Aespa (에스파), stylized as æspa, is a 4 member South Korean girl group under SM Entertainment. The group consists of Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ning Ning. They debuted on November 17, 2020, with the digital single “Black Mamba“. On June 2, 2022, it has been announced that Aespa has signed with Warner Records for global promotions. Aespa is famous for its outstanding group concept and wonderful visuals, for sure, their performance is also fantastic too.
Here’s everything you need to know about the K-pop group so far…
What does aespa Stand For?
Their name comes from combining ‘æ’ derived from ‘Avatar X Experience’ & ‘aspect’. The meaning behind the name is various innovative activities to come with the theme of ‘Experiencing a new world via the encounter of the ‘avatar’, your other self’.
What Does the Fandom Name 'MY' Mean?
MY means 'The most precious friend' in KWANGYA, which is where aespa's Avatars live (Though they live in the FLAT).
Member
Full Name : Yu Ji Min (유지민)
Stage Name : Karina (카리나)
Age : 23
Birthday : April 11, 2000
Height : 167.8 cm
Blood Type : B
Star Sign : Aries
Position : Leader, Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist, Visual, Face Of The Group,
Center
MBTI Type : ENFP
Birthplace : Paldal-gu, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
Karina made an appearance in Taemin‘s MV “Want”.
Karina appeared with Kai from EXO in collaboration of the virtual showcase between Hyundai Motor Company and SM Entertainment in 2020,
Karina's nickname is Karomi.
Karina's favorite female artists are f(x), Taeyeon, IU and Park Soojin.
Karina likes green tea and barley tea.
Full Name : Uchinaga Aeri (うちながえり/우치나가에리)
Stage Name : Giselle (지젤)
Age : 23
Birthday : October 30, 2000
Height : 164 cm
Blood Type : O
Star Sign : Scorpio
Position : Main Rapper, Sub Vocalist
MBTI Type : ENFP
Birthplace : Garosu-gil, Seoul, South Korea.
Giselle is trained for 10 months, which is the shortest training period for an SM female idol.
Giselle’s name in the Japanese version is Aeri (pronounced as Eri).
Giselle’s nicknames are Riri and Aeri-chan.
Giselle was in choir for 4 years as an alto.
Giselle looks like Krystal from f(x) in many people's opinion.
Full Name : Kim Min Jeong (김민정)
Stage Name : Winter (윈터)
Age : 22
Birthday : January 1, 2001
Height : 165 cm
Blood Type : A
Star Sign : Capricorn
Position : Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Visual
MBTI Type : INTJ
Birthplace : Busan, South Korea.
Winter trained for 4 years.
Winter has an older brother.
Winter's nickname is baby rabbit.
Winter looks like Girls’ Generation (SNSD)‘s Taeyeon in many people's opinion.
Winter has a dimple on her left cheek.
Full Name : Ning Yizhuo (宁艺卓)
Stage Name : Ningning (닝닝)
Age : 21
Birthday : October 23, 2002
Height : 161 cm
Blood Type :O
Star Sign : Scorpio
Position : Main Vocalist, Maknae
MBTI Type :INFP
Birthplace : Harbin, China.
Ningning trained for 4 years.
Ningning’s fandom name is “NingMeng’s” (her name+Lemon in Chinese).
Ningning's specialty is singing.
Ningning's favorite colors are red, yellow and pink.
Ningning's favorite genres are pop, hip-hop, and R&B.
Historic Moments
2020 October –After Red Velvet in 2014 and NCT in 2016, SM Entertainment stated that it will introduce a new female group, the company's first since then. Beginning on October 27, each individual member of the group—Winter, Karina, Ningning, and Giselle—had their names and affiliations disclosed. The group's concept was described by SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man on October 28 at the 2020 World Cultural Industry Forum.
2020 November – On November 2, news of the November 17 release of aespa's debut song, "Black Mamba," along with a trailer showing all four members, was made public. The group's performance of "Black Mamba" on KBS2's Music Bank on November 20 marked their television debut.
2021 January – They won their first music competition on SBS's Inkigayo on January 17. On January 29, 2021, SM Entertainment said that "Forever," the song Yoo Young-jin originally composed for SM Entertainment's 2000 holiday album Winter Vacation at SMTOWN.com, will receive a remake.
2021 May – Aespa's upcoming single, "Next Level," a dance and hip-hop music with a "groovy" rap, "energetic" bass, and "powerful vocals," was revealed by SM Entertainment on May 4.It was made available on May 17.Their first top five hit in South Korea, it debuted at number nine on the Gaon Digital Chart and peaked at number two. With a peak position of three, "Next Level" became aespa's third single to reach the Billboard World Digital single Sales list.
2021 October – Media publications praised "Savage" for its "addictive" hooks, refrains, and "masterfully layered" production. It was released on October 5 to critical acclaim and economic success. Numerous year-end lists featured the song, with "Savage" being referred to as a "explosive" single, including NME and Time magazine's top 10 greatest K-pop songs of 2021. On October 15, ten days after its release, at 1:30 p.m. KST, Instiz's iChart announced that "Savage" had become the first "fourth generation" K-pop act to reach number one on the real-time, daily, and weekly components of the domestic charts (iChart, Melon, Genie, FLO, Bugs!, and Vibe). The song received eight honors from music competitions, including three separate victories on Inkigayo that earned it the "triple crown" trophy. Along with arriving at the top of the Gaon Album Chart, Savage also marked aespa's first appearance on the US Billboard 200, reaching at number 20. Savage has the record for the most successful debut album by an SM Entertainment performer, having sold a total of 788,959 copies.
2021 December – They received their first Daesang (Stage of the Year) at the Asia Artist Awards on December 2. The group received their second Daesang (Record of the Year) at the 2021 Melon Music Awards two days later, on December 4. In support of SM's Remastering Project and as the first single for the SM Town album 2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express, aespa released a remake of S.E.S.'s "Dreams Come True" on December 20. BoA choreographed and artistically directed the song's music video, which was helmed by Lucid Colour. The song's highest point was at number seven on the Billboard World Digital Songs list and number eight on the Gaon Digital list.
2022 January – Aespa was the first recipient of the Artist of the Year honor at the 36th Golden Disc Awards on January 8, 2022.
2022 March – At the 19th Korean Music Awards on March 1, "Next Level" was given the Song of the Year honor.
2022 April –Aespa, the third K-pop girl group to play at Coachella, was announced to do so on April 19 and will do so on April 23. For the second week in a row, they took part in 88rising's Head in the Clouds Forever set. Savage, Next Level, Black Mamba, and the yet-to-be-released song "Life's Too Short," which was confirmed to be from their then-upcoming EP, were all in their set list.
2022 May –The group was listed on Time magazine's list of the Next Generation Leaders on May 12. According to the magazine, aespa is a "novel but crucial player in the music business, serving as a link between the real and the virtual." Winter and Ningning contributed the song "Once Again" to the soundtrack for the TvN drama Our Blues in the same month. On May 22, the song was formally released. The group was listed on Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia list on May 27.
2022 July – Girls, their second extended play, was released on July 8. The album's nine songs include the title track, their first two singles, "Black Mamba" and "Forever," as well as "Dreams Come True," which was earlier released in December 2021 as part of the 2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express album. The English-language version of "Life's Too Short" and "Illusion" were two additional songs from Girls that were released on June 1 and 24, respectively, before the EP. Girls received more than 1,610,000 pre-orders before it was even released, which was a record for a girl group album in K-pop at the time.
With sales of 1,426,487 copies and a number one debut on the Circle Album Chart, it earned them their first Million certification from the Korea Music Content Association. Girls opened at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 56,000 album-equivalent units and 53,000 sales of only the album, making it the week's best-selling album.
2023 May – My World, aespa's third extended play, was released on May 8. The extended play has six songs, with the first single "Spicy" being released simultaneously with the EP and the single "Welcome to My World" being pre-released on May 2. With 1,420,178 copies sold, My World debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart. The album sold 2,011,388 copies in the two weeks after its release to become "a double million-seller" and the second album by a female Korean performer to surpass two million copies in sales.
2023 July – Aespa started previewing their August 18 release of the "minimal up-tempo dance" tune "Better Things," an English digital single, on July 27. A three-part online series sitcom called Better Things was promoted, with the first episode going up on August 7. Ningning's health at the time of filming prevented her from appearing in many episodes of the sitcom. On August 13, at the first performance of the US leg of their Synk: Hyper Line tour, they gave the song its first performance at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
2023 August – The song "We Go" by aespa was released on August 23. The anime Pokémon: Liko and Roy's Departure, which debuted in Korea on the same day as the single, used the song as its first opening theme.
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