Winter’s Blonde Look Has Fans Talking

Aespa’s Winter is thanking fans after a particularly successful night in Hong Kong.

Following the 2026 TMElive International Music Awards (TIMA) on August 22, Winter shared backstage photos showing off the blonde look she wore for the ceremony and wrote a simple message to fans: “MYs, thank you so, so much.”

The photos quickly attracted attention among fans, particularly for Winter’s smoky eye makeup, blonde hair and darker stage styling. On Reddit, fans praised the makeup as “gorgeous” and joked about the detailed captions accompanying her photo dump.

But the styling was only part of the story. Aespa had a very successful night at TIMA.

Winter posing in a white outfit / Winter Instagram

Aespa won two major group awards

The four-member group received The Best International Group of the Year – Female and The Best Digital EP of the Year at the ceremony.

Ningning thanked fans during the group’s acceptance speech, saying MY’s continued support had helped aespa throughout the years, while Giselle directly addressed their international fandom and promised that the members would continue working to create better music.

TIMA is organized by Tencent Music Entertainment Group, one of China’s largest music companies. The 2026 event took place at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Main Stadium on August 22 and 23.

Winter also won with her solo song ‘BLUE’

The group awards were not aespa’s only wins. All four members had solo songs selected for Global Trend Songs Top 10:

Karina’s “Good Stuff,” Ningning’s “Ketchup And Lemonade,” Winter’s “BLUE” and Giselle’s “Tornado” all received the honor. That means the night was also a significant one for Winter individually.

“BLUE” had already performed strongly during fan voting ahead of the ceremony, appearing near the top of TIMA’s overseas-song recommendation rankings alongside the other aespa members’ solo tracks.

Fans celebrating Winter’s award called the recognition well deserved, while aespa’s official account thanked MY following the ceremony.

Winter posing in a white outfit / Winter Instagram

Aespa delivered a six-song performance

The group also used TIMA as a major performance stage.

Their set included “Whiplash,” “WDA (Whole Different Animal),” “Camouflage,” “Can’t Help Myself,” “Supernova” and “LEMONADE.”

It gave the audience a mix of aespa’s older hits and material from their current era.

Their second full-length album, LEMONADE, was released on May 29 and includes 11 tracks in its standard digital edition, including “WDA (Whole Different Animal)” featuring G-Dragon and the title track “LEMONADE.”

The album has helped carry aespa through their 2026 activities, while TIMA offered another indication of their continued reach in the Chinese-speaking music market.

Fans loved Winter’s darker styling

Winter’s post brought the attention back to the more personal side of the event.

Rather than uploading only polished red-carpet photographs, she shared backstage shots in her performance outfit, pairing blonde hair with smoky eye makeup and a cool, almost metallic styling that fans felt suited aespa’s harder-edged visual identity.

One fan singled out the smoky makeup, while another simply wrote, “That makeup look is so gorgeous.” The reaction is another reminder of how strongly Winter’s visual transformations are tied to aespa’s different eras. But this time, there was also a trophy attached to her individual music.

Great photos may have brought fans to the post. “BLUE” gave them another reason to celebrate.