Watch: aespa Talks About Their Casting, Closeness As A Group, Success Of "Next Level" + Shows Off Vocal And Dance Performances

Oct 23, 2021

On October 23, aespa made their second guest appearance on JTBC’s “Knowing Bros”!

aespa made their debut in late 2020 with “Black Mamba,” introducing their unique world with its own storyline. The girl group conquered the charts in 2021 with the song “Next Level,” and Karina shared on “Knowing Bros” that she predicted the song’s success. “I had a lucky dream,” she said. “I like to watch National Geographic and there was a scene where a hippo was eating watermelon. I fell asleep and dreamed that I was riding a hippo with Giselle. I told my fans that I dreamed of a hippo when I woke up and they said that was a lucky dream.”

Winter shared that she had been nicknamed “Kim Min Kyung Hoon” in high school because of her resemblance to Min Kyung Hoon. “They said our eyes looked alike,” she said. Min Kyung Hoon said, “I think that I looked a little like her when I was young.”

aespa also talked about how close they were as a group, often sharing clothes between them. Super Junior’s Kim Heechul joked, “If that happened to me, I would leave the group.” Seo Jang Hoon asked if they would also share special food that their own moms left them at the dorm, and Karina said, “If it’s something that anyone can eat, then we tell everyone in advance.” Ningning said, “There are times when it’s uncomfortable because we’re always sharing things.” According to Giselle, Ningning has a clumsy side and is always spilling coffee at least once a day. Ningning said, “I was wearing Giselle’s clothes and I felt bad about spilling food on them.”

Karina also told the story of how she had been cast at SM Entertainment. She had been popular on social media when an SM representative sent her a direct message (DM) with a casting offer. Karina said, “I thought it was a scammer. They said they were interested in me after seeing my photos and asked if I was interested in being an idol. But they didn’t tell me what agency they were from. So I obviously said no. A few months later, I got a casting offer from a different person. In terms of messages, I was cast twice.”

Ningning shared how she’d become a musician, saying, “I was five when I first went up on stage. There was a stage set up at a big shopping mall, and my mom told me to try going up there. I went up there without a second thought. It wasn’t until then that I knew I could sing well. After that, people sought me out to perform.”

About their childhood dreams, Ningning said, “When I was young, my dream was to be a singer.” Karina said hers was to be a flight attendant, and Giselle said, “I wanted to be an actor and also a fashion designer. Then one day I suddenly had the thought that I wanted to be a singer.” Winter said, “There are a lot of soldiers in my family. But I’ve always liked to sing and dance since I was young.”

aespa said that their future goal was to sing in front of an audience. Having debuted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the girl group has only ever performed in front of camera directors and production staff members and have never had the chance to perform in front of their fans in person. Karina said, “I’ve imagined it before and I think I will cry.”

Super Junior’s Shindong also boasted about having known Karina before SM Entertainment cast her. “I was doing a concert at a church when I was in the military band, and there was a really pretty female student who asked me for a photo,” he said. “That was Karina.”

aespa also showed off a variety of vocal and dance performances on “Knowing Bros,” starting off with a medley of their hit songs. Ningning covered Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” and Winter covered Taeyeon’s “All About You” OST from “Hotel Del Luna.” Karina performed a dance cover medley to SM Entertainment’s hits, and various members danced to girl group songs after getting the answers right on a quiz.