Ningning


Ning Yizhuo, known professionally as Ningning, is a Chinese singer based in South Korea. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Aespa.

Career

Early life and pre-debut

Ningning was born as Ning Yizhuo on October 23, 2002, in Harbin, China. She graduated from Harbin Normal University Middle School and Beijing Contemporary Music Academy. During her early years, she was nicknamed "Ningning", which she would later use as her stage name in her career.
Ningning was scouted by SM Entertainment following her appearance on the Chinese singing TV show Let's Sing Kids. She was later introduced as a member of the 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.

2020–present: Debut and solo activities

After training for 4 years, Ningning was revealed as the third member of Aespa on October 28, 2020, introduced by SM as an "18-year-old Chinese member with an outstanding voice" through the company's official socials. The group debuted on November 17, with the release of the digital single "Black Mamba".
In 2022, Ningning released an OST with fellow member Winter called "Once Again" as part of the official soundtrack of the South Korean drama Our Blues. The song charted at 119 on the Circle Digital Chart. In December, she participated in 2 tracks for SM's annual end-of-year compilation album 2022 Winter SM Town: SMCU Palace, "Time After Time" and "Good To Be Alive", with fellow SM label mates.
On July 30, 2023, Ningning released the single "WYA" with Jay Park. The song was a surprise collaboration for the WeTV show The ''Next 2023, where Jay Park appeared as a regular mentor. A remix of the single was subsequently released on August 13, featuring PH-1, Lexie Liu, ØZI, and Masiwei.
On March 12, 2024, Ningning released the OST "Count on Me" for drama The Midnight Studio''. On March 15, she was announced as the MC for the first day of KCON 2024 in Hong Kong alongside Myung Jae-hyun of boy group BoyNextDoor.

Endorsements

On February 8, 2024, the Italian luxury fashion house Versace appointed Ningning as their global brand ambassador. In August, she became the global face of the Versace's Kleio Bag campaign. In November, she kicked off Versace's holiday campaign and starred in a campaign video.
On February 20, 2025, Ningning has been selected as S/S season model for Fila's brand campaign at ABC Mart. On February 26, Ningning was appointed as Maybelline New York's brand ambassador for North and Southeast Asia.

Personal life

In an interview with Vogue China, Ningning confessed that she had undergone eye surgery as a child and "can barely see" with her right eye. Ningning revealed that she has Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during an appearance on BamBam's YouTube show, Bam Home in 2023. She opened up about the stress it causes her, stating that she enjoys drawing and reading but her ADHD makes it difficult for her to focus.
Ningning cited Blackpink member Jennie as her role model. She is also fan of American singer Frank Ocean.

Public image

Controversial lamp post

Ningning's post from 2022 which showed a video of a lamp that she recently purchased sparked criticism in Japan in November 2025. The lamp resembles a mushroom cloud of smoke that is often seen after a nuclear bomb explosion, Japanese netizens claimed the lamp resembles the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. A petition was filed as a result and was reportedly signed by more than 100,000 people as of November 25, urging Japanese national broadcaster NHK to cancel aespa's scheduled performance at New Year's Eve show Kōhaku. The petition which was aimed to prevent Ningning from appearing on Japanese television has granted over 100 million views on X. On November 17, NHK public relations department responded to the issue and clarified that Ningning "had no intention of downplaying or mocking the damage caused by the atomic bomb." Thus, NHK decided that Aespa will do their Kōhaku performance on December 31 as scheduled. On December 29, SM Entertainment announced that Ningning will not be participating in the Kōhaku performance due to health issues.

Discography

Composition credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.
TitleYearArtistAlbumLyricistComposer
"Bored!"2024HerselfSynk: Parallel Line
"Ketchup and Lemonade"2025HerselfSynk: Aexis Line

Awards and nominations

Award ceremonyYearCategoryNominee / WorkResult
D Awards2026UPICK Global Choice – GirlNingning
Korea Grand Music Awards2025Fan Vote Artist – FemaleNingningNomitated
Korea Grand Music Awards2025Trend of the Year – K-pop SoloNingningNomitated