Will A2O Lite Surpass Blackpink’s Legacy? Lee Soo-man’s Record-Breaking Rookies Face a Long Road to the Top

SEOUL, Oct. 26 — Within two weeks of its debut, A2O Lite has become one of the most talked-about new acts in South Korean pop. The girl group is the first in Korea from Lee Soo-man, the producer widely credited with building the modern K-pop industry. Its debut single “Neon” broke a streaming chart record, won a music show trophy, and set off a wave of fan comparisons with some of the biggest girl groups in K-pop history.

That has raised a familiar question among fans: could a rookie group launched with this much attention one day match Blackpink?

Industry observers say the honest answer is that it is far too early to tell. Blackpink’s achievements over the past decade set a bar no girl group has come close to clearing. And A2O Lite’s early run, impressive as it is, has played out almost entirely in South Korea and Greater China.

A record-breaking start

A2O Lite, a nine-member group under A2O Entertainment, was introduced on Oct. 12 at a joint showcase with the 15-member boy band A2O Soul at the KINTEX convention center in Goyang, just outside Seoul. “Neon” was released the next evening.

About 29 hours later, the song reached No. 1 on the Top 100 chart of Melon, South Korea’s largest music streaming service. Music industry sources told Korean media it was the fastest a rookie group’s debut song had reached No. 1 on the chart since Melon revamped it in 2021. The previous record belonged to the mixed-gender group Allday Project, whose 2025 debut track “Famous” reached the top about three days after release.

The group also topped the Circle Digital Chart, South Korea’s official music chart, and the K-pop channel M2’s performance video of “Neon” drew 2 million views within a day.

On Oct. 20, A2O Lite won its first music show trophy, taking first place on SBS M’s “The Show” with 7,331 points, about a week after debut.

A2O Entertainment said “Neon” held the top spot on Melon for six straight days from Oct. 15 to Oct. 20. The company also said the song reached No. 4 on Apple Music’s global “Today’s Top 100” and topped several charts on China’s QQ Music. Not every outlet’s chart snapshot lined up exactly: Yonhap News Agency reported that the song had slipped to sixth on Melon by the morning after its first No. 1, before rival tracks traded places at the top.

Outside Asia, the numbers are more modest. Chart data show “Neon” reached No. 107 on Billboard’s Global Excluding US chart, No. 65 on Japan’s combined chart and No. 14 on New Zealand’s Hot Singles chart. It has not entered the main Billboard charts in the United States.

The Lee Soo-man factor

Much of the attention around A2O Lite comes from the man behind it.

Lee founded SM Entertainment in 1995 and over almost three decades produced or oversaw acts including H.O.T., BoA, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, EXO, NCT and aespa. He left SM after a bitter battle for control of the company in 2023 and sold his stake to HYBE, the agency behind BTS. A noncompete agreement tied to that sale barred him from producing music in South Korea for three years. It expired this year.

He founded A2O Entertainment in 2024 and first launched a group aimed at the Chinese market before turning to Korea.

“Lee Soo-man is a producer who could almost be described as synonymous with K-pop,” music critic Lim Jin-mo told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “His name itself carries enormous weight, and his track record gives him credibility.”

“Neon” was produced by Yoo Young-jin, Lee’s longtime collaborator and the songwriter behind SM hits such as TVXQ’s “Mirotic,” SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong” and aespa’s “Black Mamba.” Girls’ Generation member Sunny, Lee’s niece, helped train the rookies, according to The Korea Herald.

At the showcase, Lee spent much of his time on stage presenting technology rather than music. He demonstrated a virtual reality system called 4DGS, developed with Samsung Electronics, which lets viewers wearing a headset move around a recorded performance and watch it from any angle.

“Photography captured a single moment in a person’s life, while video captured the passage of time and movement,” Lee said. “I think this could be the ultimate form of the camera as a recording device.”

He also urged audiences not to over-analyze the new groups. “I’d ask you to first simply let yourselves feel,” he said.

An old-school sound in a short-form era

The way “Neon” was made is part of why it has drawn attention.

The track runs 3 minutes and 28 seconds, longer than many current K-pop singles, which tend to come in under three minutes so they work well in dance challenges on TikTok and YouTube Shorts. The song is built around synchronized group choreography, high notes, a cappella passages and a dance break, elements more common in K-pop of the late 2000s and early 2010s. The agency calls its sound “Zalpha pop,” a nod to Generation Z and Generation Alpha listeners.

Critics say the familiarity is both an asset and a risk.

“The familiar names together made A2O feel less like an entirely new company,” critic Lim Hee-yun told The Korea Herald. Lim said “Neon” draws on “elements that were once common in K-pop but have become less dominant as listening habits changed.”

Culture critic Jung Duk-hyun said, “The current response to ‘Neon’ suggests there may be demand for songs with stronger vocal development.” Jung said Lee’s challenge will be to adapt older K-pop’s strengths to current tastes, “rather than simply reproducing the sounds of the past.”

Another critic quoted by The Korea Herald warned that if every new release is measured against former SM acts, the nostalgia could “eventually become a limitation.”

Fans online have mostly compared individual members to SM-era stars, not to Blackpink. Member Aijing has been nicknamed “Baby BoA,” according to Korean entertainment outlet Star News, and commenters have likened member Oa to Girls’ Generation’s Jessica and S.E.S.’s Eugene. Some critics have called the song “dated,” while others have welcomed it as a break from formulaic releases.

The Blackpink benchmark

Blackpink’s record helps explain why talk of surpassing the group is premature.

Since its debut under YG Entertainment in August 2016, the four-member group of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa has set a long list of firsts for a K-pop girl group:

• Charts: Its 2022 album “Born Pink” was the first by a K-pop girl group to top the Billboard 200. It also reached No. 1 on the U.K. Official Albums Chart.
• Touring: The Born Pink World Tour grossed about $330 million across 66 shows, according to industry tallies. Billboard counted it as the highest-grossing tour ever by a female group.
• Festivals: Blackpink became the first K-pop girl group to play Coachella in 2019. In 2023 it returned as the first Asian act to headline the festival.
• Solo careers: The members have built major solo careers. Rosé’s 2024 duet with Bruno Mars, “APT.,” became a global hit.

The group’s decade-long run did not slow in 2025 or 2026. The Deadline World Tour, which began in July 2025 at Goyang Stadium, the venue where A2O Lite would later showcase, played stadiums across North America, Europe and Asia before ending in Hong Kong in January. Stops included Citi Field in New York, the Stade de France outside Paris, Wembley in London and three nights at the Tokyo Dome.

In February, Blackpink released “Deadline,” its first group record in more than three years. It sold 1,461,785 copies on its first day and 1,774,577 in its first week, both records for a K-pop girl group on South Korea’s Hanteo chart. It debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. The lead-up single “Jump” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 in July 2025.

By contrast, A2O Lite has released one digital single and has yet to put out a full album, tour, or make a significant breakthrough in the United States or Europe.

Why comparisons persist

Industry watchers say comparisons with Blackpink are almost unavoidable for any heavily promoted girl group, because Blackpink has become the global benchmark for female K-pop acts.

The circumstances also invite a rivalry story. Blackpink is a product of YG Entertainment, long one of SM’s main competitors, and A2O Lite is the first girl group from the man who built SM. A2O Lite’s members come from South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand and the United States, a multinational lineup like Blackpink’s, which includes Thai-born Lisa and New Zealand-born, Australian-raised Rosé.

Analysts note that Blackpink’s success was also gradual. The group won over global audiences through a string of singles, YouTube milestones, and appearances at Coachella and on American television before topping the Billboard 200 six years after debut.

A2O Lite also enters a far more crowded market. An unnamed industry official told South Korea’s MoneyToday that competition among “fifth-generation” idols is expected to intensify with the group’s arrival, pointing to rookie acts from SM, HYBE and Starship Entertainment.

Age concerns cloud the debut

The group’s launch has also faced criticism.

Several members debuted as minors, and the youngest is believed to be 13. Before the debut, fans on social media objected to the lineup’s young ages, according to Korean entertainment site Koreaboo. Some said they would not support the group.

The debate has renewed questions over whether South Korea’s protections for child performers, including limits on working hours and late-night appearances, are adequate in an industry where trainees often begin in elementary school. A2O Entertainment has not publicly responded in detail to the criticism.

Critics say the issue could follow the group as it seeks a wider international audience. Western listeners and media have been increasingly critical of the K-pop industry’s treatment of young trainees.

What comes next

A2O Entertainment has indicated that A2O Lite and A2O Soul share a fictional universe it calls the “A2O Cosmic Epic.” In that story, the members come from a planet called Soulite, and the company has said members could later form subunits with different lineups. It also unveiled Blooming Talk, an AI-powered fan platform with AI avatars of group members.

The agency describes A2O Lite’s members as bringing “unique colors shaped by their memories and emotions.”

For now, analysts say the group’s priority is turning a viral debut into lasting popularity. Many K-pop acts with strong debuts have struggled to sustain momentum through their second and third releases.

Blackpink took a decade to build its legacy, through chart records, stadium tours and individual stardom. A2O Lite has been around for two weeks.

The group’s early numbers show that Lee Soo-man’s name still draws big audiences in South Korea. Whether that grows into the kind of global influence Blackpink commands will depend on the next few years: the music, touring, international reach, and how the agency handles the questions surrounding its youngest members.