Aespa

## æspa

##### **Aespa** (Hangul: 에스파; stylized as *æspa* or aespa), is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. They debuted on November 17, 2020, with the digital single Black Mamba.

The meaning of aespa has multiple meanings, with the use of æ standing for both "Avatar X Experience" as well as becoming an "aspect" being both sides. Another meaning of aespa is meeting another avatar of yourself and experiencing a new world, "you always perform at your best despite fear and doubts", and "beauty & aesthetic".

## History

### 2020: aespa debut, fandom name reveal

On October 26, 2020, a video was posted on aespa's twitter which revealed the name of the group and their logo. SM Entertainment then went on to announce that they will be debuting their new girl group sometime in November. On October 27, SM revealed Winter as the first member of aespa. On October 28, Karina was revealed as the second member of aespa.

* Group introduction photo
* Aespa promoting "Black Mamba"
1/2
On October 28th, during a press conference for Aespa, SM founder Lee-Soo Man announced the group would have four idol members and four virtual members. This would create "a future world [that] centers on celebrities and avatars and transcends boundaries between real and virtual worlds". During this press conference, a teaser video was revealed showing the two revealed members Winter and Karina as well as two unrevealed members, Ningning and Giselle. The teaser also showed one of the virtual members, æ-KARINA as well as the AI system, Naevis. On October 29, Ningning was officially revealed as the third member of aespa. On October 30, Giselle was officially revealed as the fourth member of aespa. On November 2nd, it was announced that aespa would be making their debut with the digital single "Black Mamba" on November 17th. Concept photos were released from November 4th to November 15th. The teaser for the music video was posted on SMTOWN's YouTube channel on November 16th. On November 17th, aespa's fandom was revealed to be "MY." "MY" means 'The most precious friend' in KWANGYA where aespa's Avatars live.

### 2021: "Forever", "Next Level", *Savage*, "Dreams Come True"

* The group promoting "Forever"
* Aespa (and their AI counterparts) promoting "Next Level"
1/2
On January 21, 2021, Cheon-hoon of Sonic Korea Mastering Studio teased aespa's comeback single, titled "Forever". The teaser was taken down a few hours after being posted. On January 29, 2021, aespa's official Twitter account promoted the hashtag *#늘\_네\_옆에\_난\_서있을게 (#I\_will\_always\_stand\_by\_your\_side)*. It was later revealed that the group would release the single "Forever" on February 5th. Forever is the remake of the same name song by Yoo Young Jin as a part of S.M. Entertainment’s holiday album “Winter Vacation in SMTOWN.com” in 2000. Concept photos were released on February 1 through February 4. On February 4, 2021, SM made a statement stating that aespa will be releasing three performance videos that show a variety of concepts on the 6th, 8th, and 10th. A couple hours later, the M/V teaser for “Forever” was released on SMTOWN’s YouTube channel.

On February 10th, aespa was announced as the new brand ambassador for Givenchy as the first K-pop group to represent the French luxury fashion line. The group then went on to feature in the March 2021 issue of DAZED Korea.

On March 23rd, aespa was named by People Magazine, an American publication, as one of the "Talented Emerging Artists Making Their Mark on the Musical Landscape in 2021" in which the group announced their first mini-album is slated for summer of 2021.

On May 4th, SM Entertainment confirmed that aespa are preparing for a May comeback. The schedule for the comeback is set to be released once it's finalized. On May 6, a photo that said Next Level was posted on the girls' social media accounts. Later that day, it was confirmed that aespa will be releasing their third digital single, "Next Level" on May 17. Concept photos for "Next Level" were released on May 7 to May 15. During the press conference for "Next Level" it was revealed that they are planning on releasing their first full length album soon.

* Promotional photo for *Savage*
* The group promoting "Dreams Come True"
1/2
On August 6, Clio revealed that they have selected aespa as their new model. Beauty pictorials and advertisement videos are set to be released this month. On August 24, Aespa was announced as the new models for Mediheal. Two days later, they were announced as the new models for outdoor brand Eider.

On September 14, a short clip was posted onto the girls' social media accounts with the word Savage. About 12 hour laters, SM announced that aespa will be releasing their first mini album, *Savage*, on October 5. Concept photos were released starting on September 23.

aespa were announced as the new models for KB Bukopin on September 30. They will serve as the new representative model for the gen-z platform "Liiv', which KB Bukopin is preparing for. According to Dispatch Beauty, Acqua de Parma, an Italian perfume brand, has chosen aespa as their new muse.

aespa performed "Savage" at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25. On December 10, it was announced that aespa would be taking part in the eighth SMTOWN winter album, *2021 Winter Album : SMCU Express* which was released on December 27, 2021. On December 20, aespa released a remake of "Dreams Come True" by fellow label mate S.E.S. It's a pre-release song for *2021 Winter Album : SMCU Express*.

### 2022: GOT the beat, Coachella debut, *Girls*, and international expansion

On December 27, members Karina and Winter were revealed as members of the first unit, GOT the beat, to the project group Girls On Top. The group debuted with the single "Step Back" on January 3, 2022.

On April 19, 2022, SM Entertainment announced that Aespa would performing at the second week of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, becoming the third K-pop girl group to do so. As part of their set, the group performed a previously unreleased English song, titled "Life's Too Short".

On May 12, the group was included in TIME Magazine's Next Generation Leaders list. On May 27, the group was also included on Forbes' "30 Under 30" list in the Entertainment and Sports category.

On June 1, an intro video was posted on their social media accounts which revealed that aespa will be releasing their second mini album, *Girls*, on July 8. Later that day, SM Entertainment revealed the group had signed a contract with the American record label Warner Records. To mark the beginning of the partnership, the group will release their first English single, "Life's Too Short", on June 24.

Also on June 1, Aespa dropped a suprise lyric video for a new song called "Illusion", which will be featured on their upcoming mini album.

On June 2, the group announced their first ever Japanese showcase tour, titled Aespa Japan Premium Showcase 2022 ~SYNK~, which will be held on August 6 and August 7 at Pia Arena MM in Yokohama, Japan.

On June 6, it was announced that aespa will be holding their first ever showcase in the United States, 'SYNK' in LA! Aespa's first U.S. showcase will take place on June 26 at the YouTube Theater. Only one week later, it was announced that aespa's upcoming U.S. showcase 'SYNK IN LA' will have a second show because the tickets sold out completely.

After some promotions in the United States for their first English single, Life's Too Short, and stunning teasers for their highly-anticipated korean comeback, the 2nd mini album and the music video for "Girls" was finally released on July 8, 2022. The mini album was a huge success and according to the Circle Chart's monthly update for July, aespa's 'Girls' ranked No. 1 in monthly sales with a total of 1,645,255 copies sold.

On September 1, it was revealed that Chopard selected aespa as their new global ambassador.

On November 23, a teaser poster was posted on the SM C&C Studio Twitter account which revealed that aespa's first reality show, *Synk Road*, will be releasing sometime in December 2022.

### 2023: First concert tour, *MY WORLD*, "Welcome To MY World", "Better Things", *Drama*

On January 17, 2023, it was announced that Aespa will participate in the Governors Ball music festival, becoming the first-ever K-pop group to do so.

On January 20, a poster revealed through the group's official social medias announced that they will hold their first concert, titled 2023 aespa 1st Concert 'SYNK : HYPER LINE' on February 25 and 26 at Jamsil Arena. Later that day, an update posted to the group's official Japanese website revealed additional Japanese dates for the concert.

On March 16, Star News reported that aespa will be releasing an album in early May. An hour later, SM confirmed the reports.
On April 14, Sport TV News reported that aespa will be having their comeback on May 8 and that they are in the final preparations.

On April 17, it was announced that aespa will be releasing their third mini album, *MY WORLD*, on May 8. A pre-release single for the album titled, "Welcome To MY World", will be released on May 2.

On July 31, it was announced that aespa will be releasing, "Better Things", on August 18.

On October 11, it was announced that aespa will be releasing their fourth mini album, *Drama*, on November 10.

On November 22, it was announced that aespa will be releasing, ''Jingle Bell Rock'', on November 24.

### 2024: ''Regret Of Times''

On January 8, it was announced that aespa will be releasing, ''Regret Of Times (2024 aespa Remix Ver)'', on January 15.

## Members

All of the members do not have fixed official positions, except the leader and main vocalist positions.

### Korean

#### Mini Albums

* *Savage* (2021)
* *Girls* (2022)
* *MY WORLD* (2023)
* *Drama* (2023)

#### Digital Singles

* "Black Mamba" (2020)
* "Forever" (2021)
* "Next Level" (2021)
* "Dreams Come True" (2021)
* "Welcome To MY World" (2023)
* ''Regret Of Times (2024 aespa Remix Ver.)'' (2024)

#### Remix Singles

* "iScreaM Vol.10 : Next Level Remixes" (2021)
* "iScreaM Vol.18 : Girls Remixes" (2022)
* "iScreaM Vol.26 : Spicy Remix" (2023)

### English

#### EPs

* ''Better Things (Sped Up + Slowed Down)'' (2023)

#### Digital Singles

* "Life's Too Short" (2022)
* "Better Things" (2023)
* ''Jingle Bell Rock'' (2024)

#### Remix Singles

* "Better Things (Tropkillaz Remix)" (2023)
* "Better Things (RAYE Remix)" (2023)
* ''Better Things (Dance Remix)'' (2023)

## Endorsements

* Givenchy (2021)
* Eternal Return (2021)
* Clio (2021)
* Mediheal (2021)
* Eider (2021)
* KB Bukopin (2021)
* Acqua di Parma (2021)
* MLB (2022)
* Tams Zero (2022)
* Chopard (2022)

## Concerts

### Asia tours

* 2023 aespa 1st Concert 'SYNK : HYPER LINE' (2023)

### Showcase tours

* aespa Showcase SYNK in LA (2022)
* Aespa Japan Premium Showcase 2022 ~SYNK~ (2022)

### Concert participation

* SMTOWN Live "Culture Humanity" (2021)
* SMTOWN Live 2022 : SMCU Express@Kwangya (2022)
* SMTOWN Live 2022 : SMCU Express@Tokyo

## Awards and nominations

Main article: *List of Awards and Nominations*

## Trivia

* æspa's icon logo appeared in SuperM's "One (Monster & Infinity)" music video, in the ending scene.
* In addition to appearing on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," the group appeared on various other programs and shows.
	+ This SuperM's song appeared in the "MY KARINA" teaser.
* Beside "One (Monster & Infinity)", Super M's "Tiger Inside", EXO's "Obsession" and NCT 127's "Kick It" are featured in the "MY KARINA" teaser.
* The members' favorite snack is Butter Caramel Pringles, a limited edition flavor only available in Korea. Due to its rarity, the members have mentioned struggling to find it at convenience stores.
* According to Omniscient Interfering View:
	+ Their manger lives with the group, as she isn't from Seoul. She can also speak English.
	+ They share all their clothes in the living room.

## Theories

* During the teaser video MY, KARINA æ-KARINA mentions "REKALL time" which seems to be the amount of time Avatars can spend in the real world with the members.
* In the SYNK teaser videos, each member has a representative symbol (Karina - Heart, Winter - Star, Ningning - Butterfly, Giselle - Moon).
	+ So far we've also seen individual numbers (Winter - 44, Giselle - 22)
	+ There could be a possibility of individual animals (Winter - Husky, Giselle - Unicorn, Ningning - Butterfly, Karina - Whale) based on the SYNK videos.
		- If this is true then Ningning would be the only member whose symbol is the same as her representative animal.
* Each member displayed a special ability and they were named for the first time in the lyrics of aenergy (Karina - Rocket Puncher, Winter - Armamenter, Giselle - Xenoglossy, Ningning - E.d Hacker).
	+ In her SYNK teaser, Winter uses a katana.
	+ In Black Mamba MV, Karina and her avatar use a robotic glove to punch.
		- Karina uses it in Savage MV again.
	+ In 'ep1. Black Mamba' - SM Culture Universe, Winter is proficient with guns, Giselle reads French and Ningning is a member of a hacker team.
		- In real life, the word Xenoglossy was coined by a french parapsychologist to describe the ability of someone to speak or write a language not acquired by natural means. So Giselle probably knew French through her avatar.

## Videos

Aespa 에스파- INTROAESPA debut introAespa 에스파 - SYNK, æspaSNYK, aespa

## Links

**Korean**
* Official Facebook
* Official Instagram
* Official Twitter
* Official Weibo
* Official YouTube
* Official Melon
* Official Spotify
* Official TikTok
* Official VLive

**Japanese**
* Official Website
* Official Twitter

## References

1. ↑ translation of Newsen article
2. ↑ SM Town- New girl group Aespa to debut in November!
3. ↑ Translation of 20.10.28 press conference
4. ↑ SMTOWN Announcement
5. ↑ Fandom name revealed
6. ↑ The Performance Stage
7. ↑ Teen Vogue
8. ↑ People Magazine
9. ↑ May Comeback
10. ↑ @aespa\_official on Twitter: Third Digital Single "Next Level"
11. ↑ Full Length Album Coming Soon
12. ↑ New Models for Clio
13. ↑ New Models for Mediheal
14. ↑ Aespa Representative Model for KB Bukopin
15. ↑ @SMTOWNGLOBAL on Twitter: 2021 Winter Album : SMCU Express
16. ↑ @SMTOWNGLOBAL on Twitter: Dreams Come True Pre-Release
17. ↑ @GirlsOnTop\_SM on Twitter (December 27, 2021)
18. ↑ (KR) News1: 에스파, 美 코첼라 메인 스테이지 초청…K팝 걸그룹 최초
19. ↑ Rolling Stone: Aespa Make Their Coachella Debut With Hotly Anticipated Set
20. ↑ Bllboard: aespa Share Details on Coachella Debut & ‘New Music That Will Wow the World’: Exclusive
21. ↑ TIME's Next Generation Leaders
22. ↑ How K-Pop Group aespa Is Making the Metaverse Their Home
23. ↑ Forbes 30 Under 30 2022: Entertainment & Sports
24. ↑ @aespa\_official on Twitter (June 1, 2022)
25. ↑ 에스파, 美 시장 본격 진출..SMX워너 레코드 손잡았다
26. ↑ Aespa Japan Official (JPN): aespa初来日イベント『aespa JAPAN PREMIUM SHOWCASE 2022 〜SYNK〜』 開催決定!
27. ↑ (KR) Slist: aespa The New Global Ambassador
28. ↑ @smcnc\_studi on Twitter (November 23, 2022)
29. ↑ Soompi: aespa Confirmed To Perform At The Governors Ball 2023 In New York
30. ↑ @aespa\_official on Twitter: January 20, 2023)
31. ↑ @aespa\_official on Twitter: January 20, 2023)
32. ↑ Aespa Official Japanese Website (JPN): 日本ライブツアータイトル決定 & ポスター公開！
33. ↑ Soompi: aespa Confirmed To Make Spring Comeback
34. ↑ (KR) Daum: (단독)에스파, 5월 8일 새 앨범 발표...가요계 컴백대전 평정 예고
35. ↑ @aespa\_official on Twitter (April 17, 2023
36. ↑ (KR) Daum: 에스파가 돌아온다! 5월 8일 'MY WORLD' 컴백 확정(공식)
37. ↑ Soompi: Watch: aespa Announces August Return + Drops 1st Teasers For “Better Things”
38. ↑ @aespa\_official on Twitter (October 11, 2023)
39. ↑ During episode 303 of Knowing Bros, Karina introduced herself as the Visual-Leader.
40. ↑ Ningning Introduced Herself as Main Vocalist On Knowing Brothers
41. ↑ 'One (Monster & Infinity)', 4:02
42. ↑ https://kpopsingers.com/aespa-members-group-profile/
43. ↑ 'MY, KARINA', 0:42
44. ↑ 'MY, KARINA', 1:07
45. ↑ 'MY, KARINA', 1:33
46. ↑ MY time, aespa! Lesson 1 Part 2 4:41