album	1st mini album 'A NEW ERA OF NOW'
Release	August 5, 6 p.m. (Korea and Japan simultaneously)
Title track	'X to Z (Next to me)'
Tracks	10
Produced by	Starship Entertainment · Amuse joint venture

Ten tracks on a debut mini. That's a lot for a first record, and it's because Korean and Japanese versions are both included.

The name AEN comes from the initials of 'A New Era of Now', and the album title is that sentence in full. The name and the first album are saying the same thing.

That the music video is the Japanese version

The video on the official channel is the Japanese version of the title track. The Korean version exists only as audio.

For a Korea–Japan joint group this arrangement isn't rare. But a team led by a Korean agency releasing the video in Japanese first is a choice that shows where the weight sits.

This group also held its first pre-debut showcase in Tokyo, on June 27. From preparation onward, the Japanese side came first.

Objects that don't explain themselves

The music video sets out objects instead of a story — footprints of unknown origin, a spilling glass of water, a floating feather.

Images like that defer explanation. They don't tell you the meaning; they show you the picture first. For a rookie's debut video that can be risky, since nobody knows the team yet.

But the song is electronic rock led by electric guitar and synth bass. A loud song suits a screen that explains little. The sound is already saying enough.

Discovery note

Listen to both versions of this one. How the same melody shifts between languages is this team's character.

Play the Japanese version first, then the Korean, and you'll hear pronunciation settling onto the rhythm differently. That's the difference that appears when one team works in two languages.

With a debut, direction matters more than polish. Where this team goes gets decided on the second album. For now it's worth noting the starting point.

Just give it a listen, trust me.