I've just recently fell back into my k-pop phase and this group has been on my mind nonstop! I used to be obsessed with (G)I-DLE, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, and Seventeen back in highschool. But i completely fell off the k-pop train and I regret it.
I adore how different they are from other groups, and the songs have been stuck in my head 24/7. But i know there is so much more to being a stan then just listening to the songs and watching the music videos. So teach me all I need to know🩷!
Tell me more about the members, and any cool/talented things they do? What do they call their fans? Do they have nicknames for the group or each other? I love love LOVE the visuals and outfits they wear, i would love to hear about the designers and producers! Any crazy plans for the future that we know of with this group?
I want to inject all the knowledge of Aespa into my vains:) Tell me everything you guys know!
Any cool/talented thing they do?
I can provide you with an example – One day when Yu Jimin’s randomly yodel on Instagram
Try not to take on too many groups at once. Your wallet is gonna hurt if you do. Lol. Have fun
They are going to go on tour next year and our fandom name is Mys. I would def go back and listen to their full discography as their bsides are mostly phenomenal (savage being one of my favorite eps).
— Aespa was supposedly a 7 member group with a brighter concept before being cut down to 4 members with the cyber-punk/steel concept we have today
— Part of aespas concept was inspired by the Fast and Furious soundtrack (Next Level was originally an F&F OST that SM bought out and rearranged). LSM said he remembered watching the movie and went sumn like “this is it” for SM’s upcoming girl group that was later to be aespa
— Savage and Next Level were already completed pre-debut and were practiced by the girls as trainees
— Winter recently revealed on an interview with Seulgi that as trainees, they practiced SNSD’s Genie and RV’s Russian Roulette constantly — a more sultry and cute concept. Then towards the end of their trainee period, SM switched up their concepts with a harder style. SM made them practice Nicki Minaj raps and record Next Level solo during evaluations etc.
— Giselle has the shortest trainee period of the four with 11 months of training. It wasn’t until her addition as a trainee did the girls say aespa started to click and felt “right” both concept-wise and chemistry-wise as a group. This could presumably also be the point in where SM decided to lean into a harder concept during the end of their trainee period.
— Lord and Savior Ningning knows how to pose. She is also the only trainee to debut from SM Rookies lineup
— Winter was the hidden trainee/“secret weapon” of SM trainees, receiving training from the more higher renowned SM vocal AND dance coaches. She also almost didn’t sign with SM as she was about to sign with another company. Before signing, she hit up her casting agent from SM to tell them the news. They asked her to re-audition and that is when SM reconsidered her and accepted her as a trainee.
— Karina was scouted at her high school and became the ace 4th gen kpop needed
Watch out for their year-end activities this year. You’re gonna love it.
Also, have you seen their legendary MMA performance? I’ll leave it here for you to enjoy! 🙂
https://youtu.be/PI-bhsvHdxM?si=4YLdRNHgf0bevNlf
Someone should bless us how to send letters to Aespa members 😀
A random thing I remember about their debut.
In Winter’s introduction video, she doesn’t sing, rap or dance like the other members do so people assumed that she is mainly just the “visual” of the group. So her strong vocals were more of a surprising thing for people. Also, she is a good dancer.
**Talents/Cool Things they did:**
All members had a hand in either composing and writing the lyrics for their solo songs from SYNK : Paralell Line Tour. They also contributed to stages idea for the performance! Their [KOMCA](https://www.reddit.com/r/Aespa/comments/1evrt0a/240819_aespas_solos_from_synk_parallel_line_tour/) credits but there are more works by the members that aren’t listed here e.g., Giselle composed ‘Keep Going’ for their Synk Hyperline Tokyo Dome concert (2023) and pre-debut Ningning had a self-composed [song](https://x.com/aespresso_SM/status/1400626327808577539) for her graduation project.
**Nicknames:**
I will just tell you some of their unique duo nicknames cuz it can be confusing for new fans lol **(1) Giselle + Winter = Turtlez** (They chose it themselves cuz according to them they sometimes do a hump neck turtle posture lol) **(2) Winter + Ningning = Mingmingz** (Winter came up with the name, it’s a combination of Minjeong, Winter’s real name and Ningning) **(3) Karina + Giselle = Audiz** (it’s an abbreviation of an acrostic poem of “The friendship of lovely women that will last until we die”)
**Designers & Producers:**
[Park Anna](https://www.instagram.com/pavkanna/) is the stylist for Whiplash, Supernova, Armageddon and some other stage outfits.
As for their producers, in their earlier title track (Black Mamba, Next Level, Savage, Girls) it was Yoo Younjin (he’s not the only one but he was their main producer) but he left SM Entertainment to follow Lee Sooman (founder) after the whole HYBE, KAKAO acquiring SM fiasco. Now, the group has been working with other producers for their title track starting from Spicy era e.g., Moonshine, Demjointz, Kenzie. I would say [no identity](https://www.instagram.com/no_identity_net/) might become their staple producer if he continues to work more with them. He produced ‘Drama’ & ‘Armageddon’
While for ‘Whiplash’ they worked with new producers they have never worked with before. Neil Ormandy and Shift K3y, tho Shift K3y did produced one of the masterpiece track off of SMTOWN album [‘Priority’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CfgJjEYL2E) which features WINTER, Taeyeon and Changmin.
We don’t really know CENTER 1 / ONE Production (the center/division that manages aespa under SM) future plan for aespa, all we can wish is they keep up the good work!
**Interviews/Contents:**
Synk Road is their first official variety/reality show, depends on where you are from you can watch it on Kocowa+ aesparty is their second variety show free on YouTube
[Synk Unnie](https://www.youtube.com/@SynkUnnie), a YouTube channel that does English subtitle for some of aespa’s live. If it’s too overwhelming and don’t know where to start I recommend this [Winter’s live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIjeh3FG5G8) where she talked about her scouting, audition and pre-debut process or this fun [group live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Hi1SoyeMI&t=1s) they did lol
There’s also a google sheet of their content, you can find this in the sub menu “aespa Media Archive” unfortunately this sheet isn’t up to date.
Some interviews that I like to get to know them more.
* [https://www.papermag.com/aespa-savage](https://www.papermag.com/aespa-savage)
* [https://www.papermag.com/aespa-cover#rebelltitem4](https://www.papermag.com/aespa-cover#rebelltitem4)
* [Zach Sang Show ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZD8NEGj1E4&t=1s)
* [Giselle ELLE Korea interview ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Aespa/comments/1ebx8p1/240726_giselle_for_elle_korea_x_loewe_august_2024/)
* [Winter Cosmopolitan interview](https://www.reddit.com/r/Aespa/comments/1fnhaci/240923_winter_for_cosmopolitan_korea_x_polo_ralph/) There’s also another Winter interview (DAZED Korea) I really like but the translation is all over the place, segmented in tweets, so if you are interested and don’t have access to twitter just let me know I can upload them as screenshot or smth on imgur lol
There’s also another interview where Karina talked abt how there are other pre-debut team who already filmed their debut MV but the team got scrapped and I can’t find it anymore… I’m also still finding a proper translation of Karina interview for W Korea August 2024 issue there was some part that was interesting, if anyone knows let me know pls!
They have their own universe and I’d you listen to their songs and some of the content that the company released you’ll see everything in their universe just sort of connects. What’s even more wild is that many of the other artists under SM also connect so it’s a much wider world building the company is doing. I saw on a youtube video where a couple running a channel on Kpop connected Seulgi and Key to Aespa with their theory crafting which kinda shows how it’s connecting.
There are some crazy theories out there about the SMCU. I havent heard anything yet if there is anything from Whiplash that connects yet but I’m looking and trying to find out myself because I love the lore.
I’ll lean more on the general side of kpop. Been listening since 2nd gen, all I can say is don’t let fomo get to you. Don’t spend more than you have. Buy the photocard you want off instagram, neokyo buyee etc. go to trading events and try and make friends but don’t be disappointed if you don’t click with the more obsessive fans. Don’t be pressured into having a “big” collection. Go to concerts for groups you actually love, not just any kpop concert. Go with your friends who you know will enjoy it. Don’t let Stan’s put you down. Listen to the music first and take part of the community aspect of kpop. Don’t feel like you NEED the merch (years of living through this EVERY company’s merch is horrible quality now) use your money on albums, concerts and community based events.
Ningning does not like to have her name shortened or phonically. Karina has even spoke out on her behalf.
Ningning is nearly blind in her right eye and carries drops with her wherever she goes.
Karina is a well renowned yodeler.
I’m so glad you asked this!! I know nothing; I just wanted to thank you for this thread and I’m excited to read the replies! I’ve only been into aespa since “Drama” and got completely hooked on them with the Armageddon album, so I’m still learning! (I had heard their earlier songs; I’ve been listening to K-pop since 2018, but only recently got super into them instead of just casually hearing the music show performances, etc.)
Giselle does a lot of the adlibs for their songs. She is like aespas backbone..
Ningning represents Versace.
Giselle represents Loewe and EITHER& (make up).
Karina represents Prada and NORDISK.
Winter represents Polo by Ralph Lauren and New Balance.
The entire group represents Chopard (luxury) and Nabati Indonesia (ID snacks). Some other members like Karina and Winter have beverage sponsorships as well.
All the girls love memes and are quite up to date on new memes. Ningning has a preference for cat memes and nowadays, Moo Deng. Giselle loves her dog Cooper a lot and enjoys chihuahua memes (she loves her dog more than Karina). Winter is known for taking terrible photos of her food.
One other redditor mentioned their pair names. But missed “Ji Min Jeong CROSS”. JMJ is a common meme or video format about how Karina (Ji Min) and Winter (Min Jeong) are secretly in love with one another. However, its mainly because Karina and Winter spent the most time together during their trainee years, hence why they are naturally so close and tease each other often.
Ningning has been singing or performing on stages for years before she debut with SM. Winter comes from a family that has a history of being in the army. She originally auditioned for dancing but now she’s one of tbe vocals of the group. Giselle has history as a YouTuber when she was young, which she cringes when its brought up again. Her mum is rumoured to be a great fashion designer. Karina has a sister who is a nurse and if Karina wasn’t a performer, she would have wanted to be a air stewardess.
Lastly, the 4 ladies spend lots of time on the 16 Personalities test. They retake the test several times per month and always enjoy using their results as ways to relate with others.
Hope this helps!
Aespa is one of my top favs. So strong vocally and musically and all around great entertainers.
Others have provided a lot of great info already, so i’ll mention some Aespa things i hadn’t seen come up and some other “catch up notes” for your return to kpop 🙂
I don’t know how some of the groups are able to keep up the pace with constantly recording new music while touring and promoting what they previously released while also participating in all the web content, tv shows, fan events, social media, fashion endorsements, and everything else. Some groups must never sleep with how much they are doing and Aespa is one is those powerhouse groups going after everything. Even Winter’s surgery for a collapsed lung not all that long ago barely took her out of action for all that long.
Karina is so charming in her appearances. She was terrific on Agents of Mystery and one of my favorite Karina memes came out of that show: “This looks dangerous. Karina should go first.” She got a reputation for being fearless, so any scary/unknown situations, a couple of the other participants would always try to her to go in first.
Aespa are all really charming in their variety show appearances and their own content shows are fun. The couple times they were on Eunchae’s Star Diary were cute and Karina making Eunchae’s dream come true by being serious about getting together to go eat bbq showed her sincerity. They seem to get along really well with so many members from other groups, so gel well in most shows. Winter can destroy male opponents with a simple wink and she has a mischievous sense of humor.
For a peak behind the curtain, watch the behind the scenes of Aespa in the recording studio. In recent sessions, Karina, NingNing, and Giselle all have fun and then there’s Winter stressing out and facing the wall.
Make sure to watch their appearances on It’s Live and The First Take (Supernova and Hot Mess). NingNing does a cute ad lib in Hot Mess that causes Giselle to start one of her parts late. That camera view isn’t in the published edit, but there are clips with other camera views. Their vocals are just so darn good in these performances…Winter and NingNing especially.
It’s hard to go wrong with Aespa.
When not making music, several other groups have great chemistry as well and shine in variety shows, web content, etc. The non-music content a lot of groups participate in really adds a great perspective and can be really endearing and entertaining.
Le Ssarafim’s Leniverse, Fearless Kkura, and Eunchae’s Star Diary. The other members tease her about her penchant for being a homebody, but in many of the episodes of Fearless, you can just feel Sakura’s inner battle between her professionalism at work and really just wanting to hide at home.
Itzy’s karaoke battles with regular people (especially when they scored lower than the guys they were battling and Chaeryoung was ready to fight ‘em) and variety show appearances. On Coin Karaoke, Yeji even knocked the socks off the other members with her vocals. Critical lesson is to never try to compete with Ryujin in games, especially in Kushi Express. The latin music version of Ringo they did on The First Take is really good.
(G)I-dle are still going strong and are friggin’ hilarious and chaotic in any non-serious appearance they are involved in…especially if there’s even the hint of competition…or alcohol like on Heechul’s Alcohol Street Fighter or on Tipsy Live. Soyeon was so annoyed with the other members when they went on her country cooking show and they wouldn’t pay attention or focus. Soyeon was funny on Dex’s Fridge Interview …especially when she was trying to implement advice people had given her for when she does shows…she could not stop saying “really” the whole time while trying to feign interest. (Speaking of Dex’s show, Sana’s episode where he clearly is no match for her is funny.) Yuqi is so….Yuqi in all situations. Their album 2 is loaded with great tunes and the standalone single Wife is fantastic with a great video and members doing parts they normally wouldn’t, like Miyeon rapping. The behind the scenes of their recording sessions really made me a fan of Soyeon and the breadth and depth of her talent as a producer as well. The behind the scenes of her recent work with QWER was another great example of how she mentors others and how deeply she understands the creative process and how to get a specific performance out of someone. check out Queencard on The First Take for a live performance. We should know very soon whether Soyeon will renew her contract with Cube or whether they will lose one of their biggest revenue generators. Soyeon shows up along with Yena in Bibi’s “Sugar Rush” video.
Everybody in NewJeans oozes charisma in their show appearances and their music is rightfully highly regarded with all the R&B influences and super catchy mixes. Minji and Hyein performing Love Like Oxygen with Eunchae, Sullyoon, and Leeseo as rookies is a great cover.
Nmixx are really strong musically and with the interesting mashups of musical styles they do, they are my other top group along with Aespa. They have good chemistry and are fun in appearances. However, Haewon absolutely crushes it with her sense of humor and personality in shows like Workdol and variety appearances. The behind the scenes of their recording sessions are really interesting and they really shine with their live vocals…whether it’s a capella , live backing band, situations like It’s Live, Cool FM, etc.
IVE is another group with really strong vocals and they have a unique edm-influenced style with lots of catchy songs. Yujin and Wonyoung are still the most comfortable on variety shows with all their experience from being in Izone along with Chaewon and Sakura from Le Ssarafim, but the other members continue to get more comfortable.
If you like stuff with hip hop stylings, a lot of Young Posse tunes and XG’s “Woke Up” might be of interest.
Young-ji’s web show Not Much Prepared often creates an atmosphere where her guests can let their guard down and have fun and maybe accidentally drink a bit too much.
don’t call them aespa, they are GODSPA bro
and I’m not even a stan
I don’t think I’d class this as knowledge but if you don’t care about the photocards, most people chuck the albums on eBay for dirt cheap so that way you get the album for a lot cheaper. Obviously you miss out on the rush of not knowing which photocard you’ll get, as well as the first opening experience but it’s not a bad way to save money since following more than 1 group can be very expensive!