K-Pop group Aespa made their long-awaited debut in London on Thursday evening (September 28) with a packed-out performance at The O2 for their SYNK: HYPER LINE tour.
As a self-confessed K-Pop stan, I’ve been to my fair share of K-Pop concerts. They are different to Western artists’ gigs – people seem more excited to be there, and there’s usually no support act.
Another common theme at K-Pop concerts is slight awkward silences. It’s through nobody’s fault, but often if the artist doesn’t speak English – and why should they? – their words are translated lived, which can lead to them standing looking around bemused on-stage.
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So I was expecting some of the same with Aespa, though members Giselle and Ningning spoke great English. However rather than waste time talking to the crowd, the four-piece group, also including Karina and Winter, just did what they came to do – they performed.
And what a show they put on. They kicked things off with one of their biggest hits, Girls, after a short introduction that included their ae versions.
For non-fans, each Aespa member has an ae version too – an avatar, of sorts. They often appear in the girls’ music videos with them, but that’s about it.
The four human members have enough talent to keep the crowd entertained on their own by a mile, though. After Girls came aenergy, a roll-call anthem of sort that set the bad-ass tone the audience should expect to continue.
Next up was I’ll Make You Cry, another album track like aenergy, with its haunting sounding chorus, and then Savage, another of their fan-favourite singles. The choreography was tight throughout, but the routine in Savage is particularly detailed and nuanced in parts, so their synchronicity really shone.
Each member had a solo performance too in between the sets, with Karina performing Menagerie, Winter performing Lips, Giselle heating things up with 2 HOT 4 U, and Ningning wrapping things up with Wake Up. Giselle and Ningning really stole the show, with their solos being some of the highlights of the night.
The second set saw the group slow things down a little bit with Illusion, Thirsty, Lucid Dream and 90s vibe track Dreams Come True. After Winter’s solo came Life’s Too Short.
As one of my favourite Aespa songs, I was very excited for this – and even more so that they performed the English version. The track is written by British music superstars MNEK and Becky Hill, with a self-empowering vibe.
Next came Welcome to MY World and Don’t Blink, with the latter being as-yet unreleased. Giselle’s show-stopping solo show kicked off the next set, which was one of the most fun.
It included my personal favourite B-side YEPPY YEPPI, another unreleased track YOLO, one of the best movie soundtrack songs of the year Hold On Tight (from Tetris) and the incredible Spicy, which really got the audience dancing.
Ningning showed off her star-power with her solo – and she looked like she knew she was shining, too. And then came the final set, with some of Aespa’s biggest songs still to come.
Album track Salty & Sweet kicked off the final set, before going into power house Next Level, a remake of A$ton Wyld’s song from the Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw soundtrack. And then came Black Mamba to close the show.
Black Mamba was Aespa’s debut track back in 2020 and it still lasts the test of time. The choreography is intense – including a milli-second fast drop to the ground each chorus – and the girls’ energy was flawless even then, at the end.
Of course an encore followed, with the sweet tracks ‘Til We Meet Again and ICU. A fitting end to a concert brimming with energy, with Aespa’s fans – Naevis – already desperate to meet them again.
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