We had girls on top again in this week’s Kooky Spotlight, as fans battled it out to have their favourite female artist picked as the singer with the most attractive vocal tone. From the very beginning MYs showed up to support Aespa’s Winter and ultimately ended up coming out on top! As her winning article we’ll be talking about how Aespa are innovating the music scene.

Into A New Dimension

Aespa, a 4 member girl group made up of members Giselle, Winter, Karina and Ningning, debuted under SM Entertainment in 2020. Being the first girl group to come out of SM since Red Velvet in 2014, there was a lot of anticipation to see what kind of concept the group would have - and they absolutely did not disappoint!

SM’s founder, Lee Soo-Man is well known for taking risks and challenging himself to experiment with new concepts with each new artist that debuts under SM, and Aespa was no exception. When the members were first revealed, they were revealed along with AI counterparts, showing Lee’s desire to innovate the integration of digital media and virtual reality into the ever changing landscape of the K-Pop sphere.

Even Aespa’s name comes from this concept, the ‘ae’ coming from ‘Avatar X Experience’ and ‘spa’ being letters picked from the word ‘aspect’ which traditionally means ‘two sides’. The name symbolises the idea of “meeting another self and experiencing the new world”. Their MV of their debut song ‘Black Mamba’ only reinforces this concept, the members performing against a CG background, wearing techno-punk style outfits and coming face-to-face with their AI counterparts in reflective surfaces like mirrors and windows.

Shaking The Industry

As expected from any SM group, Aespa found their place in the industry with relative ease, their digital single ‘Next Level’ charting as high as second place on both the Gaon Charts in Korea and the Kpop Hot 100 Billboards Chart in the US. Again the MV has the group’s concept continued going strong - showcased through the use of technical glitches, sci-fi inspired scenery and outfits - and the members themselves were only showing their confidence as they were already performing at a level much higher than their peers.

‘Next Level’ was definitely a significant turning point in the girl’s careers as the song also became their second top-five entry on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart and their second entry on the Billboard Global 200, making them the third South Korean girl group ever to chart twice on that chart. Furthermore, the song went on to win them multiple awards in 2021 and 2022, most notably ‘Song of Year’ and ‘Best K-Pop Song’ at the 19th Korean Music Awards, making them the first SM idol girl group to win more than once within a single KMA show, and the second girl group ever to win ‘Song of the Year’ after their label mates Girl’s Generation in 2010.

The Future Is Aespa

And it looks like Aespa only intends to continue driving full steam ahead as they continue to achieve things their seniors never even dreamed of. Just a few weeks ago Aespa graced the stage at Coachella 2022 alongside other big Korean acts like 2NE1 and Epik High, both over a decade their seniors. This only further proves their international reach and the fact that they are going to continue to achieve way beyond people’s expectations.

Especially with the shift that the world is going through, one can’t help but wonder what new and innovative ideas we’ll see from Aespa in future. The world is moving further into virtual and alternate reality with many companies investing into the metaverse, and the NFT trend is slowly seeping into the K-Pop market - since this wave is exactly what Lee Soo-Man was expecting when Aespa was formed, it will be interesting to see the unique and interesting masterpieces Aespa continue to put out with their AI counterparts.

What do you think has been the most significant part of Aespa’s journey until now, and how do you think they will grow in future? We for one can’t wait to find out.

Thank you so much to MY for your enthusiastic participation in the Kooky Spotlight vote last week and for requesting today’s topic. The newest Spotlight vote is currently out, so don’t miss your chance to cast your vote on either the Kooky app or website!

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Writer: Han (O.L)

Editor: Han (O.L)

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