Whiplash (Aespa song)

Did You Know?

• The song was written by Leslie from XYXX and composed by Neil Ormandy, Lewis Jankel, Marcus 'MarcLo' Lomax, and Rosina 'Soaky Siren' Russell.
• The English-language version was part of SM Entertainment's efforts to bolster Aespa's presence in Western markets.

Background and release

SM Entertainment announced on September 23, 2024, that Aespa would release their fifth EP Whiplash with the lead single of the same name on October 21. The track listing and highlight medley teaser video were released on October 11, followed by the music video teaser nine days later. The song, its music video, and the EP were released on October 21. An English-language version and a Steve Aoki remix were released on March 27, 2025.

Commercial performance

Whiplash entered the Circle Digital Chart in South Korea at number four during the week of October 20 to 26, 2024, while on the Billboard South Korea Songs chart for November 2, 2024, it landed at number seven. In Japan, the track appeared at number 13 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for October 30, 2024, and at number 15 on the Oricon Combined Singles Chart for November 4, 2024. For Singapore, the song claimed the 19th spot on the RIAS Top Streaming Chart and the sixth spot on the RIAS Top Regional Chart for the period of October 18 to 24, 2024, and it also ranked 19th on the Billboard Singapore Songs chart for November 2, 2024. In Malaysia, it placed 23rd on the Billboard Malaysia Songs chart for November 2, 2024. Hong Kong saw the song at number eight on the Billboard Hong Kong Songs chart for the same date, while Taiwan placed it at number six on the Billboard Taiwan Songs chart. New Zealand’s RMNZ Hot Singles chart for October 28, 2024, featured the song at number 12. In the United Kingdom, it reached number 14 on the OCC’s UK Indie Breakers, number 37 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart, and number 40 on the UK Singles Sales Chart for the week of October 25 to 31, 2024. Worldwide, the song debuted at number 30 on the Billboard Global 200 and at number 18 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for November 2, 2024.

Promotion

On October 21, 2024, Aespa held a live event on YouTube, TikTok, and Weverse to introduce the EP and its songs. They performed Whiplash on Mnet's M Countdown on October 24, MBC's Show! Music Core on October 26, and SBS's Inkigayo on October 27. In the second week, they performed on KBS's Music Bank on November 1, winning first place, and Show! Music Core on November 2.