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aespa’s Winter opens up about her audition struggles and surprise debut

AKP STAFF
Posted by Minsoo-Kim Tuesday, July 1, 2025 12,801

aespa’s Winter reveals her road to debut on ‘Salon Drip 2’.

On July 1 KST, a new episode titled “Winter’s Spine-Chilling Tales That Keep Twisting” was released on the Salon Drip 2 YouTube channel, featuring aespa’s Winter as a guest. During the episode, Winter opened up about her journey to debut and shared personal anecdotes with her signature charm.

Hailing from Gyeongsang Province, Winter remarked, “People in Seoul are so kind,” to which host Jang Do Yeon jokingly replied, “There are a lot of bad people too.” Winter laughed and immediately agreed, “Yeah, there are a lot.” The lighthearted moment drew laughter from the set.

Touching on aespa’s strong and futuristic concept, Winter explained, “Back when Ningning and I were trainees, we were considered the ‘cute and innocent’ duo. When they told us we’d be recording ‘Next Level,’ we thought it was an OST remake. That was actually our debut song.”

Winter also recounted her trainee days, saying, “I signed with SM Entertainment in 2017 and trained for three and a half years. I actually auditioned for SM three times. I was cast at a dance festival, where they initially wanted to scout my older brother. But I ended up performing better—though I was still rejected at the time.”

Later, when she received signs of acceptance from other agencies, she informed the SM representative she was in contact with. “I told them I might join another company, and they invited me for one last audition. SM was the company I really wanted to join, so I went for it—and that’s how I became part of aespa.”

Winter’s candid storytelling offered fans a deeper look into her resilience and the winding road that ultimately led to her debut.


SEE ALSO: aespa confirmed for ‘Lollapalooza Chicago 2026’ alongside global artists

  1. aespa
  2. Winter
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