A special digital single aespa released on 9 August 2026, carrying the group's first two unit songs, first performed at the Tokyo Dome that April.
SYNK : aeXIS LINE is a special digital single aespa released at 6 p.m. KST on 9 August 2026. It carries two tracks, each of them a unit song by two of the members. The record has no music video; the upload lists of the aespa channel and SMTOWN were read in full to confirm it.
SM Entertainment’s album introduction says it carries the two unit songs performed at the Tokyo Dome concerts in April 2026, and that they are the group’s first unit songs. Winter also told reporters after the Tokyo Dome shows that, as their first unit songs since debut, they had enjoyed making them (Xports News).
The first track, ‘Serenade’, is the unit song by Karina and Winter. The album introduction describes it as an EDM dance track that stands out for an addictive synth line and vocal chops, carrying a message of enjoying a life of one’s own without being bound by how the world looks at you. The lyrics are by Frankie Day (THE HUB) and Joowon, the music by Dennis Neuer, Nina Kaiser and Nikolay Mohr, and the arrangement by Dennis Neuer and Nikolay Mohr.
The second track, ‘Lollipop’, is the unit song by Giselle and Ningning. The album introduction describes it as an R&B song the two took part in writing and composing themselves, with a lovely, dreamy mood and lyrics that express their affection for each other playfully. Xports News reported that Giselle and Ningning made the song together during their 2024 tour. Looking back, Ningning said the melody and mood were so good that she had wanted to finish it and let fans hear it one day. The credits list the two with Shintaro Yasuda for lyrics and music, and the arrangement is by Shintaro Yasuda.
Both songs were on stage four months before they were released. According to Xports News, aespa played ‘2026 aespa LIVE TOUR - SYNK : aeXIS LINE - in JAPAN [SPECIAL EDITION DOME TOUR]’ at the Tokyo Dome on 25 and 26 April 2026. It was the last stop of their first Japanese dome tour, which began at the Kyocera Dome, and 94,000 people came to the two Tokyo Dome shows. The two songs were first performed there.
Four months later the songs returned to a stage in Seoul. Munhwa Ilbo reported that the unit stages at the concerts at the Gocheok Sky Dome on 7 and 8 August were Karina and Winter’s ‘Serenade’ and Giselle and Ningning’s ‘Lollipop’. The same paper wrote that the two songs were released to streaming services at 6 p.m. the following day, 9 August.
‘Serenade’ placed 119th on Circle Chart’s digital chart in week 33 of 2026 (9 to 15 August). The Fact reported that it reached second on YouTube’s trending music chart dated 11 August.
According to an OSEN report carried by The Korea Daily, aespa took the world tour that began with the August Gocheok Sky Dome shows through Taipei and South America to Vancouver in October, 16 stops in all, and the European dates begin in Manchester on 14 January 2027. The order of concert and release is set out in more detail in the story on the Gocheok Sky Dome shows.
aespa’s previous record was the full-length album LEMONADE in May 2026. A special digital single of the same name also came out in November 2025: SYNK : aeXIS LINE (2025).
Claims in this story link to official or primary sources.
aespa played the opening shows of their fourth world tour at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on 7 and 8 August 2026. The two nights drew 35,000 people and the set ran to 27 songs. The tour visits 25 regions.
Translated from the Korean original.
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