A2O MAY, a multinational girl group formed overseas by former SM Entertainment founder and producer Lee Soo-man, is set to perform on a Korean music show for the first time since their debut.

Composed entirely of Chinese or Chinese-American members, A2O MAY has focused its activities mainly on the United States and China since its global debut, marking their official entry into the domestic market.

According to A2O Entertainment, following the release of their new song "Love Got Me Ooh," A2O MAY was included in the pre-voting list for Mnet's "M Countdown," confirming their upcoming debut appearance on domestic music programs. The agency explained that various reactions have poured in across domestic online communities and social media since the release of their music video.

A2O MAY is a five-member group that debuted on December 20, 2024. Starting with their debut song "Under My Skin" and followed by "BOSS," "B.B.B (Bigger Badder Better)," and "PAPARAZZI ARRIVE," the group has entered the Mediabase TOP40 mainstream radio charts in the U.S. eight times. "PAPARAZZI ARRIVE" tied for first place alongside Justin Bieber on the U.S. TOP40 Airplay "Most Added" chart. The group has also performed on official pre-show stages for events like "Wango Tango" and New York's "Jingle Ball," and achieved milestones such as entering the top 10 of the Billboard Emerging Artists chart.

In China, their first EP "PAPARAZZI ARRIVE" ranked high on major QQ Music charts, while their new track "Love Got Me Ooh" claimed the number one spot on the QQ Music new release chart immediately upon its release. On July 19, "Love Got Me Ooh" and its companion track "Rain On My Parade" swept the top two spots, respectively, on the QQ Music real-time popular listening chart.

Following a management dispute at SM Entertainment in 2023, Lee Soo-man left SM and established BloomingGrace along with its subsidiary, A2O Entertainment. A2O MAY is the first group he has introduced since leaving SM, featuring a lineup consisting entirely of local members without any South Koreans. Industry insiders interpret this as a reflection of Lee's previously proposed "three-stage Hallyu theory" localization phase, which applies K-pop production methods to groups comprised of local talent.

A2O Entertainment plans to unveil its first domestic rookie debut team in the latter half of this year.

 

(Photo: SBS Entertainment News, reported by Kang Kyung-yoon)