aespa Karina decorates the cover of 'Elle' September issue... World tour impression "Excitement of a new city"

aespa Karina recently graced the cover of the September issue of the fashion magazine , revealing a photo shoot and an interview. This photo shoot was conducted with the concept of transformation across a wardrobe, capturing various sides of Karina. Karina shared her thoughts on performing for the first time on the stage of the ’2026 Lollapalooza Chicago’ held recently in Chicago, USA. She said, ″It was a stage we prepared really hard for. Since it was a festival stage we hadn’t been on for a long time, all the members practiced late into the night to do their best in their respective parts. The setlist was also composed mainly of songs we haven’t shown often before, aiming to create an exciting stage.″ Karina, who revealed that she tends to get very nervous on stage, said that nervousness actually reduces mistakes and is one of the precious emotions humans can feel. She stated, ″Nervousness is one of the precious emotions humans can feel. When you’re nervous, you actually make fewer mistakes. It comes from the feelings of ’What if I mess up?’ or ’What if I don’t meet expectations?’ so standing on stage with that nervousness isn’t necessarily a bad thing.″ Regarding her expectations as she continues the world tour ’2026-27 aespa LIVE TOUR - SYNK : COMPLæXITY ?’, Karina said, ″I always tend to go outside the hotel to really feel the city where the tour is held. Just like ’tour’ means ’travel,’ I always look forward to places I wouldn’t have visited or experiences I wouldn’t have had if I weren’t doing this work.″ On the meaning of being ’strong,’ Karina responded, ″It seems similar to having firmness. Having firmness means your standards or values don’t easily waver. It means knowing yourself clearly and having a distinct core within. That’s why I like the word ’strong.’″ Meanwhile, Karina recently shared a video on her SNS from a cosmetics brand advertisement shoot. In the video, Karina presented a different vibe with a plain black sleeveless T-shirt, neatly tied hair, and natural makeup. Fans left comments such as ″It’s actually bold,″ ″Please show us this side more often,″ and ″Everything suits you.″ aespa is continuing their fourth world tour, touring 25 regions including North America, South America, and Europe, starting with concerts at Gocheok Dome on the 7th and 8th.