Since aespa‘s debut in 2020, the K-pop girl group has stood out from other global-pop stars with an innovative dedication to blending real and virtual worlds. Now, the quartet is expanding its reach by connecting with fans through a virtual-reality experience at SXSW 2023, and Billboard has your first look.
K-pop super label SM Entertainment and virtual-reality concert platform AmazeVR have come together for the world premiere of the aespa VR Concert at KWANGYA later this month at SXSW. The showing joins a slate of extended-reality activations for the Austin, Texas, festival’s XR Experience program, including J Balvin‘s “Futurum” VR concert.
Members KARINA, WINTER, GISELLE and NINGNING will share their stories and perform “Black Mamba” and “Illusion,” both of which are included on the group’s Girls: The 2nd Mini Album, which hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Album Sales chart when it arrived in July 2022. to Aespa will take the stage in KWANGYA, the virtual world envisioned and developed by SM Entertainment that pops into song lyrics for aespa as well as other SM artists such as TVXQ!, EXO, NCT and more.
Ahead of the SXSW premiere, watch an exclusive message from the girls plus a behind-the-scenes peek at the experience below. And according to a press release, if you can’t make it to Austin, the concert will soon be released across all major VR headset platforms.
The aespa virtual-reality concert at KWANGYA at the SXSW XR Experience program runs from March 12 to 14, 2023, at the Austin Fairmont Hotel Congressional Ballroom from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
