aespa Winter Shingles Diagnosis: Sits Out Dallas Show
aespa played Dallas on Tuesday with three members. Winter, diagnosed with shingles after the group's Sept. 26 show in Miami, sat out the concert on her medical team's advice, SM Entertainment said in a Weverse notice on Sept. 29 local time, earlier that day. Karina, Giselle, and Ningning performed the show, including its Hi-Bye and Send-Off, as a trio.
SM's account starts before Miami. Winter "had been experiencing health issues prior to the recent Miami show," the agency wrote in English, but "determined to take the stage alongside the other members, she went ahead with the performance." When "her condition did not sufficiently improve afterward," she went to a hospital and was diagnosed. Three days separated Saturday's Miami show from Tuesday's Dallas date.
The statement says Winter "remained strongly committed to participating" in Dallas and focused on her recovery "up until the last possible moment." SM and Winter then "carefully discussed the situation," and she stayed out "following the medical team's recommendation that her health and sufficient recovery must take priority." The agency added that Winter "is deeply disappointed" and "feels very sorry" for the fans who waited to see her, and that it will "do our utmost to ensure that Winter receives sufficient rest and support her recovery so that she can return in good health."
Shingles is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus and typically causes a painful rash. SM did not describe Winter's symptoms, did not say how severe the diagnosis is, and did not give a recovery timeline. The notice also does not say whether she will miss any date beyond Dallas.
Dallas was one of 25 stops on the 2026-27 tour aespa announced earlier this year, a schedule that ran through Miami only three days earlier. SM's notice named the three members who would be on stage, and it named no replacement for Winter's parts.
A separate SM notice landed the day before. On Sept. 28, the agency announced strict legal action against malicious posts and illegal AI-generated images targeting Lim Yoona and Winter, according to Soompi. Neither statement mentions the other, and SM has not linked Winter's illness to the online abuse.
The tour's next stop is Los Angeles on Oct. 3. SM's notice names Dallas and nothing after it.
