Aespa
Aespa is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of four members: Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. The group is known for popularizing the metaverse concept and hyperpop music in K-pop.
Aespa debuted on November 17, 2020, with the single "Black Mamba", which achieved the highest number of views in 24 hours for a K-pop group's debut video. Their third single, "Next Level", was released in May 2021 to widespread commercial and critical success, peaking at number two on the Circle Digital Chart and earning the daesang for Song of the Year at the 19th Korean Music Awards. In October of the same year, Aespa released their first extended play Savage, which became the highest-charting debut album by a K-pop girl group on the US Billboard 200 chart at number 20, while its title track peaked at number two in South Korea.
In July 2022, Aespa released their second EP Girls, which broke the record for the best-selling album by a K-pop girl group in history and became the first to sell one million copies in the first week of release. It also debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, marking their first top-ten album in the US. Their third EP, My World, was released in May 2023, achieving over two million sales and becoming their second top-ten album on the Billboard 200. The group released their first studio album, Armageddon, in May 2024. It was preceded by the commercially successful lead single "Supernova", which topped the Circle Digital Chart for eleven weeks and won Song of the Year at the 2024 MAMA Awards and 2024 Melon Music Awards. In October 2024, the title track of Aespa's fifth EP Whiplash became their first top-ten hit on the Billboard Global 200 at number eight, while their 2025 single "Dirty Work" entered the top five of the chart.
Name
The group's name, Aespa, combines the English initials for "avatar" and "experience" with the English word "aspect", meaning "two sides", to symbolize the idea of "meeting another self and experiencing the new world".Career
2016–2019: Pre-debut activities
Ningning was introduced as a member of pre-debut training team SM Rookies on September 19, 2016. As part of the team, she appeared on the Rookies Princess: Who's the Best? segment of the program My SMT that year and recorded several covers for the Korean animated TV program Shining Star in 2017.Karina appeared in labelmate Taemin's music video for the song "Want" in February 2019 and performed with him on several music programs in the following weeks. Karina also appeared alongside labelmate Kai for a performance in Hyundai and SM Entertainment's collaboration virtual showcase — The All-New Tucson, Beyond DRIVE.
Aespa's logo was also teased at the end of SuperM's "One " music video.
2020–2021: Introduction, debut, "Next Level", and ''Savage''
On October 26, 2020, SM Entertainment announced that it would debut a new girl group, its first since Red Velvet in 2014 and its first overall idol group since NCT in 2016. The group's name and members were revealed individually starting on October 27. SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man explained the group's concept at the 2020 World Cultural Industry Forum on October 28. A video trailer featuring all four members was revealed on November 2, alongside the announcement of the release of Aespa's debut single, "Black Mamba", on November 17. Upon release, the song's music video achieved the highest number of views for a K-pop group's debut video in 24 hours, with 21.4 million views. The group made their broadcast debut on KBS2's Music Bank on November 20 to perform "Black Mamba", and earned their first music show win on SBS's Inkigayo on January 17, 2021.On January 29, 2021, SM Entertainment announced Aespa would release a remake of "Forever", the single originally by Yoo Young-jin for SM Entertainment's 2000 holiday album Winter Vacation in SMTOWN.com. Aespa's version of the song, a "mid-tempo ballad characterized by acoustic guitar sound" with "warm lyrics about promising forever to a loved one", was released on February 5.
On May 4, SM Entertainment announced Aespa would release a new single titled "Next Level", a dance and hip-hop track with a "groovy" rap, "energetic" bass, and "powerful vocals". It was released on May 17. It debuted at number nine on the Gaon Digital Chart and peaked at number two, becoming their first top five hit in South Korea. It also peaked at number two on the Billboard K-pop Hot 100 chart. "Next Level" became Aespa's third song to chart on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, peaking at number three. On July 22, it was announced that Aespa had signed with Creative Artists Agency for their future activities in the United States. On September 10, it was announced that remix versions of "Next Level" will be released on September 14, along with a music video and a visualizer video for "Next Level ".
On September 14, SM Entertainment announced Aespa would release their first extended play, Savage. The extended play contains six tracks, including the lead single of the same name. It was released on October 5 to critical acclaim and commercial success, with media outlets praising "Savage" for its "addictive" hooks, refrains, and "masterfully layered" production. The song was included in multiple year-end lists such as NME and Time ''magazine
On October 13, Aespa was included in People magazine's Ones to Watch 2021 list as a "Rising Star". On November 25, the group performed on a float, celebrating women in STEM, at the 95th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, making them the first Korean girl group to perform at the parade. On December 2, they won their first Daesang at the Asia Artist Awards. Two days later, on December 4, the group won their second Daesang at the 2021 Melon Music Awards.
On November 4, it was announced that Aespa would be releasing a remake of S.E.S.'s "Dreams Come True" on December 20 for SM's Remastering Project and as the lead single of the SM Town album, 2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express. The music video for the song was directed by Lucid Colour and choreographed and visually directed by BoA. The song peaked at number eight on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number seven on the Billboard'' World Digital Songs chart.
On December 26, Karina and Winter were revealed as members of the supergroup Got the Beat. The supergroup debuted with the single "Step Back" on January 3, 2022.
2022: Coachella, international expansion, and ''Girls''
On January 8, 2022, Aespa became the inaugural winner of the Artist of the Year award at the 36th Golden Disc Awards. On March 1, they won the Song of the Year award for "Next Level" at the 19th Korean Music Awards. On April 19, it was announced that Aespa would be performing at Coachella on April 23, becoming the third K-pop girl group to perform at the festival. They performed as part of 88rising's Head in the Clouds Forever set for the second week. Their setlist included "Savage", "Next Level", "Black Mamba", and an English version of a then-unreleased song titled "Life's Too Short", which was revealed to be from their then-upcoming EP. On May 12, the group was included in Time magazine's Next Generation Leaders list. The magazine noted Aespa as an "experimental but essential player in the music industry, acting as a bridge between the reality and virtual". On May 27, the group was included on Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia list.On June 1, SM Entertainment announced that Aespa had signed with Warner Records. They also announced that Aespa would release their second extended play, Girls, on July 8. The extended play contains nine tracks, including the lead single of the same name, their first two singles, "Black Mamba" and "Forever," and "Dreams Come True," which they previously released as part of the 2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express album in December 2021. Two other tracks on Girls, "Illusion" and the English version of "Life's Too Short", preceded the EP and were released on June 1 and 24, respectively. Pre-orders for Girls exceeded 1,610,000 copies prior to its release, the highest figure for a girl group album in K-pop at the time. Upon release, the album became the first by a girl group to sell more than one million copies in one week on the Hanteo Chart, exceeding the mark set by Blackpink's The Album in October 2020. It went on to debut at number one on the Circle Album Chart with 1,426,487 copies sold, leading to their first Million certification by the Korea Music Content Association. It also topped the monthly Circle Album Chart for July with 1,645,255 copies sold, which marked the largest monthly and total album sales by any K-pop girl group album in history; the record was broken in September by Blackpink's album Born Pink. On the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, Girls debuted at number three with 56,000 album-equivalent units, 53,000 pure album sales, becoming the top-selling album of the week.
SM Entertainment also announced the group's first Japanese showcase, titled: aespa Japan Premium Showcase 2022 ~SYNK~, which was held on August 6 and 7 at the Pia Arena MM in Yokohama. On June 7, it was announced that Aespa would be holding their second showcase, their first in the United States, titled: aespa Showcase SYNK in LA! on June 26 at the YouTube Theater. On June 14, an additional show was announced, for June 27, after the tickets for June 26 sold out. The group was also named the Apple Music Up Next artist for June.
On July 5, Aespa delivered a speech and performed at the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. On July 8, Aespa performed at Good Morning America
On December 28, Aespa released the first episode of their first reality show, aespa's Synk Road, which documented their trip to Pyeongchang in the Gangwon Province. Throughout the show, the members were tasked to find hidden 'ae-key' cards, won from various missions and games, in order to 'complete' the eponymous Synk Road.