Aespa Are Getting Ready to Release Their Next Mini-Album ‘Girls’

Rising K-pop outfit Aespa have announced their second mini-album, Girls, will arrive this summer.

The group confirmed the release on Twitter noting the album would arrive July 8. The announcement was accompanied by a short video featuring a panorama of a digital mountain range and a burst of synth-heavy music. 

aespa 에스파 The 2nd Mini Album 〖Girls〗
➫ 2022.07.08 #aespa #æspa #에스파#Girls pic.twitter.com/A1sB78EYT2

— aespa (@aespa_official) May 31, 2022

Girls will follow Aespa’s first mini-album, Savage, which was released back in Oct. 2021. Prior to that, the band had released a handful of singles, including their 2020 debut “Black Mamba” and their early hit, “Next Level.” The group’s last release came at the end of 2021 — a remake of S.E.S.’s 1998 smash, “Dreams Come True,” which was produced by pioneering K-pop artist BoA.

Aespa debuted and grew to prominence in the thick of the pandemic, building an initial rapport with fans online that’s finally been able to flourish live. For instance, the quartet — Karina, Winter, Giselle, and Ningning — appeared at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade lat year, while this past April they popped up during the second weekend of Coachella for a special set during a showcase hosted by their label/management company 88rising. Aespa’s Coachella set also featured a performance of the English-language version of a still unreleased song, “Life’s Too Short.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone last July, Aespa spoke about their swift rise and myriad of influences, which include everything from older Korean songs, classical, and jazz, to Stevie Wonder, Blink-182, Ariana Grande, and Beyoncé. At the time, the group was also eagerly looking towards the future, with Karina saying, “I’m sure that our song lyrics will get more interesting as they tell a story of our adventures in that world, adding on to the fun in uncovering the full story with each new release.”