aespa, First Girl Group Selected as 'Next Generation Leaders' by US TIME Magazine

aespa 'Savage' image.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Girl group aespa has been selected as one of Time magazine's 'Next Generation Leaders,' the U.S. weekly news magazine announced on the 13th, according to their agency SM Entertainment.

'Next Generation Leaders' is a list published annually by Time that selects trendsetters and pioneers. In 2018, BTS, a group under HYBE, was the first K-pop group to be selected. aespa is the first K-pop girl group to be included.

aespa has captured attention since their debut in 2020 with a 'metaverse concept.' They introduced a worldview where they traverse the unknown metaverse wilderness alongside their other selves called ae, and confront Black Mamba, which disrupts their connection.

Based on this, aespa achieved three consecutive hits from their debut song 'Black Mamba' to 'Next Level' and 'Savage.'

Time praised aespa as "experimental, yet a necessary next step in the music industry to connect the virtual and the real."

aespa stated, "For fans, enjoying not only our songs but also videos and content containing our worldview can be a journey to more easily embrace the concept of the metaverse."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.