How Aespa Dominated the First Half, Rising to the Top Among 4th Generation Girl Groups

Despite strong competition in the K-pop girl group market, aespa emerged victorious in the first half of this year. Their highly anticipated first full-length album ‘Savage’ was a huge success, with both of its title tracks achieving million-seller status. This impressive accomplishment solidified aespa’s position as the top girl group, surpassing their fellow competitors.

After four years since their debut, aespa released their highly anticipated first full-length album ‘Savage’ on May 27th. The album broke numerous records, selling an impressive 1.15 million copies in its initial release and solidifying their success as the only group to have four consecutive albums debut with over a million sales. Their pre-released double title track ‘Supernova’ also made waves, maintaining its top spot on the Melon weekly chart for five consecutive weeks and setting a new record for the longest-running number one song of the year.

The strength of the other double title track, ‘Savage’, is also noteworthy. Along with the immense popularity of ‘Supernova’, ‘Savage’ has also reached top positions on major music charts, showcasing aespa’s unparalleled momentum. Despite the numerous comebacks from well-known artists since the album’s release a month ago, both ‘Savage’ and ‘Supernova’ have consistently held top ranks on these charts, highlighting the enthusiastic response of the public towards aespa. This achievement sets aespa apart from other ‘4th generation girl groups’ that debuted around the same time, firmly establishing them as one of the top groups in their generation.

Not only were aespa popular on music and album charts, but their success also extended to sparking widespread discussions with their first full-length album. The songs ‘Supernova’ and ‘Savage’ dominated multiple platforms with dance challenges, and the catchy lyrics of ‘Supernova’ even became popular memes. Their immense popularity was evident through these achievements.

Despite consistently receiving great love for every song released since their debut, aespa achieved a new turning point in their musical career with the explosive response to their first full-length album. Their representative songs, ‘Supernova’ and ‘Savage’, were instantly renewed and further solidified aespa’s success.

This accomplishment is not solely focused on releasing new representative songs. The most important result is that aespa has effectively solidified their distinctive musical style in the minds of the public, making a notable impact in the music industry.

Ever since their debut, aespa has consistently delivered conceptual and powerful music that embodies the SMP (SM Music Performance) style, which is based on a ‘desert’ theme. Rather than conforming to popular trends in the K-pop industry, they have remained dedicated to their distinctive style, ultimately creating a new genre known as ‘aespa’.

In light of the extraordinary accomplishments of their debut full-length album, SM Entertainment, the agency representing aespa, has stated that their goal from the initial planning phase was to present the group’s finest music, concepts, and performances, all based on an expansive multi-universe narrative. To make the album more accessible to listeners, they released a prelude with two title tracks, “Supernova”and “Savage”, which not only gained popularity but also highlighted aespa’s distinct musical style and individuality.

The members of aespa also conveyed their appreciation for the warm support and praise they have received. They expressed, “We put a lot of effort into preparing for our first full-length album, so we are proud to receive such incredible interest and love. We will continue to work hard to showcase even more impressive performances in the future.”Additionally, they encouraged their fans by saying, “We invite our global MYs (official fan club name for aespa) to look forward to an amazing stage as we embark on our second world tour.”