Produced by first-generation K-pop producer Lee Soo-man, often called the "Father of K-pop," the group A2O LITE is making waves with their debut track "NEON," which soared to the top of digital music charts right after its release.

"NEON" was released at 6:00 PM on October 13 and reached No. 1 on Melon's TOP100 at 11:00 PM on October 14, just 29 hours later. It marks the debut track of a new girl group presented by Lee Soo-man—who has created legendary acts such as S.E.S., BoA, f(x), and Girls' Generation—marking his return as a key producer after three years.

Behind the spotlight on "NEON" was not just the music itself, but also social media culture. The usual formula in K-pop today is for a choreography challenge to spread first whenever a new song drops. A2O LITE's "NEON" took a different path. User-generated memes went viral before the song itself.

It all began with the lyrics. Reactions quickly circulated that the chorus line "Neon and Beyond" sounded like the Korean words "mihon and bihon" (unmarried and choosing not to marry). The spark caught on when influencer feellikefeel changed the lyrics, singing, "Mihon and bihon, everyone, what is this..."

AI-generated videos followed soon after. According to reports, clips featuring Choi Minsik and Yoo Ji-tae's characters from the movie "Oldboy" dancing in group choreography to "NEON," as well as Kim Hee-ae and Ha Yoo-mi from the drama "My Husband's Woman" performing the dance as a duo, racked up tens of thousands of likes. A version featuring the popular character Chiikawa also surfaced. Even parody videos featuring HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk and ooak records CEO Min Hee-jin emerged.

While traditional challenges typically follow a structure where an agency or artist starts by dancing the choreography with fellow singers or influencers before fans join in, this time the dynamic was reversed. Users played with the song first as their creative material, and that play served as the channel that propelled the track into the spotlight.

At the debut showcase on October 12, Lee Soo-man remarked, "Before trying to find what's different, I hope you first feel that it's just 'good.'" Memes proved to be the fastest route through which that "good" feeling spread.

A2O LITE is a nine-member girl group aged 13 to 17, with members hailing from countries including South Korea, China, Japan, the United States, and Thailand. Several media outlets reported that "NEON" set the record for the fastest time for a rookie group's debut track to hit No. 1 on the Melon TOP100 since the chart's revamp in 2021.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)