Although they were never on top, they have been consistently mid in terms of chart performance, fandom size and music quality.
Mid meaning not great not bad a perfectly well established artist that stands the test of time. Mamamoo can't do shit in 2024 neither can gfriend or their counterpart vivz, they have always been comparable to groups not on top but those groups didn't last and they did.
And even after a big scandal they still are able to chart mid, like the mid group they are. Which is not an insult this is something sm groups can do look at SHINee, never on top but close to it and many years after still doing stuff, aespa will likely be similar. They're much more successful in a long run than groups like OMG who are big for a year or 2, momoland etc.
