Aespa

**Aespa** (Korean: 에스파; RR: '**eseupa'**; MR: '**esŭp'a'**, commonly stylized in all lowercase or **æspa**) is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of Karina, Giselle, Winter and Ningning. The group debuted on November 17, 2020 with the release of their debut single, "Black Mamba".

## Name

The group's name, Aespa, is a combination of "ae", composed of the English initials of Avatar and Experience (Avatar X Experience), and the English word "aspect" meaning "two sides", symbolizing "meeting another self and experiencing the new world".

## History

### 2016–2019: Pre-debut activities

Ningning was introduced as a member of SM Rookies on September 19, 2016. As part of it, she appeared on the *Rookies Princess: Who's the Best?* segment of the program *My SMT* in 2016, 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 weeks following.

### 2020–present: Introduction, debut with "Black Mamba", "Forever", and "Next Level"

On October 26, SM Entertainment announced that it would be debuting a new girl group, the first since Red Velvet in 2014 and the first overall idol group since NCT in 2016. The members were revealed individually from October 27 to 30 (in order: Winter, Karina, Ningning, and Giselle) along with the name *Aespa*. A further explanation about Aespa's concept was offered by SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man at the 2020 World Cultural Industry Forum, held online on October 28. A video trailer with all four members was revealed on November 2. On the same day, the agency announced that Aespa will release their debut single "Black Mamba" on November 17. The group made their broadcast debut on KBS2's *Music Bank* on November 20 where they performed their debut single. The group also reached number one on the K-pop music video charts of China's biggest music-streaming service, QQ Music for three consecutive weeks. On January 17, 2021, Aespa received their first ever music show win for "Black Mamba" on *Inkigayo*.

On January 29, 2021, SM Entertainment announced Aespa will release a new single titled "Forever", a remake of a single by Yoo Young-jin, released for SM Entertainment's holiday album *Winter Vacation in SMTOWN.com* in 2000. The single was officially released on February 5, 2021. The song was described as a mid-tempo ballad with an acoustic guitar sound and warm lyrics about promising forever to a loved one.

On May 4, 2021, SM Entertainment announced that Aespa would be making a comeback later that month. Their third single, "Next Level", was released on May 17 and became their first top five hit on the Gaon Digital Chart. The song was described as a dance and hip-hop with a "groovy" rap and an "energetic" bass, and characterized by "Aespa's powerful vocals".

## Endorsements

On February 10, 2021, Aespa was announced as the 2021 ambassador of Givenchy, becoming the first K-pop artists to be chosen as Givenchy's ambassador.

## Members

* Karina (카리나) – leader, dancer, rapper, vocalist
* Giselle (지젤) – rapper, vocalist
* Winter (윈터) – vocalist, dancer
* Ningning (닝닝) – vocalist

## Awards and nominations

### Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

## Notes

1. **^** Originally released for SM Entertainment *Winter Vacation in SMTOWN.com* holiday album, titled "Forever (아이의 크리스마스 선물을 준비하는 아빠들에게)"
2. **^** "Forever" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart, but debuted and peaked at number 28 on the Gaon Download Chart and number 63 on the Gaon BGM Chart.
3. **^** Hosted by the Hong Kong Asia Pacific International Group and Sunway Records, the Asian Pop Music Awards bases its winners on "Asian Pop Music Chart" which opened on September 2019.