[Concert Review] Aespa kick off their Europe tour in London

SM Entertainment girl-group aespa delivered a fierce concert filled with non-stop power and flawless synchronicity—giving the crowd whiplash with every change of outfit and music style.

Image: Vincent Li for Cherry Chu Magazine.

SM Entertainment’s four-member girl group aespa have been taking the K-pop industry by storm this past year; initially with the release of their first full-length album, Armageddon, in May, then later emerging from the 2024 MAMA Awards as the biggest winners of the night. They won six out of their eight nominations, including Best Female Group, Song of the Year for “Supernova,” and Best Music Video for “Armageddon.”

The group’s popularity has since skyrocketed, which was clearly evident from the masses of fans gathered around the OVO Arena Wembley on Sunday 2 March, 2025. The highly anticipated concert was completely sold out, and many fans were standing in line for hours with high spirits, eagerly awaiting the first concert of the girls’ European tour leg. VIP ticket holders were even lucky enough to witness the girls’ soundcheck.

Image: Vincent Li for Cherry Chu Magazine.

From the beginning of the concert, the girls stunned fans, strutting onto the stage in beautiful white, sparkly, princess-style outfits. They opened the night with their 2023 fan-favourite track “Drama.” Following this, as fans burst into screams and applause, the members whisked off their outer skirts in an exciting outfit shift right from the get-go—a precursor to the many incredible outfit changes fans would witness throughout the night.

They then headed out to the extended stage before launching into their 2020 debut song, “Black Mamba.” Afterwards, they performed the dance track from their 2023 EP, My World: “Salty & Sweet.”

Image: Vincent Li for Cherry Chu Magazine.

After a VCR moment of the girls, they re-entered with metallic chrome touches across their dresses, each member in a different accent colour: Karina in white, Giselle in pink, Winter in blue and NingNing in yellow. They exploded into “Supernova,” the entire crowd singing and dancing along, as the girls hit peak synchronicity with this award-winning choreography. After a short set change and outfit alteration, the girls came back out showing their dresses off in their entirety. They performed their minimalistic hip-hop track “Mine,” before finally introducing themselves to the crowd—Giselle also reminisced upon their last appearance in London back in September 2023.

Next up, the girls dropped the beat down, with a rendition of “Die Trying,” the OST for Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver that they collaborated on with Korean-American DJ, TOKiMONSTA. They then launched into their RnB track “Flights, Not Feelings” from their most recent EP, Whiplash. To round off this section, they performed crowd favourite, “Better Things.”

Following another VCR segment, it was time to move onto the members’ solo stages. For this tour, each of the girls released a brand new song, which they assisted in writing and would perform solo on each leg of the tour. Giselle was first, performing “Dopamine,” her sultry mid-tempo RnB track. Next, it was time for leader Karina to fiercely command the stage alone, performing her hip-hop dance song, “UP.” Maknae NingNing followed after with her dance track “Bored!” The solos were completed by Winter, who wowed the crowd with her ethereal performance of her fully self-written EDM track “Spark.”

Image: Vincent Li for Cherry Chu Magazine.

The next outfit change saw the girls emerge in matching casual outfits—pink hoodies, white tees and blue jeans—each making the ensemble their own. They launched into a fun upbeat section of the concert, starting off with another of their 2023 hits “Spicy,” before (of course) performing “Pink Hoodie.”

The members then sat down for a moment with the fans, expressing how much they love being on stage, and hoping that the fans were having just as much fun as they were. After this short break, they performed a techno remix of “Hold on Tight,” their song from the soundtrack of Apple Original Film, Tetris. They then changed up the mood with their uplifting pop song “Live My Life.” Pokémon fans in the crowd were ecstatic as they transitioned into their OST for the Korean dub of Pokémon Horizons: The Series, “We Go.” The girls looked as though they were having the time of their life during this song and it was a real joyful highlight of the night.

Image: Vincent Li for Cherry Chu Magazine.

Following another VCR, SM Entertainment’s virtual idol naevis—who has been linked to aespa’s universe since their debut in 2020—performed her song, “Done.” The members then reemerged in their most daring outfits of the evening, all of them head-to-toe in black and leather. They got the audience pumped up with their latest title track, “Whiplash,” a clear crowd favourite as the whole arena could be heard singing along from the very first note.

Then they performed “Set the Tone” from Armageddon, before returning to one of their early hits with a rock version of the 2021 fan-favourite “Next Level.” This was followed by another rock cover of their iconic track “Armaggedon.” This high energy segment of the show had fans up and dancing along with the girls, screams and voices reverberating nonstop around the venue.

Image: Vincent Li for Cherry Chu Magazine.

Finally, after a VCR interlude of “You” and a dedicated introduction to all their amazing backing dancers, the members took to the stage for the last time of the night. Their encore began with a band version of their positive anthem “ænergy.” “Just Another Girl” followed this, before the girls took a moment to say their final ‘thank yous’ to fans. To finish off the night, they performed the English version of their 2022 release, “Life’s Too Short.” This song about staying true to yourself and doing what makes you happy was the perfect message for aespa to leave their fans with. To finish off the night, they told British fans that they would “see ya later”—which indeed they will as aespa are scheduled to perform at SMTOWN LIVE 2025 at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham this June.

On the whole, this night was a true reflection of the incredible career that these four girls have had thus far and demonstrates just how much they have to offer the industry in the future. Their ability to lean into a multitude of different genres, whilst always staying true to their core sound and concept really defines their brilliance and their success. They are without a doubt a group to keep on watching, and one that you don’t want to miss the opportunity of seeing perform live.

Edited by Isabel Miller.