On July 3rd, aespa performed their new song Dirty Work on M Countdown for the first time. There’s been a lot of discourse over the choreography, with fans labeling it “goofy” or “ugly.” But now we finally get to see the full performance (skip to the 2:00 min mark on the first video).
Why is The Choreography for Dirty Work So Controversial?
Weeks before Dirty Work was released, SM Entertainment unveiled a special performance video previewing the song and its choreography. It also doubles as an ad for Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign to promote the iPhone 16 Pro in South Korea.
Initially, the choreo received a lot of praise from fans for being dynamic and highlighting the group’s synchronization. The backlash didn’t kick in until videos promoting the song on social media showed a different version of the choreography. This routine had simpler moves that were repetitive and less cohesive than what was shown in the performance video. Fans felt that this version didn’t match the song’s vibe and failed to showcase the members abilities.
Why Does Dirty Work Have Two Different Dance Routines?
It doesn’t. The problem was that the full choreography wasn’t shown in full when Dirty Work was released.
The choreography was created primarily by lead choreographer and director Song Hee-soo, a dancer who worked on major K-pop releases. She was supported by a team consisting of Renan (who helped with Armageddon), as well as top dancers from the Street Woman Fighter franchise, like We Dem Boyz, Rihey, Lee Bada, and Latrice.
Vata from the dance crew We Dem Boyz was the one who worked on the social media-friendly routine. Most of the criticism has been thrown at Vata adding his signature “driving dance” to the routine, which fans said looked awkward. They’re also not thrilled with the fact that his “driving dance” led to accusations of plagiarizing the move from ATEEZ 2019 song Say My Name (Vata has denied these allegations).
So why did SM Entertainment push the TikTok version, instead of highlighting the actual choreography meant for the stage? Probably because it’s simple enough for people to learn and dance challenges have become a popular form of marketing for K-pop agencies.
The M Countdown Performance
aespa’s stage on M Countdown was the first time fans saw the choreography for Dirty Work in its entirety. Responses are still mixed, but leaning more positive than before.
Some people felt better about the choreography now that they’ve seen aespa perform it live. Ningning’s performance in particular was considered a standout. Her energy brought a lot of life to the final chorus.
But not everyone was won over. While they agreed that the full choreo was better than the TikTok clips, it still lacked the “wow factor” of aespa’s past work. Again, it doesn’t help this is coming off the massive success of their Supernova-Armageddon-Whiplash era, with Armageddon viewed as aespa’s best dance in years.
The backlash feels like a reflection of K-pop fans’ concerns that choreography is becoming too focused on going viral. It feels like SM was too focused on capitalizing on aespa’s success from 2024 that they lost sight of what made aespa so popular in the first place. Now that the girls are promoting on music shows, it’ll be interesting to see if more opinions on the choreography changes over time.
aespa, known for high-impact routines that showcase their unity and precision, felt like a casualty of that trend with “Dirty Work.” And even though the full performance revealed more complexity than expected, it still didn’t shake the feeling that something was missing—something daring, something conceptual, something unforgettable.
