On November 17th, 2020, a 4-member girl group called ‘aespa’, from the Korean company SM ENTERTAINMENT, has debuted.. It’s been 4 years since the debut of a rookie group such as NCT and for girl groups, it’s been 6 years since the debut of Red Velvet in 2014.
“aespa” is a mixture of “æ” which means “Avatar X Experience” and “aspect”, and has the meaning of “encounter your other ego, avatar, and experience a new world.” As for the members, there is the Korean member KARINA and WINTER, Japanese member GISELLE and Chinese member NINGNING, totaling 4 members. The girl group that is so global released their debut track “Black Mamba” on November 17th, 2020. ELLE conducted a remote interview with the girls who had just debuted.
ELLE’s Interview With The aespa Members
Q1. As a group in the middle of their success as a global group with members from Korea, Japan and China, each member must have their own charming points and personality etc. Please tell us your position and identity within the group.
KARINA I think maybe our charm is unconventional? All four of us have different visuals, personalities, and atmosphere, but I think the synergy and teamwork that we release when we are together is the most attractive. As for my role in the group, as the leader, it’s mostly getting the opinions of the members and taking control of the situation. When the tension among the members is high, of course, I calm things down. However, I am the same age and am like the oldest daughter who is also like the youngest.
GISELLE As for aespa’s charm, in short, it is ‘girl crush’ and I think our figure is like the concept of hero-like female warriors.
WINTER I personally think that aespa has many charms and with that, I think some among those is the worldview of our avatar and our cool performance. Because of our powerful performance, I think our charm is like the refreshing feeling of cider. My role in the group is the mood maker. In fact, all the members are cheerful and excited, but I think I’m taking the lead in that role!
NINGNING As for aespa’s charm, I think aespa’s charm is that everyone has a cheerful personality and fits the humor well, so we can always have a fun atmosphere! In the group, my role is youngest but cutie sexy mood maker haha and because of that, I am in charge of the volume. Because I have a big voice, sometimes I am told that I am noisy haha. Other than us, there are ae members who can sing and dance like us. If you look at our videos and images, you can see that they are there with us. I think this kind of startling idea is the key to everyone’s enjoyment.
Q2. At the time of your debut, what do you think of the current global K-POP boom?
KARINA I am very grateful and proud that K-POP has received so much love from all over the world. I feel that we have to try harder to try not and muddy up the path that our seniors have laid for us. I want to become an artist that is a good influence.
GISELLE Because people are showing so much interest in K-POP, we feel that we have to work harder and we want to show you that we are constantly improving!
WINTER I am very grateful that fans from all over the world are giving love to K-POP and as a K-POP artist myself, I am very proud to be one! I am very grateful towards my seniors who spread the K-POP genre around the world and we will work hard to show even more of the charms of K-POP.
NINGNING When I was young, I listened to my seniors, Girls’ Generation songs and that’s when I first came to learn of what K-POP was. I think it’s good to be able to deliver passionate energy to many people.
Source: aespa ELLE Japan Interview
credits:
English translation: @jana22sal