The two “core” members of aespa, Karina and Winter, are pitted against each other in terms of popularity.
More than a year into their debut, the difference in popularity among the members of aespa has continued to be a matter of discussion for netizens. In particular, the two Korean members, Karina and Winter are recognized as the two most well-known members of aespa, overshadowing the two foreign members, NingNing and Giselle. Recently, netizens have entered another heated debate on who has a higher level of public recognition and a bigger individual fanbase between Karina and Winter.
Since before aespa’s debut, Karina’s surreal AI-like visuals and aura have been said to fit aespa’s futuristic concept the most among 4 members, which makes her gain much spotlight. She was also the most pushed member by SM Entertainment when aespa was first launched. However, at the moment, many netizens say Winter has risen to become the most popular aespa member, as evidenced by the outstanding number of views on her individual fancams.
A prime example is Winter’s viral Step Back fancam that was posted earlier this year. In less than a month, this fancam is already getting close to hitting 10 million views.
Moreover, based on the individual fancam views of aespa members since the group’s debut until now, Winter’s videos have always been the most watched ones. If Karina’s fancams usually earn around 1-2 million views, Winter sometimes exceeds 3 or 5 million in only a few months.
Another reason why some netizens believe that Winter is the most popular member of aespa is based on the monthly brand reputation rankings for individual girl group members. Specifically, every month since October 2021, Winter has outranked Karina, even getting first place twice. Moreover, Winter often enters the trending topics on online communities and draws high engagements.
Contrary to Winter, which is attracting more and more attention, Karina’s reputation is said to be gradually waning, her popularity leveled off after months of taking the spotlight. However, this idea was met with fierce opposition from the female idol’s fandom. Many people agree that Winter’s popularity is on the rise, but that doesn’t mean Karina is going backwards.
In Korea, Karina’s fans are classified as an active fandom and are always willing to pay. She ranked highest in terms of Season’s Greeting Photo Pack sales among SM female idols, and her personal magazine covers were also sold out the fastest. In the Chinese market, Karina’s fancam views also overwhelmed the other 3 members of aespa. Netizens commented that although Karina’s visuals do not follow the standards of Korean idols, the female idol still maintains her explosive charm since the day of her debut, absolutely not inferior to other members.
- Karina’s fandom has always focused on practical things. The fancam view is poor, but the sale value is always at the top of the group.
- Karina and Winter were both hot members before. Moreover, Winter has already excelled in the term of fancam view from the beginning. My friend doesn’t love kpop, but he sometimes watches Winter’s fancam because she’s cute.
- Karina’s fancam views are really low this time around, I don’t know why. But other than that, she’s still doing well.
- But it is true that it is impossible to choose between Winter and Karina, who is more popular. Overall, Winter is probably the public’s choice, but Karina has a stronger fandom, doesn’t she? Like the Taeyeon – YoonA duo in the past. Winter is exactly like YoonA and Karina is like Taeyeon.
