aespa set to kick off world tour after making Lollapalooza debut in Chicago

SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) -  K-pop girl band aespa made their Lollapalooza debut in Chicago on Tuesday, delivering a 14-song set that showed off the seven-year-old group's road-tested stage command, according to their agency SM Entertainment.

The quartet took the Allianz Stage at Grant Park, opening with debut single "Black Mamba" and 2021 hit "Next Level" before moving through a run of fan favorites - "Armageddon," "Supernova" and "Whiplash" - backed by a live band that gave the set a festival-ready punch.

American rapper Ty Dolla $ign, who features on "Switchblade," joined aespa onstage for a surprise performance of the track.

The group also leaned on "LEMONADE," their second studio album, playing the title track alongside "WDA (Whole Different Animal)," "Can't Help Myself" and "SHAKIN'" for the U.S. crowd. Older cuts including "Rich Man," "Bubble," "To The Girls" and "Hold On Tight" rounded out the set.
  "It was an honor to stand on the Lollapalooza Chicago stage," aespa said afterward. "So many fans sang along and cheered us on, and that energy let us really enjoy the performance ourselves. We want to carry it straight into the world tour."

Ty Dolla $ign called sharing the Lollapalooza stage with aespa again "meaningful," adding that watching how far the group has come was inspiring and that their command of a stage that size left an impression on him.

The performance doubles as a lead-in to Wednesday's release: the music video for "Switchblade," featuring Ty Dolla $ign, drops at 1 p.m. on SMTOWN's YouTube channel, giving fans another look at the pairing right on the heels of the Lollapalooza set.

Chicago marked aespa's last major stop before their "2026-27 aespa LIVE TOUR - SYNK: COMPLæXITY" begins. The tour opens with two nights at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Aug. 7-8, then travels to 25 cities across North America, South America and Europe.

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