When K-Pop girl group Aespa debuted in November of 2020, it was one of the most anticipated debuts in K-Pop history. Their company, SM Entertainment, knew this, and decided to go all-in by giving Aespa a unique, eye-catching concept that would captivate the scene for years to come.
Aespa smashed into the K-Pop scene with their distinct Sci-Fi flair and The group’s concept is based off of video games and the members have digital alter-egoes, which was truly a strange and unusual decision back in 2020. They were also created with a fictional virtual character in mind; Naevis, Aespa’s “fifth member” and digital avatar, has now released songs and “performed” on her own at Aespa concerts (admittedly, to the ire of most fans).
No one in the K-Pop scene had implemented digital personas or AI so successfully before Aespa. Other companies have since experimented similarly, with completely virtual artists like PLAVE and MAVE: making their debuts to generally good reception has seen massive commercial success. We have entered an age where virtual artists and technological concepts are widely integrated into K-Pop. I argue that this is all thanks to Aespa, whose critical success allowed for smaller companies to see the value in experimenting with both artistic license and technological mediums.
4th generation girl group Aespa is the poster child (poster group?) for K-Pop groups with a technology-related concept. Although Aespa is made up of real, physical people and are typical idols in every sense of the concept, the ways their style, lore, and innovation have influence the genre is nothing short of iconic.
On November 17, 2020, Aespa’s debut single “Black Mamba” premiered to 21.4 million views in under 24 hours, the highest of any debut K-Pop song for a time. Immediately, Aespa became known for their video-game-esque concept. “Black Mamba”’s music video featured the members Karina, Winter, Ningning and Giselle as video game characters with virtual avatars and an accompanying storyline. They also had a completely virtual, fictional fifth member named Naevis, who frequently showed up in Aespa’s music videos and lore.
With their recognizable style and unique lore, Aespa quickly became a standout group in the K-Pop sphere. Aespa continued to chart highly with their first official comeback single Next Level, which peaked at number 2 on the Circle Chart and won Song of the Year at the Korean Music Awards. In October of 2021, Aespa released their first EP Savage, which peaked at 20 on the Billboard 200 and at 2 in South Korea. Their second EP Girls became the first album/EP by a K-Pop girl group to sell over one million copies in its first week.
As of May 2025, they currently have 9.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and just last year won several Song of the Year awards at Korean award shows (2024 MAMA, Melon Music Awards, 39th Golden Disc Awards, and Korean Music Awards). These are major achievements of which few groups reach.
I would argue that Aespa wouldn’t be as popular and successful as they are today without their clear personality and consistent style. If they had given up on their concept, they probably would have still paid the bills, (they are, after all, from a large company) but they wouldn’t be charting the way they do now, because Aespa brings to the table unique packaging and edge. They stand out amidst an ocean of girl-crush, bubbly, girl-groups with oversaturated concepts.
Aespa is proof that technology-related concepts and the integration of AI is not .
Girl group MAVE: is widely recognized as the first K-Pop group to be a fully virtual group. The members, Siu, Zena, Tyra, and Marty, are hyper-realistic, 3D CGI models whose voices are completely AI-generated. Their dance, however, is created from models of real-life dancers.
In January 2023, MAVE: debuted with their single “Pandora’s Box” which charted relatively well. In the same month, MAVE: performed at the Korean music show “Show! Music Core” where they gained more views than any other artist that month. Today, “Pandora’s Box” has 61 million Spotify streams.
MAVE: was somewhat similar to Aespa in style, MV direction, and sound. I would argue that MAVE: played it much safer than Aespa who alongside their digital concept often released experimental music.
Like MAVE:, boy-group PLAVE achieved mainstream success in the K-Pop scene. Unlike MAVE:, PLAVE continued to release music and variety content up to today.
Conclusion?
Let me get back to my original question; what differentiates these virtual groups?
The answer, in my humble opinion, is sincerity.
People like it when groups try. Even with normal, completely natural groups, fans like it when idols try hard to improve their skills, to advertise their music, to reach out to the public.
People like it when groups are human, but they can forgo a real, physical representation if the group maintains a sense of humanity. I think fans can tell when a group is simply an attempt at a cashgrab without any
This, I believe, is where virtual artists must focus their attention if they truly wish to stay in the public mindspace.
