Play in this article ↓aespa MY WORLD: Back to the Real World, With Spicy and a Song Featuring nævis
- Category: Album & Song Guide
- Artist: aespa
KPOP NO1 Editorial · Sources checked October 22, 2026
What happens after the final battle? In MY WORLD, aespa leave KWANGYA and come home to the real world, and strange things start happening. It’s the start of Season 2 of aespa’s story. It also sold more copies in its first week than any K-pop girl group album before it.
Ten months later, a new season
SM announced MY WORLD on April 17, 2023. It came about ten months after Girls, which ended Season 1. This third mini album has six songs and opens Season 2: the members have returned to the REAL WORLD, and a new story begins there. SM announcement
The teasers set up a mystery. In an “anomaly” concept, aespa experience odd, unexplained events after returning from KWANGYA. One schedule clip even showed the members reacting to those events as if they were giving news interviews.
At the time, aespa were also in the middle of their first solo concert tour, SYNK : HYPER LINE. SM opened a promotion website, aespa.com, on the day it announced the album.
The pre-release: inviting nævis to the real world
Six days before the album, on May 2, aespa released Welcome To MY World, featuring nævis. SM describes it as an alternative pop song with a dreamy guitar riff and a grand orchestral section near the end. SM: Welcome To MY World
The feature has a story reason. nævis was aespa’s guide in Season 1. In this song, aespa invite nævis into the real world. SM says the song also invites listeners into aespa’s own musical world, their “MY WORLD.” SM: three things to know
Spicy: a high-teen movie with a twist
The title track, Spicy, is a dance song with strong synth bass and a dynamic beat. SM said it sounds different from aespa’s earlier intense songs, and it gives each member’s voice room to stand out. SM: Spicy
The video looks like a high-teen movie, and the anomaly story runs underneath it. The choreography has two sides: a playful, lively “cool” and a confident, flashy “hot.” The point move is easy to spot: the members mime dipping a finger in spicy sauce.
The six songs
| # | Song | What SM says |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome To MY World (feat. nævis) | Alternative pop pre-release. aespa invite nævis into the real world. |
| 2 | Spicy | Title track: synth bass, dynamic beat, high-teen video |
| 3 | Salty & Sweet | Performed on M Countdown and Show! Music Core in comeback week |
| 4 | Thirsty | An R&B song that compares growing feelings to waves. The more you see someone, the thirstier you get. |
| 5 | I’m Unhappy | Entered the charts after release, along with the other B-sides |
| 6 | ’Til We Meet Again | A fan song. It’s a ballad with acoustic guitar, bells and strings, about staying connected through music even when apart. |
Track order: aespa official discography · Song notes: SM on Thirsty and ’Til We Meet Again
Thirsty also got attention outside Korea. SM pointed out that Billboard included it in a weekly list of ten cool new pop songs. According to SM, Billboard said the song showed the group’s skill with R&B. SM: comeback stages
Our take: Spicy sits in the middle of two very different songs. Before it is a story song with a featured guest. After it come an R&B song and, at the end, a thank-you to fans. So MY WORLD ends on the fans rather than on the story. Drama would close the same way six months later, with You.
Breaking their own record
MY WORLD kept beating records, many of them aespa’s own. SM reported:
- Pre-orders: 1.8 million, a new high for aespa.
- Day one: 1,372,929 copies on Hanteo Chart, the most ever sold on release day by a K-pop girl group. SM: day one
- First week: 1,698,784 copies on Hanteo. That broke the girl-group record Girls had set the year before, and SM said it was the best first week for any SM artist. SM: first week
- Two weeks: 2,011,388 copies, which made MY WORLD a double million-seller, even though it’s a mini album. SM: double million
- Music shows: Spicy won on M Countdown, Music Bank, Show! Music Core and Inkigayo between May 18 and 21.
The Spicy Challenge and a world tour
The sauce-dipping move turned into the #SpicyChallenge. SM listed some of the stars who joined in: BoA, NCT’s JUNGWOO, KARA’s Heo Young-ji, BTOB’s Seo Eun-kwang and Lee Chang-sub, MONSTA X’s JOOHONEY, (G)I-DLE’s MIYEON, LE SSERAFIM’s HUH YUNJIN, and TV hosts Park Myung-soo and Kim Ho-young. SM: Spicy Challenge
Then aespa took the music on the road. Their first solo concert, SYNK : HYPER LINE, had opened in Seoul in February 2023, followed by ten shows in Japan. After MY WORLD, the tour added Tokyo Dome on August 5 and 6. Then came eight U.S. cities starting in Los Angeles on August 13, and in September Mexico City, São Paulo, Santiago, Berlin, London and Paris. In between, aespa walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival as ambassadors for Chopard. SM said they were the first K-pop group to do so. SM: tour plans
How to listen for the first time
- Start with track 1, not Spicy. Welcome To MY World sets up the new season.
- Watch the Spicy video next. Look for the sauce-dipping move and the “cool” and “hot” sides of the dance.
- Give Thirsty its own listen. It’s the B-side Billboard noticed.
- End with ’Til We Meet Again. It’s written for fans, so treat it as the album’s goodbye.
Where to go next
- How Season 1 ended: Girls.
- Six months later: Drama, which also ends with a fan song.
- Meet the members: the aespa beginner guide.
Sources
- SM Entertainment: MY WORLD announced (April 17, 2023)
- SM Entertainment: Welcome To MY World (April 19, 2023)
- SM Entertainment: three things to know (April 27, 2023)
- SM Entertainment: Spicy MV teaser (May 8, 2023)
- SM Entertainment: Thirsty and ’Til We Meet Again (May 8, 2023)
- SM Entertainment: comeback stages (May 11, 2023)
- SM Entertainment: double million-seller (May 22, 2023)
- aespa official discography: MY WORLD