KENT, Wash. - K-pop powerhouse group, aespa, one of the top groups in the genre, took Washington by storm last week at the ShoWare Center in Kent.
On January 28, members Winter, Karina, NingNing, and Giselle of aespa took the stage in front of thousands on their first visit to Washington since their debut in 2020 for their 2025 SYNK : PARALLEL LINE tour.
While Seattle is a major city in the U.S., it is skipped by a lot of K-pop groups for major tours, but aespa is following groups like SEVENTEEN, ENHYPEN, NCT DREAM, and (G)I-DLE taking over the state’s high-capacity arenas.
Fans of all ages attended the first tour stop dressed in outfits based on the group’s music videos and stage outfits, and some waited for hours outside ahead of the show.
The group performed over 20 of their hit songs, including the solo songs the members have released.
One song fans were most excited to hear was the most recent viral hit, "Whiplash."
The group pushed the song back towards the end of the set list, but fans in the crowd were on their feet doing the choreography in unison with the members to the end.
"My daughter and I are big aespa fans and we were so happy they came to the Seattle area on their tour. I always enjoy seeing K-pop concerts at accesso ShoWare Center," says fan Christine Hollett.
While many local fans wished the concert could have been held at a larger venue due to high demand, having the group visit the state at all was a win-win for most.
Some were able to get tickets last minute, like Dibyendu Mondal who said, "Loved the concert…and really appreciated that they released more tickets a couple hours before the concert and me and my friend were able to buy those and avoid the insane prices on resale websites."
Christine brought along two new fans of aespa to experience the fun for the first time.
"They had the best time and really enjoyed how good the performances by aespa were, and how engaged and excited the fans were. We were happy to meet some other friends from the K-pop community there," Christine says.
As Kent was their first stop on the U.S. leg of their tour, fans across the country were waiting to see the set list posted by attendees here.
FOX 13 attended the show alongside fans from all over the Pacific Northwest.
According to the venue, the show was sold-out with approximately 5,000 in attendance.
The overwhelming turnout in Washington highlights K-pop’s growing influence in the state, with the number of groups and solo acts increasing every year, most recently with solo artists KINO and YVES, and top K-pop boy group STRAY KIDS taking over T-Mobile Park on May 24.
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"Before I established my own company, I was looking for a good direction for my musical journey, and then I realized that there's no company that could take more risks than me, so I decided to run my own," KINO tells FOX 13.
This tour not only cements aespa’s status as a global powerhouse but also shows the continued growth of K-pop in the Pacific Northwest as fans continue to flock to shows here.
Following their stop in Washington the group performed in Los Angeles and Mexico City.
They have nine final stops in the U.S. and Europe rounding out the tour on March 12 in Madrid before heading back to Korea to continue their journey as chart-topping idols.
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K-PopMusic and Concerts