에스파
aespa
Members
4
Fandom
MY
SM's metaverse experiment that grew into one of K-pop's loudest, hardest-hitting acts.
- Futuristic
- Hard-hitting
- Concept-heavy
- Maximal
- Avatar lore
LINEUP
Members
MILESTONES
Records & firsts
Supernova: perfect all-kill and first Circle Digital number one
2024.
First fourth-generation K-pop act to hold a solo Tokyo Dome concert
August 2023 — the fastest K-pop artist to reach it.
My World became a double million-seller
2023 — the second album by a female Korean act to pass two million copies.
Inaugural Artist of the Year at the Golden Disc Awards
36th Golden Disc Awards, January 2022.
Song of the Year at the Korean Music Awards
"Next Level", 19th Korean Music Awards, 2022.
Artist of the Year at the first TikTok Awards Korea
November 2024.
DID YOU KNOW
Trivia & lore
The name joins "avatar x experience" with "aspect", meaning two sides — the idea of meeting another self.
aespa was SM's first new girl group since Red Velvet in 2014.
Lee Soo-man explained the group's concept at the 2020 World Cultural Industry Forum, before the first single was out.
Karina won a music-show trophy for her solo track "Up" in October 2024 without having debuted as a soloist.
In January 2024 they remade Seo Taiji and Boys' "Regret of the Times".
DISCOGRAPHY
Signature tracks
TIMELINE
The journey
ORIGIN
SYNK & worldbuilding
2019 — 2020
SM's first new girl group since Red Velvet was built around a concept before a song: the name joins "avatar x experience" with "aspect", the idea of meeting another self. Lee Soo-man laid out the premise at the World Cultural Industry Forum in October 2020, weeks before debut.
DEBUT
Black Mamba & Next Level
2020 — 2022
Black Mamba launched the concept, but Next Level was the explosion — it won Song of the Year at the Korean Music Awards and made aespa a household name. They rode it to Coachella in April 2022, the third K-pop girl group to play the festival.
Anchor track: Next Level
BREAKTHROUGH
Savage to Spicy
2022 — 2023
Savage hardened the sound into aespa's signature wall-of-noise maximalism, then My World and Spicy lightened it just enough to widen the audience without losing the edge. This is the run that turned a concept group into a reliable hit machine.
Anchor track: Savage
GLOBAL
Supernova
2024 — 2024
Supernova, from the first studio album Armageddon, scored a perfect all-kill and became their first number one on the Circle Digital Chart in 2024. It recast aespa from SM's experiment into one of the biggest girl groups in the country.
Anchor track: Supernova
GLOBAL
Dirty Work & Rich Man
2025 — 2025
The single album Dirty Work and the EP Rich Man pushed aespa further West — Rich Man was their first release with Capitol Music Group, and they performed it on The Jennifer Hudson Show.
Anchor track: Rich Man
RETURN
Lemonade
2026
The second studio album Lemonade arrived on May 29, 2026, led by "WDA (Whole Different Animal)" with G-Dragon and the title track, followed by the Japanese EP Kiss n Tell and a Lollapalooza Chicago set in August.
Anchor track: Lemonade
FAQ
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