Īespa was selected as the June artist for Apple Music's Up Next, a global campaign designating the most anticipated artists of the month amongst new artists worldwide. Digital and physical pre-sales for the EP opened on June 2. In an interview with Billboard, Giselle reiterated that Aespa would travel to the US to promote the EP. Girls was released in South Korea and the United States by both SM Entertainment and Warner Records, with whom SM Entertainment signed a global partnership for music content distribution and marketing promotions earlier in the year.

It was the group's first EP since Savage in October 2021, and their first release since their 2021 remake of the song ' Dreams Come True', originally by S.E.S. It was then announced that the group would release their second EP, titled Girls, on July 8. The teaser was a short video with a 'panorama of a digital mountain range' and a 'burst of synth-heavy music'. On June 1, 2022, a teaser marking the release of Aespa's upcoming extended play (EP) was posted on the group's various social media accounts. It also debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 56,000 album-equivalent units, becoming the group's second and highest entry on the chart. Selling over 1,610,000 units during its pre-order period, the EP became Aespa's best-selling album to date surpassing a record previously held by Savage (2021). In September, the EP was certified Million by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) for surpassing 1,000,000 copies sold. Girls was a commercial success and debuted at number one on South Korea's Circle Album Chart with 1,426,487 copies sold in the first week of release, marking Aespa's second number-one album on the chart and their highest-selling album to date. The digital version also adds the group's previously released singles ' Black Mamba', ' Forever', and ' Dreams Come True'. It consists of six tracks and was preceded by the promotional single ' Illusion', and two official singles: ' Life's Too Short' (English version) and ' Girls'. The EP was released through SM Entertainment and Warner Records on July 8, 2022. Girls is the second extended play by South Korean girl group Aespa.

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