Aespa

Aespa (에스파) is a South Korean Girl Group that debuted in 2020. They consist of 4 members: Karina, Giselle, Ningning and Winter.

They hold the 18th most Music Show Awards among all artists in Korea. They are the 6th most streamed artist in Korea.

Created as SM Entertainment's first new girl group after Red Velvet, the initial trainee concept leaned toward a "cute" or dance-focused style. However, according to members Karina and Winter, a few months before their debut, the concept drastically changed to a more mature "girl crush" and hip-hop futuristic style.

SM aimed to create a group that could integrate easily with the "metaverse" (online platforms) and came up with the "Avatar X Experience" (æ) concept. The group was presented as an eight-member unit: four real-world members and their four virtual counterparts, known as æ-members, such as æ-Karina or æ-Winter. A core lore called the SM Culture Universe (SMCU) created a backstory for the group, complete with villains they would fight in the virtual world (starting with the Black Mamba, an entity trying to sever the connection between the real and virtual worlds).

This virtual/metaverse approach was met with mixed reception and was often criticized for poor execution, causing confusion and debate about its true meaning. Despite this, the immense hype surrounding SM's first new girl group in years, coupled with their unique concept, generated enough of a buzz for the group to prosper, setting several debut records at the time.

Eventually, SM scaled back the complex metaworld concept, opting to focus on a more grounded presentation of the group. Commercially, Aespa achieved major success, securing consecutive top-charting hits and cementing their status as a K-Pop powerhouse.