aespa Open U.S. Leg of SYNK : COMPLæXITY World Tour at New York’s UBS Arena: 11 Best Moments

aespa brought its SYNK : COMPLæXITY tour to UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York, for the first U.S. date of a live trek running through February 2027, with the quartet delivering a 23-song set focused on their biggest singles and material from their most recent releases.

Karina, Winter, Giselle and Ningning opened the tour this past August with two nights at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, drew more than 21,000 in São Paulo, and sold out dates in Santiago, Lima and Mexico City before crossing into the States. The excitement follows the group’s second full-length album, LEMONADE, which debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 in June and marked their best sales week since 2022.

According to SM Entertainment, SYNK : COMPLæXITY is billed as a creative reset for aespa rather than a continuation of their past three SYNK tours — new performances, new stage design, new visual storytelling, all deliberately built to look nothing like the SYNK : æXIS LINE tour that wrapped at the Tokyo Dome this past April. The clearest evidence of the commitment to the four new solo tracks the members debuted at the tour’s opening date in Seoul and released as digital singles earlier this month: Karina’s “16 Bit,” Winter’s “Saddle Up,” Giselle’s “BYEB4HELLO” and Ningning’s “I Love You But I Gotta Let You Go,” each one showcasing a member stepping out of the group’s shared mythology and soundscape to showcase more of their own identity, confidence and emotion on their own terms.

From New York, aespa heads to Washington, D.C. (for a Sept. 22 show), Atlanta (Sept. 24), Miami (Sept. 26), Dallas (Sept. 29), Los Angeles (Oct. 3), Oakland (Oct. 6) before wrapping up in the States with an Oct. 9 show at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, with the UK and Europe set for January and February.

“Until we come back next time, you can wait for us, right?” Karina asked the crowd during a finale chat, indicating this show was far from the last time the U.S. will see aespa in person. Giselle reaffirmed that sentiment, adding, “We’ll definitely be back, so don’t worry, just wait for us.”

But before aespa returns with a new show, check out the best moments from the first U.S. show of the SYNK : COMPLæXITY World Tour at New York’s UBS Arena.

• The Fan Fun Before the Show

  UBS Arena has built a reputation for servicing fans across every genre but consistently goes the extra mile for K-pop shows, whose audiences are famous for turning up hours ahead of showtime to meet fellow fans, trade photocards and merch, run group dance covers and show off their concert ‘fits. For aespa fans — affectionately known as MYs — the Belmont Park venue rolled out a 360-degree cam, bracelet-making stations, complimentary hair accessories, face gems and candy, plus chalk for fans to write messages of support to the group, along with lawn games including giant Jenga and cornhole.

  The aespa members also got their own personalized welcome: UBS Arena posted a backstage shot of customized New York Islanders jerseys it presented to the group, with Karina, Winter, Giselle and Ningning each getting one with her name stitched across the back.

• The Larger-Than-Life “LEMONADE” Opening

  Opening the concert with their latest album’s title track was a sensible choice, with the seismic synth-bass of “LEMONADE” setting a high standard for the night. Beyond the members’ larger-than-life personas on stage was the company they kept as aespa’s “æ-avatars” (their digital alter-ego counterparts built into the group’s name and concept of fusing “avatar” and “experience” with “aspect”) returned to the screens at giant scale, looming behind the four members like they were cyber overlords presiding over the performance.

  Winter also heightened the opening performance, gripping her headset mic with one hand as if to steady it through the string of belts in the final chorus and ensure the climactic notes came out at full force for the arena crowd.

• Still Slaying “Black Mamba”

  When aespa debuted in November 2020, the quartet instantly captured the K-pop industry’s attention not only with their surging electronic single “Black Mamba” but equally with its physically demanding choreography built around the chorus’ signature drop move requiring the members to quickly crouch down on one leg, flare out the other before switching sides to extend and kick out the initially crouched leg. It’s the kind of intense choreo a rookie group takes on to stand out from the rest of their debut class and the kind an act six years into its career could easily scale back without much complaint.

  aespa clearly insists otherwise, running the full-strength version at UBS Arena, drop and all, with the response from the crowd’s reactions to each kick showing how much they appreciated the effort.

• Karina’s Musicality Shines

  Before performing the R&B cut “Count On Me” from 2025’s Rich Man EP, Karina appeared alone, playing accompaniment on the piano before her bandmates joined her to sing the mid-tempo track. It was one of several moments across SYNK : COMPLæXITY that felt like Karina used the concert as an opportunity to share more of her musicality and broader artistry with global audiences, threading unique ad-libs through the night and speaking largely in English to the crowd.

  Her solo song “16 Bit” was an additional standout on that front for how much storytelling she packed into it, opening alone in a black coat on a stage staircase under a single spotlight for the song’s darker first stretch before a troupe of backup dancers joined her and she shucked off the coat for a run of interpretive choreography — including formations where she relinquished her handheld mic to a dancer to hold for her while she hit a move or sang into it.

• Giselle’s Temporary Tatts, Permanent Aura

  While Giselle is already captivating enough with her spitfire rap style and gorgeous aura, the 25-year-old was a whole different animal in New York, decorated in a slew of temporary henna tattoos which she shared were done after the group’s Sept. 15 concert in the Toronto area. While not visible on every stage outfit, fans noticed a tiny gun on both arms, the phrase “internal chaos” written in Arabic across her chest, leaves around her wrists, and elaborate brown-and-white henna on her forearms, hands and legs.

  While K-pop stars are rarely so visibly heavily tattooed in general — especially female stars — these looked remarkably real and fierce. The fierceness only increased during Giselle’s solo stage for “BYEB4HELLO,” when her tiny guns and hand tattoos were on full display as she stood at a microphone stand and then slaying an intense dance break.

• The Juxtaposition of “Can’t Help Myself”

  After SYNK : COMPLæXITY’s high-tempo opening stretch of singles like “LEMONADE,” “Whiplash” and “WDA (Whole Different Animal),” the second act initially toned things down, with the quartet returning in flowy white ensembles to deliver softer, mid-tempo B-sides like “Count On Me” and “Angel #48” (both off 2025’s Rich Man EP) and LEMONADE standout “Camouflage.” That energy changed the moment the grungy opening guitars of “Can’t Help Myself” kicked in and aespa delivered one of the night’s strongest vocal performances, belting out the LEMONADE rock cut’s defiantly rebellious lyrics — “Everybody hates, everybody hates/ Maybe I’m messed up, but it doesn’t matter…/ I can’t help myself/ I like the rush, I like the thrill” — while still clad in those angelic white looks, for one of the show’s most fascinating artistic juxtapositions and proof of aespa’s versatility.

• The J-Pop Co-Sign

  Many K-pop acts simultaneously release a slew of original material specifically for the K-pop and J-pop markets with aespa releasing their first Japanese-language EP this past July with the six-track KISS N TELL. While international audiences aren’t typically treated to J-releases during Korean artist concerts (aespa’s previous SYNK : aeXIS LINE Tour included Japanese material only for the shows in Japan), the opening notes of the group’s bubblegum-pop single “KISS N TELL” got a huge, approving cheer from the audience and delivering one of the best audience reactions of the night. Given the crowd reaction, maybe this is the start of hearing more original J-pop material at K-pop concerts.

• Ningning’s Disney Princess Moment

  While a large majority of the SYNK : COMPLæXITY Tour setlist was at a higher BPM, Ningning managed to steal the show with the sole ballad moment. For her solo performance of the sweeping English song “I Love You But I Gotta Let You Go,” the haze-filled stage was bare beyond the 23-year-old in a dazzling pure-white dress decorated with feathers, flowers and butterfly cutouts with lace sections on the bottom half to give the illusion of the dress’s fabric wrapping around her. The mix of an extraordinary theatrical vocal performance and the otherworldly, nature-inspired dress made Ningning look like a Disney princess delivering a musical’s 11 o’clock number.

• Winter Defies Expectations With “Saddle Up”

  With Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” just tying the all-time Billboard Hot 100 record with 22 weeks at No. 1, no one would fault you for thinking Winter’s new solo track “Saddle Up” would see the star digging her heels into the country-pop genre. Instead, the heavy, rhythmic pop cut offered one of the night’s most ferocious performances. In a simple black tearaway top, skirt, and high boots with a gold head wrap, Winter demanded attention amid a troupe of dancers, delivering several snarls during camera close-ups that only added to the fierceness the 25-year-old embodied on her own.

• “SHAKIN'” Effects

  With aespa’s metaverse-inspired concept, the performance of LEMONADE B-side “SHAKIN'” was one of the most satisfying visuals seen during the show. The members appeared on the massive LED screens with real-time effects surrounding them with colorful electric currents glowing around them as they delivered the synth-bass song as the penultimate performance before the encore.

  While the accompanying visuals throughout the SYNK : COMPLæXITY were generally stunning and vibrant throughout the show, the immediate responsiveness of the effects during “SHAKIN'” felt like one that spoke to aespa’s larger artistic vision.

• Taking “Next Level” to the Next Level

  “Next Level” is another one of aespa’s signature smashes — not to mention their most-watched YouTube video at over 325 million views — and the girls truly lived up to its name with their NY performance. Not only did Winter and Ningning nail the increasingly difficult belts, but the group also visibly enjoyed themselves onstage, with Karina giving Winter a playful spank toward the end of the song, making what would have already been one of the night’s most memorable performances even more memorable.