K-pop Group

aespa

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aespa is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment that debuted on November 17, 2020 with the digital single "Black Mamba". The quartet — Karina (leader), Giselle, Winter and Ningning — is known for its metaverse concept, in which each member has a virtual avatar counterpart ("æ") in the fictional world Kwangya. Hits such as "Next Level", "Savage", "Spicy", "Supernova" and "Whiplash" have made them one of the defining fourth-generation K-pop acts, with multiple Daesang (grand prize) wins.

  • Girl Group
  • Active
  • 4th

Overview

aespa is a four-member South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment, consisting of Karina, Giselle, Winter and Ningning. Debuting on November 17, 2020 with the digital single “Black Mamba”, the group pioneered a metaverse concept in K-pop: each member has a virtual avatar counterpart (“æ”) living in the fictional world Kwangya.

Breakout hits “Next Level” and “Savage” made them one of the leading fourth-generation acts, and later eras — Girls, MY WORLD, Drama, their first full album Armageddon and Whiplash — brought million-selling records, Daesang awards and firsts such as performing at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and headlining Tokyo Dome.

Members

Karina Leader, dancer, rapper, vocalist / Current / Leader
November 17, 2020
Giselle Rapper, vocalist / Current
November 17, 2020
Winter Vocalist, dancer / Current
November 17, 2020
Ningning Vocalist, dancer / Current
November 17, 2020

Key Releases

Black Mamba Debut single; its music video set the record for the most views in 24 hours for a K-pop group debut (21.4 million).
2020 / Digital Single
Next Level Breakout hit; won Song of the Year at the 2022 Korean Music Awards.
2021 / Digital Single
Savage First EP; achieved a "perfect all-kill" on Korean charts and reached No. 20 on the US Billboard 200.
2021 / Ep
Girls Second EP; their first album to sell more than one million copies in one week.
2022 / Ep
My World Third EP (lead single "Spicy"); exceeded two million copies sold.
2023 / Ep
Drama Fourth EP, released in November 2023.
2023 / Ep
Armageddon First full-length studio album (May 2024); lead single "Supernova" topped the Circle Digital Chart for 11 consecutive weeks. Followed by the EP Whiplash in October 2024.
2024 / Album
Dirty Work Single album released in June 2025, followed by the EP Rich Man in September 2025.
2025 / Single

Milestones

Debut with "Black Mamba" aespa debuted with the digital single "Black Mamba"; the music video drew 21.4 million views in 24 hours, the most ever for a K-pop group debut video at the time.
November 17, 2020
"Next Level" becomes a phenomenon The single "Next Level" became aespa's breakout domestic hit in 2021 and later won Song of the Year at the 19th Korean Music Awards, cementing their rise; the follow-up EP Savage scored a perfect all-kill and reached No. 20 on the Billboard 200.
May 17, 2021
First K-pop group at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade aespa became the first K-pop group to perform at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York; they later played Coachella (2022), Governors Ball (2023) and Outside Lands (2023) as K-pop firsts.
November 25, 2021
First headline concert and fastest K-pop act to Tokyo Dome Their first concert, SYNK : HYPER LINE, opened at Seoul's Jamsil Arena in February 2023; that August they became the fastest K-pop group (by time since debut) to headline a solo concert at Tokyo Dome.
February 25, 2023
First studio album Armageddon aespa released their first full-length studio album Armageddon; lead single "Supernova" topped the Circle Digital Chart for 11 consecutive weeks and swept Song of the Year awards, and the SYNK : PARALLEL LINE world tour ran through 2024-2025.
May 27, 2024

Facts

The name aespa combines "æ" (from "Avatar X Experience") with "aspect", expressing the idea of "meeting another self and experiencing the new world".
Each member has a virtual avatar counterpart (æ-Karina, æ-Giselle, æ-Winter, æ-Ningning) living in the fictional world Kwangya, a storyline embedded in the SM Culture Universe — a pioneering metaverse concept in K-pop.
Karina and Winter also perform in GOT the beat, an SM Entertainment supergroup with BoA, Taeyeon and other labelmates, which debuted on January 3, 2022.
In October 2024 all four members released solo tracks on the SYNK : PARALLEL LINE special digital single — Karina's "Up", Giselle's "Dopamine", Winter's "Spark" and Ningning's "Bored!".

Awards

MAMA Awards Also won Best Dance Performance – Female for "Black Mamba".
2021
Melon Music Awards One of their first grand prizes, won within their debut year.
2021
Asia Artist Awards First Daesang, December 2021.
2021
Korean Music Awards 19th Korean Music Awards (March 2022).
2022
MAMA Awards Also won Best Choreography.
2024
Melon Music Awards Song of the Year
2024
Golden Disc Awards 39th Golden Disc Awards.
2025