K-pop girl group Aespa trends with 1st mini album and new single 'Savage'

SEOUL -- K-pop girl group Aespa is dominating global trending music charts with a new song called "Savage."

The four-member rookie girl band from South Korea released their first mini album "Savage" on Tuesday, immediately grabbing the attention of both devoted fans and new listeners worldwide. The EP consists of six tracks, including the lead single of the same title, all of which range from dance to deep house and trance.

Aespa also dropped a music video for the song "Savage," which quickly topped YouTube's global trending chart and amassed 30 million views in just 24 hours after being released. Meanwhile, it took less than a day for the hit single to smash South Korea's local music charts, including Bug's Music, Genie and Melon.

The track is characterized by its strong drum and base sequence, combined with unique rap, powerful ad-lib and addictive hooks.

Aespa's members -- Karina, Winter, Giselle and Ningning -- all range in age from 18 to 20 but come from different backgrounds like South Korea, China and Japan. The multinational quartet has been recognized by industry insiders for their talent in dance, vocals and rap.

The latest music video is an extension of the group’s unique identity and story set in a futuristic digital universe, where each of its four members coexist with their alter egos, or avatars.

5 things you should know about Aespa

The song "Savage" opens with the line: "Oh my gosh, don't you know I'm savage?" But it's hardly a question and more a statement of truth. Aespa, who made their debut less than a year ago, is now on track to make history with their new single. Here are five things to know about the K-pop powerhouse.

1. The group has its own cultural universe

Aespa, the world’s first music group created within the context of metaverse, is sometimes written as æspa. The æ merges the English initials of "avatar" and “experience,” representing the idea of meeting a virtual self and experiencing the new world.

The group's members perform offline in the real world as artists, while their avatars perform online in a virtual world called the Kwangya, which means "wilderness" in Korean. Aespa aims to perform in collaboration of the real and virtual, the offline and online.

Within Aespa’s cultural universe, or rather a storyline of their existence, the group's members in the real world and members in the Kwangya communicate and interact in the digital space in between them. They each have different identities and have conversations, being friends to one another and sharing what's going on in their own worlds. They also move to and from each other’s worlds.

2. Their music and performances are highly addictive

Aespa was formed by South Korean record label and entertainment agency SM Entertainment, and the group's music and performances revolve around the SM Music Performance, or SMP -- a term coined by SM Entertainment in the late 1990s for a style of music that features heavy, dance-focused tracks that sometimes includes lyrics containing social commentaries on current events.

Aespa has become known for their addictive beats, with hooks that are likely to linger in your ears after listening. The hooks are always paired with compelling choreography. In the song "Savage," for example, the group's members wave their fingers along with the lyrics "Zu Zu Zu Zu." The ambience of their songs also change drastically during the bridges, adding to the variety of music.

3. The group's members know how to communicate with their fans

Aespa's members are one of the most popular K-pop idols to actively communicate with fans through social media. Two days before their debut on Nov. 15, 2020, Aespa uploaded their first video on TikTok for the so-called expression challenge. Since then, the group has uploaded 66 videos to the social media platform, including viral challenges with other SM Entertainment artists, and has garnered a total of 37.9 million likes so far.

Aespa has more than 5.3 million followers on Instagram, where they post official photos for the fans. Moreover, each of the group's members use the "DearU Bubble" feature in the app Lysn, which allows fans to communicate with K-pop artists via private messaging.

4. They are record-breakers

It's no wonder Aespa has already set a number of records in the K-pop space. Their debut song, "Black Mamba," held the record for fastest K-pop group debut music video to reach 100 million views in just 52 days. The track also debuted at no. 5 on the U.S. Billboard World Digital Songs.

The music video of Aespa's third single, "Next Level," also surpassed 100 million views on YouTube just 32 days after being released.

As the group topped domestic charts, Aespa won Best New Artist at the 30th Seoul Music Awards on Jan. 31, 2021. They also earned spots on the Billboard Global 200 and the World Digital Song Sales charts. As for their latest single, “Savage," pre-order sales have surpassed 400,000 and the music video has reached the no. 1 spot on YouTube's list of global trending videos.

5. There is undeniable chemistry between the group's members

The friendship between Aespa's members feels genuine, and fans have even given special "ship" names to each pair. For instance, Giselle and Winter are called "Dumb and Dumber" because they are known to act hilarious when they are together.

Karina and Winter, the two Korean members of the group, are known as "JiminJeong," for their Korean names. With similar visuals but different personalities, the pair bring an unexpected charm that is often referred to as a combination of the characters My Melody and Kuromi from the Japanese anime series "Onegai My Melody."

Meanwhile, Winter and NingNing are dubbed "Youngest ones," with their loud voices and infectious laughs.