A2O Lite's 'Neon' Hits Melon No. 1 in 29 Hours

A record-fast climb to No. 1

Rookie girl group A2O Lite, launched by former SM Entertainment chief Lee Soo-man, watched its debut single "Neon" reach No. 1 on Melon's Top 100 chart just 29 hours after release, according to Korea JoongAng Daily and The Asia Business Daily.

The song entered the chart at No. 77 on the day of its release, per Asia Business Daily, and topped the chart at 11 p.m. the following day. Korea JoongAng Daily reports that is the fastest a rookie group's debut song has reached No. 1 since Melon revamped its Top 100 chart in 2021.

Breaking the rookie benchmark

The previous benchmark belonged to mixed-gender group Allday Project, whose 2025 debut track "Famous" took about three days to top Melon, Korea JoongAng Daily reports — roughly 77 hours, according to Korea Portal.

Korea Portal adds earlier context: NewJeans' "Attention" needed eight days in 2022 and ILLIT's "Magnetic" nearly two weeks in 2024. Korea Portal notes Melon's ranking combines the last 24 hours of streaming with the last hour, so a song with heavy short-window activity can climb quickly.

A first-day run, critic Lim Hee-yun told The Korea Herald via Korea Portal, shows how many people listened first — not how many stayed.

'Neon' as a throwback — watch the stage

Korea JoongAng Daily notes "Neon" runs 3 minutes 28 seconds and foregrounds group choreography, coordinated outfits, high notes, a cappella sections and a dance break — bucking today's trend of sub-three-minute, short-form-friendly songs.

Star producer Yoo Young-jin, the SM veteran behind hits like TVXQ!'s "Mirotic" and aespa's "Black Mamba," produced it, co-writing with American producer Dem Jointz per The Asia Business Daily.

A performance video on K-pop YouTube channel M2 drew 2 million views within a day, Korea JoongAng Daily reports, and the music video hit No. 1 among trending videos in Korea on YouTube, per Asia Business Daily.

Lee Soo-man's comeback act

A2O Lite is a nine-member group with members from Korea, China, Japan and Thailand, and marks Lee Soo-man's first new girl group for the Korean market since he left SM Entertainment in 2023, Korea JoongAng Daily reports.

Lee sold his SM stake to HYBE in 2023 under a noncompete that barred him from Korean music production for three years; it expired in February, and he returned through A2O Entertainment. The group debuted Oct.

13 alongside the 15-member boy band A2O Soul, introduced at a KINTEX showcase on Oct. 12.

Critic Lim Jin-mo told Korea JoongAng Daily that Lee's name itself carries enormous weight.

Chart sweep and what comes next

The Asia Business Daily reports "Neon" also topped Melon's Hot 100 and the Bugs chart, hit No. 1 in eight countries and regions including Apple Music Korea and iTunes in Italy and Malaysia, and reached No. 1 and No. 3 on China's QQ Music new-song chart alongside A2O Soul's "Superstar." By early Oct.

15 it had slipped to No. 6 on Melon, per Korea Portal. The group began music-show promotions on Mnet's "M Countdown" on Oct.

Sources

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