Dozens Of K-Pop Industry Insiders Pick Aespa As The Hottest Rookie Group Of 2021

Korean news site News1 recently conducted a survey amongst dozens of industry insiders to choose 2021’s hottest rookie group. Experts from JYP Entertainment, DSP Media, FNC Entertainment, SM Entertainment, MBK Entertainment, and more participated in the survey making the stakes even more competitive.

According to the reports, a total of 31 industry experts were said to have participated in this year’s survey.

As a result of News1’s survey, there was an overwhelming agreement that aespa was the monster rookie group of 2021 out of both male and female groups. The SM Entertainment girl group received almost half of the votes, with a total of 15 votes.

Industry experts gave high praise for the girl group, with comments such as “they have established themselves as a trending girl group”, “they are an influential group”, “the planning, marketing, and their music is amazing.” Despite being in the industry for only a year, aespa has continued to impress the public and experts alike with their influence.

Aespa debuted in November 2020 and has been gaining fast momentum with their popularity. Their unique AI (artificial intelligence) concept was embraced by the public, as they continue to climb the ranks in their success.

Since their debut, they have made some mega-hit tracks, such as “Black Mamba”, “Next Level” and “Savage.” They have expressed their group’s color and unique identity within the K-Pop industry, establishing themselves as the monster rookie to watch out for.

Starship Entertainment‘s rookie girl group IVE came in as a close second despite having debuted less than a month ago. IVE emerged as a hot rookie by receiving 10 of the votes from industry officials. Different experts praised IVE as a “group with more future expectations,” while singling out Jang Won Young as a potential top actress and advertisement model in the future.

This ranking is surprising since IVE just made their debut in the K-Pop scene with “ELEVEN” on December 1. The girl group previously made headlines with the inclusion of former IZ*ONE members Ahn Yu Jin and Jang Won Young, but the girl group as a whole immediately captivated the nation upon their debut with their different charms.

Since their debut, IVE has already gone on to break records and achieve milestones yet unseen by any rookie girl group. They sold 150,000 copies of their debut album within the first week, all while entering the top 10 music charts across the nation.

IVE and aespa beat STAYC (2 votes), ENHYPEN (2 votes), LIGHTSUM (1 vote), Billie (1 vote), MIRAE (1 vote), EPEX (1 vote)—who were also in the running for the survey.