Thread of information about ÆSPA’s SMNGG era and some rumored members

•I became a fan in mid 2018, so some info prior to that might be inaccurate or missing. Please correct any mistakes!
•This won’t be super detailed, I’ll just be giving basic information!

•I will only be including main/popular trainees in the history, as it would become very messy if I included more.
•This thread is for those who are curious about ÆSPA’s history, especially as the fandom transitions from the SMNGG fandom to the ÆSPA fandom.

Lami was announced as a member of SMRookies in December of 2013.

Multiple trainees appeared in the beginning of Red Velvet’s Happiness MV.

SM began working on their next girl group soon after Red Velvet’s debut. Their rumored name was White Fox. They attended an SMTOWN concert in 2014.

The girls in that video were:
Yeri
Koeun
Winny
Jeesu
Hina
Herin

Yeri went on to debut with Red Velvet.

In 2015, this poster began spreading. I’m not sure what it’s about, or 100% if it’s even real. Most of the fandom assumed that it was supposed to be SMRookies show type thing, but it was cancelled.

The girls in the poster were:
Jungyeon
Koeun
Jeesu
Winny
Hina
Herin
Lami

I’ve heard that one of them is Doyeon (or something similar).
I don’t know the other girl’s name. Jeesu and Winny leave SM.

Koeun, Hina, and Herin are announced as SMRookies.

Koeun, Hina, Herin, and Lami participate in the 2015 show, MMC alongside SRB (now NCT) members Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, and Jisung.

In 2016, Yiyang and Ningning were announced as SMRookies. The SMRookies, except for Herin, were featured in MY SMT.

Herin was confirmed to have left. She now posts occasional vlogs on her channel Bonjavenue. Her Twitter and Instagram are of the same name.

The rumored lineup for “Moonlight Angels” (I hate that I just typed that again) included:
Jungyeon
Yiyang
Koeun
Hina
Ningning
Lami
+More

There were not many updates during this time.

A schedule began spreading, with a group listed as Moonlight Angels () set to debut in June of 2018. If I remember correctly, this schedule was very accurate. This caused many fans to be convinced that SMNGG would make their debut. Unfortunately it wouldn’t happen.

Thankfully, 2018 wasn’t a total loss as Koeun, Hina, and Ningning sang songs for Shining Star!

Yiyang leaves SM. There’s very little information about the future of SMNGG. A new trainee, Yoo Jimin, is seen in Taemin’s Want MV. Jungyeon leaves SM to instead become an actor under Keyeast.

Reminder that this entire time, there were several rumors about when SMNGG, rumored now to be named SPRY, would debut.

Koeun and Lami leave SM. This was obviously very shocking to the fandom. Their Instagram accounts are @/bible_030303 (Lami) and @/Letsgoeunn (Koeun).

At this point, it was a month to month basis for when SMNGG would debut. Fans would be convinced that SMNGG would debut in the current month, and if not, definitely the next. Secretly, the ÆSPA accounts were created.

In SuperM’s One MV (Taemin king of releasing the trainees from the dungeon), a logo, æ appeared. Taemin refereed to this logo as a major spoiler. Desperate, fans speculated that this logo would belong to SMNGG. Their new rumored name was ÆRA. We’re getting pretty close.

Yoo Jimin was the victim of false rumors, claiming that she called EXO Kai *gly. From here, trolls created more rumors about her.

Once it got out of hand, SM posted a statement. They confirmed that she was a trainee who was about to debut (), and made it clear that they would take legal action against malicious commenters.

Unfortunately, on the same day, Hina opened an Instagram account, @/iioi7_15. She was no longer an SM trainee.

At the end of NCT’s Make a Wish MV, there was a scene of a butterfly in a very floral train. This was initially believed to be a spoiler for From Home, but that MV was very different. Like the logo, this butterfly was speculated to be an SMNGG hint.

Fans pointed out that from some angles, the æ looked like a butterfly.

On October 25th, the accounts for ÆSPA were made public, along with a trailer for the group. Winter (Kim Minjeong) was the first member to be announced!

Here’s the thread about the trainees! https://twitter.com/yutasahina/status/1320900797270544384