Winter

Who is Winter?

Winter (윈터) is a member of aespa, the four-member girl group under SM Entertainment. The group debuted on 17 November 2020 with the single ‘Black Mamba’. SM Entertainment introduced the members one a day in the run-up to that debut, and Winter was the first, on 27 October 2020. According to CBS Nocut News, SM Entertainment presented her that day as a member with strong vocals and dance skills. aespa’s Japanese official site gives her birth date as 1 January 2001.

Xports News reported on 27 November 2023 that Winter was born in Nampo-dong, Busan, and grew up in Yangsan. She is also listed under SM Entertainment’s project group GOT the beat.

One line of the debut song

Idology named aespa among the year’s seven new acts on 29 December 2020. On that page the critic Sskwib wrote that there was a reason Winter singing “에스파는 나야 둘이 될 수 없어” (roughly, “aespa is me, there can’t be two”) became one of the year’s most-quoted K-pop memes.

From the concert stage to a release

Both of Winter’s solo songs were sung in concert first and released later on the group’s special digital singles. ‘Spark’, one of the members’ solos from the second concert, came out on 9 October 2024 on SYNK : PARALLEL LINE; SM Entertainment’s album notes, carried on Bugs, describe it as a song built on an EDM sound. ‘BLUE’ came from the third concert, at Seoul’s KSPO Dome in August 2025, and was released on 17 November on SYNK : aeXIS LINE; the notes call it pop rock. The notes for both records say that every member took part in writing the lyrics or the music.

‘Serenade’, sung with Karina, is one of the group’s first two unit songs. It was first performed at the Tokyo Dome on 25-26 April 2026 and released on 9 August as SYNK : aeXIS LINE (2026). The album notes describe it as an EDM dance track.

‘Saddle Up’ at the Gocheok Sky Dome

At the first shows of the fourth world tour, at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on 7-8 August 2026, Winter sang her solo ‘Saddle Up’. TenAsia wrote that she moved across the stage in step with her dancers under red lights and hit her high notes with force in the middle of the choreography. According to the same outlet, she closed the show by saying: “Thank you, MY, for filling this venue. We never even imagined we could fill it.” The shows as a whole are covered in the Gocheok Sky Dome story.

Where to start now

To hear Winter’s solos in order, go from the 2024 single with ‘Spark’ to the 2025 single with ‘BLUE’; the unit song ‘Serenade’ is on the release of 9 August 2026. Among the group’s songs, that line in the debut ‘Black Mamba’ is the place to begin.