aespa has been played on NTS in shows including The Athenian Marketplace , featured first on 29 July 2022. Songs played include Life’s Too Short, Drama and Supernova.

aespa (stylized as æspa) is a four-member South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment in 2020. The group consists of four members: Karina (카리나), Giselle (지젤), Winter (윈터) and Ningning (닝닝). They debuted on November 17, 2020 with the single "Black Mamba".

The group's name, Aespa, combines the English initials of "avatar" and "experience" (Avatar X Experience) with the English word "aspect", meaning "two sides", to symbolize the idea of "meeting another self and experiencing the new world". Each member has a digital version of themselves, referred to as avatars.

On January 29, 2021, SM Entertainment announced Aespa would release a remake of "Forever (약속)", the single originally by Yoo Young-jin for SM Entertainment's 2000 holiday album Winter Vacation in SMTOWN.com in 2000. Aespa's version of the song, a "mid-tempo ballad characterized by acoustic guitar sound" with "warm lyrics about promising forever to a loved one", was released on February 5 that year.

On May 6, 2021 at 12 AM KST, Aespa released their first teasers for a new project: a still image and a cryptic video featuring the words "Next Level." Later that day at 9 AM KST, the official announcement for Aespa’s comeback was released, revealing that "Next Level" was the name of their upcoming single. The song was released on May 17, 2021.

On October 5, 2021 at 6 PM KST, Aespa released their debut EP Savage - The 1st Mini Album which featured a title track with the same name alongside 5 other songs.