Music / aespa

"Be my ae! Hi, we are aespa."^note Left to Right: Ningning, Giselle, Karina, Winter

aespa is a South Korean Girl Group under SM Entertainment. Debuting in November of 2020, the group consists of four members: Karina, Winter, Giselle, and Ningning.

The group's music and videos have a running narrative with a futuristic sci-fi theme, focusing on an augmented reality where each member has a digital avatar and combat skills to take on their villain.

Web originals, travel vlogs, and behind the scenes videos can be found on their YouTube channel.

Members

• Karina^note Yu Jimin, born April 11, 2000: Leader, Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Face of the Group
• Giselle^note Aeri Uchinaga, born October 30, 2000: Main Rapper, Sub Vocalist
• Winter^note Kim Minjeong, born January 1, 2001): Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Visual
• Ningning^note Ning Yizhuo, born October 23, 2002: Main Vocalist, Maknae

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Discography and Filmography

Non-Album Singles

• "Black Mamba" - 2020
• "Forever" - 2021
• "Next Level" - 2021
• "Dreams Come True" - 2021 (SM Station single)
• "Beautiful Christmas" - 2022 (with Red Velvet)
• "Better Things" - 2023

Mini-albums

• Savage - 2021
• Girls - 2022
• My World - 2023
• Drama - 2023

Web Originals

• SM Culture Universe
  • Black Mamba - 2021
  • Next Level - 2022
  • Girls (Don't You Know I'm a Savage?) - 2023
• Better Things Sitcom - 2023
  • [EP.01] Better Things To Do with MY Time
  • [EP.02] Better Things To Do with MY Holiday
  • [EP.03] Better Things To Do
• Who Visit the Villa? - 2023
  • EP 01: Hide and Seek
  • EP 02: Who Are You?
  • EP 03: Cruel Audition

Reality TV Series

• SYNK Road - 2022

SM Universe Glossary

Locations

• Flat: The world where the avatars live.
• Kosmo: A transcendent place that no one has reached.
• Kwangya: Translates to "wilderness." The unexplored frontier of the digital world where Black Mamba resides.
• Real World: The real world. What you're living in now.

Characters

• ae-aespa: The members' digital avatars
• Black Mamba: The main villain, named after the venomous snake.
• Naevis: An AI system that helps the avatars of aespa appear in the real world

Other concepts

• MY: A term for best friends between aespa and their avatars. Also the offical name of their fandom.
• P.O.S: Stands for Port of Soul, the "portal" that connects the AI universe to the real world
• Synk: When aespa is bonding with their avatars
• Rekall Time: The time members spend with their avatars in the real world

Tropes that apply to aespa:

Music and Performance Tropes

• all lowercase letters: How their name is stylized.
• Animal Motif: Each member has an Official Animal.
  • Karina: Whale
  • Giselle: Unicorn
  • Winter: Siberian Husky
  • Ningning: Tiger
• Arc Words: Any of the terms in their lore could count, but Kwangya is especially prevalent.
• Art Shift: "Savage" contains a sequence in which all members are animated.
• Be Yourself: "Life's Too Short" is about being yourself, no matter what other people say.
• Catchphrase: "Be my ae. Hi, we are aespa!"
  • "JiMinJeong, cross!" when Karina and Winter do a livestream or reaction video together.
• Cleavage Window: Stylists have displayed Karina's charms in some stage performances and a photoshoot with Vivi magazine.
• Concept Video:
  • "Black Mamba," "Next Level," "Savage," and "Girls" explore the link between the real world and their digital avatars.
  • The track track video for "Thirsty" is an homage to Friends.
• Cover Version:
  • The group's second single "Forever" was originally by Yoo Young-Jin.
  • Their SM STATION single "Dreams Come True" is a cover of a song by S.E.S., SM's first girl group.
  • "Next Level" was originally sung by A$ton Wyld for the Hobbs & Shaw soundtrack. Subverted in that aespa's version adds new distinct sections not present in the original song.
• Cyberbullying: One of the themes of "Life's Too Short."
  Some people are so mean, all behind a phone screen
  When we're tryna live our lives
  Why you gotta be so vicious? Be about your business
  'Stead of getting up in mine
• Darker and Edgier: After the summer vibes of MY World and "Better Things," Drama is their darkest concept yet.
• Design Student's Orgasm: The video for "Black Mamba" is filled to the brim with a multitude of flourescent colors.
• Gratuitous English: Consistently present throughout their songs.
• Idol Singers: They're k-pop stars.
• "I Hate" Song: "I'll Make You Cry" pulls no punches toward the ex.
• Jack of All Trades: Karina is respected for her proficiency as a dancer, a singer, and a rapper with great stage presence to boot.
• Lighter and Softer: "Forever," "Life's Too Short," and "Better Things" are notably softer than their usual affair.
• Literal Maneater: The Black Mamba's mission to tempt and devour its prey is used as a metaphor for attracting a lover in "Illusion."
• Love Nostalgia Song: "Lucid Dream" recalls a former lover who is seen in a dream.
• Lyrical Cold Open: "Savage" starts with one:
  ''Oh my gosh, don't you know I'm a savage?
• Meaningful Name: aespa is short for "avatar x experience," referring to their digital counterparts.
• Melismatic Vocals: Ningning and Winter pull these off regularly.
• Ms. Fanservice: Karina's glamorous figure is put on display both by the stylists and by herself, the former resulting in many famous fancams.
• New Sound Album: With Yoo Young-Jin no longer at the helm, My World eschews the more hard-edged, dissonant sounds of their previous work. On the visial end of the spectrum, the futuristic sci-fi aesthetic has also been replaced with a modern setting.
• Product Placement: Averted. Smartphones are shown numerous times throughout the "Black Mamba" video, but there is no indication of what brand they are.
• Scenery Porn: Common in their music videos, especially those that delve into the SM Culture Universe.
• Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: Winter in the "Savage" video.
• Sexy Santa Dress: Everyone wears one in "Beautiful Christmas," their collaboration with Red Velvet.
• Signature Move: The bent elbow and wrist "point" choreography from "Next Level" was copied by various celebrities throughout the song's promotion.
• Singer Namedrop: Occurs frequently in their songs about the aespa universe. "aenergy" lists off each member's name with their combat skill.
• Song Style Shift: "Next Level" has three distinct sections.
• Starring Special Effects: "Welcome to My World" has a credited guest feature from Naevis.
• Translated Cover Version: The main parts of "Next Level".
• Valley Girl: Winter talks like this in her intro in "Savage".
  Winter: Oh my gosh, don't you know I'm a... Savage?

Original Series Tropes

SM Culture Universe

• Action Girl: Winter with weapons, and Karina with her rocket punch.
• Amazon Brigade: aespa, as well as ae-aespa.
• Augmented Reality: Their sci-fi narrative revolves around this.
• Badass Adorable: The entire group in the "Savage" video.
• Badass Crew: They have the skills to take on the Black Mamba.
• The Baroness: Black Mamba.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Karina is implied to be suffering this from Black Mamba. In the "Black Mamba" video, she is shown with Black Eyes of Evil before being embraced by Black Mamba, as well as sending a virus to Winter, and the same scene of the embrace is shown in the short film of the same name.
• Combination Attack: Karina can rocket punch Winter's bullets for added effect.
• Contrasting Sequel Setting: My World brings the narrative to Real World.
• Cute Bruiser: Karina with her rocket punch.
• Girls with Guns: Winter has a pink pistol.
• The Gunslinger: Winter, as part of her armament combat skill.
• Hollywood Hacking: Ningning's combat skill.
• Myth Arc: The group's ongoing sci-fi narrative.
• Omniglot: Giselle's combat skill.
• Put on a Bus: ae-aespa is completely missing from the My World production.
• Reaching Through the Fourth Wall: In the "Welcome to My World" video, Naevis visits Real World.
• Roger Rabbit Effect: Throughout the narrative, the girls interact with computer generated characters.
• Shout-Out: Giselle is asked to interpret a quote by Jean-Paul Sartre for her class in Black Mamba.
• Teleportation: How they get to Kwangya while chasing Black Mamba.
• Shrug Take: The trailers leading up to My World revolve around strange phenomena occurring in Real World, with the girls seemingly unimpressed about what's happening in their surroundings.

Better Things Sitcom

• The Couch: The girls sit on one in the center of their living room.
• "Friends" Rent Control: Their house is clearly beyond their means with Ningning being the only one with a part-time job and the rest of the girls unable to get one.
• Gamer Chick: Karina is shown getting frustrated with a video game in the intro and is shown playing games on her cellphone throughout.
• Laugh Track: Used to give the vibe of your typical TV sitcom.
• Social Semi-Circle: When they sit around the table in front of the couch.
• Three Cameras: Subverted. Though it's shot in the style of a three-camera sitcom, some camera angles and close-up shots of objects break from the style.

SYNK Road

• Thrill Seeker: Winter and Ningning are fine with hang gliding in their reality show SYNK Road, much to the chagrin of their older bandmates.

Media Appearance Tropes

• Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: Ningning did the splits beyond 180 degrees in their appearance on Weekly Idol.
• Big Eater: As shown in both Instagram live sessions and TV shows, Karina is practically a bottomless pit.
• Compliment Backfire: Karina got annoyed with Lee Young-Ji's excessive flirtatiousness and praise of her physical appearance on Nothing Prepared. Netizens levied the same criticism at Lee as well.
• Dismissing a Compliment: How Karina tried to deflect Lee Young-Ji's flirtatiousness.
  Lee Young-Ji: I really like Yu Jimin. I also like how you look. I like everything about Yu Jimin. Yeah, I'm pure macho.
  Karina: Don't lie. You'll say the same thing to other female idols.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Once again, Lee Young-Ji for Karina.
• Fashion-Shop Fashion Show: On one of their trips to New York. Complete with style descriptions!
  Giselle: I'm an English anime lover.
  Karina: I'm a French student majoring in art.
  Winter: I'm a cowgirl.
  Ningning: I'm Ningning. invoked
• Green Aesop: aespa gave a speech to the United Nations about the importance of sustainable development.
• Rapid-Fire "No!": Ningning's reaction to Winter pouring candy on a cake.
• Running Gag: Fans of other SM artists began asking them if they would be going to Kwangya.
• Sarcasm-Blind: When Roy Wood Jr. acted as aespa's New York City tour guide in an episode of The Daily Show, Winter interpreted his jokes as lies.
• Security Blanket: In her MY TIME introduction video, Karina (who is Catholic) states she wears her rosary ring on important schedules.
• Spiritual Successor: In the YouTube original Re: Masterpiece, Ningning and Winter are respectively called "The Second S.E.S. Bada" and "The Second Yoo Young-Jin." Since Yoo served as the group's mentor at the time, they joke that he is Winter's father. invoked
• The Treachery of Images: Ningning's instagram handle is imnotningning.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: In an episode of Knowing Bros, Karina revealed that the only time she was ever late for class was when she came face to face with the only animal she fears... birds.
• Workout Fanservice: This televised segment showing Karina's workout routine has some rather choice shots focusing on her body.