[All] Surpassing New Jeans and Ive… How Did Espa Become an Invincible Girl Group?

“Aespa is an experiment.”

In 2022, the American weekly news magazine Time defined the Korean idol group Espa, affiliated with SM Entertainment, as follows: It meant that they were experimenting with the future of the music industry by connecting the virtual and the real. The experiment was a success. In just four years since their debut, they have established themselves as the leader of K-pop girl groups and a representative K-pop group.

Espa's activities this year have been unrivaled. Their first full-length album 'Armageddon' released in May and their fifth mini-album 'Whiplash' released last month both surpassed 1 million copies in the first week of release, setting a record for five consecutive million-seller records. The title song 'Supernova' from their first full-length album topped the Melon Weekly Chart for 15 consecutive weeks, the longest-serving No. 1 spot since the chart was first established in 2004, and is still in the top 10. Their new song 'Whiplash' and leader Karina's solo track 'Up' are also maintaining their top 5 positions despite the joint efforts of Rosé's 'Apartment' and G-Dragon's 'Power'. With the success of two albums in a row, they have greatly widened the gap with New Jeans, Ive, Le Seraphim, and the so-called 'Newar' who were leading the 'girl group renaissance' together.

I like experimental music