Aespa’s “Coachella” Performance Resurfaces After LE SSERAFIM Fail To Impress Korean Netizens

In the wake of LE SSERAFIM‘s recent performance at Coachella 2024, which drew criticism from Korean netizens for its live singing, a previous Coachella performance by aespa from 2022 has resurfaced and sparked renewed discussion.

The conversation gained traction on TheQoo, where clips of aespa’s set garnered over 56,000 views and spurred more than 700 comments.

Aespa performed at Coachella 2022 as part of 88rising‘s “Head in the Clouds Forever” showcase during the festival’s second week. Their set included hits like “Savage,” “Next Level,” “Black Mamba,” and an English version of their then-unreleased song “Life’s Too Short” from their upcoming EP. Despite the pressure of being a relatively new group at the time, aespa’s performance was notably ambitious but received mixed reviews.

throwback to aespa performing at coachella 1 year and 4 months after their debutpic.twitter.com/vGaBwXKY64

— .ᐟ (@1117folder) April 12, 2024

It seems like Korean netizens remain firm on the previous reviews of aespa’s 2022 set, with comments pointing out that the SM Entertainment group also failed to impress at the time. However, some netizens agree that the girl group has gotten much better at live performances now.

• “I thought it was OK… No?”
• “At that time, NingNing‘s voice was really trembling with maximum tension. It wasn’t that she did extremely well, but it wasn’t that bad, either. Compared to BLACKPINK, they received a lot of criticism, but considering it was their first face-to-face stage as rookies, it must have been tough. Still, it’s fortunate they managed to make up for it with later live events and tours. NingNing really did well.”
• “Don’t take this as an opportunity to hype up aespa to be more than they are.”
• “If they were to perform there now, they’d probably do much better.”
• “Is it considered good if it’s better than LE SSERAFIM’s?”
• “Seems like they did well but still got criticized, huh?”
• “Except for Winter, everyone had their tones a bit off, which was disappointing.”
• “Hmm… but I still wouldn’t say they did super well. BLACKPINK set the bar too high.”
• “Did well, right?”
• “Every time I watch ‘Savage,’ I can’t tell if they’re too excited or nervous. But considering their skills, it seems they didn’t do well. ‘Next Level’ was good. But posting about them at this particular time doesn’t seem to benefit aespa…”
• “Only send BLACKPINK to Coachella… The pitch was too high. The tones didn’t match. Is this professional???”