Cebuano Fans Hope to See aespa Tour in the Philippines Soon

Over a hundred Cebuano fans of the K-pop girl group aespa gathered at the Ayala Center Cebu Cinema on April 27 for a block screening of the group’s concert movie “aespa: World Tour in Cinemas” which documents the group’s first world tour “Synk: Hyper Line” with recorded performances from their London stop in September last year.

“The screening was a success”, Ram Eway told The FREEMAN who is one of the organizers of the block screening with “aespa Cebu” where he is the head admin.

“Most of us didn’t get to watch them overseas, so we had so much fun singing along to their songs and got to know more about their careers and how they managed to improve over the years.”

aespa is a four-member group consisting of members Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. They made their debut in November 2020 with their first single “Black Mamba” as SM Entertainment’s next girl group after Red Velvet’s debut in 2014. The agency is part of the “Big Four” in the K-pop industry, hosting groups such as Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, Shinee, NCT, and soloist BoA.

The group is known for its lore and storytelling in their music videos, taking place in a near-futuristic setting where the members are sort of like characters in their own cinematic universe with each new album or single release being treated as a new episode of their ongoing story. So far, the group has released four mini-albums and five standalone singles.

“They have established their lore that explores two worlds: KWANGYA and the REAL WORLD. They have digital counterparts/avatars known as ‘æ’ (pronounced as ‘a-ee’) that have coexisted with [the real members] in the REAL WORLD”, he explained.

He also explained the group’s name, “aespa combines the English initials for ‘avatar’ and ‘experience’ with the English word ‘aspect’ meaning two sides, to symbolize the idea of ‘meeting another self and experiencing the new world.”

aespa Cebu was formed a year after the group’s debut in 2021, being part of the thriving K-pop fan community in the province. Aside from its lore, part of the group’s appeal is their experimental sound that stands out among their peers.

“aespa has a unique sense of style. Their music is experimental which is a usual route with SM artists. But in the aespa’s terms, they are not afraid to try new things as they excel and exceed expectations” he said as the group tackled in genres such as electronic music, hip-hop, hyperpop, and R&B.

Another highlight of the group’s appeal is their stunning fashion style that combines cyber futurism and Y2K.

“The group is heavily inspired by the Y2K or the ‘millennium bug’ that inspired the cyber futurism style, but they have expanded their style within the Y2K scope which makes them memorable with their aesthetic that has become known as ‘aespacore’ This was recognized by the members themselves and even curated a whole board with their collab on Pinterest. Even the group wanted to retain this visual concept in their releases”, he said.

In keeping up with their futuristic concept, aespa fans are known collectively known as “MYs” which means ‘my precious friend.’

Despite their popularity in the Philippines, aespa has not included the Philippines in their first world tour, as well as their upcoming second tour “Synk: Parallel Line” which had stops in neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia later this year.

The group did, however, stop by the Philippines in 2023 as one of the headliners of the “Ultimate Pop Universe – K-VERSE” concert festival at the Araneta Coliseum, and their appearance was highly anticipated even by non-fans.

aespa Cebu’s block screening is one of the many that took place that weekend throughout the country as Filipino MYs hope it would convince aespa’s team to include the Philippines as one of their next stops for their concert tour.

“We are still hoping for the Philippines to be included in their stops [for their second tour]. We have proved ourselves that we deserve a stop for ‘SYNK: Parallel Line” tour”, he remarked.

In the meantime, Cebuano MYs can look forward to the release of “Armageddon” on May 27 which is the group’s first full studio album, with a pre-release single “Supernova” on May 13.