After leaving the agency he founded, SM Entertainment’s Lee Soo-man quickly began planning his next moves. This resulted in the founding of a new agency, A2O Entertainment, and some loosey singles from various A2O artists aimed toward global markets. Now, it’s time for him to throw his hat back in the K-pop ring with the double debut of A2O Lite and A2O Soul — female and male counterparts seeming to exist in an NCT-style universe.
A2O Lite is the girl group under this new umbrella and debuts today with Neon. The track is brought to us by some familiar faces: Yoo Young-Jin (yay!!) and Dem Jointz. I’m much more interested in the former name, as we haven’t heard from him since the Soo-man/SM split. True to form, Neon has many touches of 2nd-gen K-pop, from its herky-jerky rhythm to the equally rhythmic melodies that take advantage of the Korean language’s natural charm. In between are touches of vocal layering that are classic Young-Jin. Boy, it’s nice to hear them again!
While Neon can’t quite live up to something as incredible as SNSD’s The Boys, the very fact that it’s attempting to carry this baton is quite exciting. There’s a ton going on within Neon‘s seemingly repetitive nature, and these details are what make it feel more considered than the monotonous sing-talk we often hear in K-pop today. There are moments that sound almost alien in nature, attempting to replicate what we call pop music but landing just left of center. I love this mismatch because it draws my ears back for more. Let’s hope this is the first step in a very strong discography to come.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
Grade: B+
God, I LOVE the chorus so much, it’s so catchy, and like rhythmically delicious + the vocal layering is amazing. I also see a lot of 2nd gen influences in here (which is also funny cause almost the entire group was born when 2nd gen was ending/3rd gen started)
8.5 (9, 8, 9, 8) for me
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Oh this song is GOOD. I already want to listen to it again to explore the architecture more. And it manages to avoid the recent trends of posturing club beats or beige lofi or under 3 minutes without sounding dated.
This group wasn’t on my radar at all (I hadn’t heard about them before today) and I’m intrigued for more.
It’s a good contrast with Meovv’s release today. Neon makes me want to think about why these elements are together. Meovv’s does the opposite. I love the club beat trend (sorry not sorry) but that song… the verses chorus and pre choruses seem stapled together. The only reason I can think of to pair that opening with that chorus is shock… but shock seldom works twice so there’s no replay ability. Only at the end do we get satisfying layers to suggest what good production might have made the song sound like.
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Harmonies are everything!!! Without the harmonies in the chorus, it’s just a good chorus. With the tight, dissonant harmonies, it becomes great! Very The Boys coded in the best way
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i really enjoyed that bridge and the harmonies! however, i feel like the song lacks enough personality to show the girls’ individuality/vocal colors and tbh could be given to any other group with a unique/hyperpop concept like artms, unchild or kiiikiii. i’m probably the youngest person on this blog so I don’t feel any nostalgia bias in this song (and bcs i think that’s the only reason it got that high of a rating).
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songs like these give me hope that kpop still isn’t ready to give up what makes kpop kpop ❤
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this is so f(x)!! I’m so here for it
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see i would enjoy this way more if there werent THREE 13 yos in this group 😭
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Right! 😭
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Holy shit did we get blessed or smth??? A fucking banger of a solo, 2 8.5 rated songs, and a girl group song that is a 8.75!!!
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this reminds me so much of f(x) pinocchio for some reason! THIS IS HOW YOU DO SING-TALK!!!
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Its been on repeat since it dropped, like everyone else the classic young jin harmonies are just amazing as usual and the vocals as expected are super sleek
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It’s a good attempt but I found that the word “Neon” is overly repeat in this song which does make me feel overstimulated.
A 8.5 so far. 3 minutes 30 seconds + song in this economy is just so luxurious for us.
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Yeeeeeehaaaaaa!
It’s like Lucifer meets Mr Simple meets the f(x) oeuvre but progress the sound and production to 2026. Fresh and refreshing, both at the same time.
What I also really like about this is that they are teenagers that look dress sound dance like teenagers, and look like they like their song and where they are at and what they are doing.
It may have taken several years for LSM and YYJ to debut this, but the wait was worth it.
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How is this a particularly appropriate dress and dance for teenagers?
Half the kids are like 13 and 14.
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I did look up their ages. They are wearing sweatpants or skorts with crop tops, simple hair, simple makeup, letting the song and video production do the work. By comparison to the groups debuting with high fashion endorsements, these girls look and sound like girls.
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LMAO I guess the Baby One More Time music video makes you lose your mind then
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Lolz. This is more BoA than Britney. More Atlantic Princess than Hit Me Baby.
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WOW this is really good.
Very interesting how LSM is showing us exactly how he would have done H2H. And when you compare the sheer ambition of this to H2H’s debut (which I also liked but come on)… it’s just a different level.
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I was thinking about the same – SM Entertainment still has Kenji spread very thin. With 2 x A2O debuts today it is clear how much curated taste LSM and YYJ brought to SM Entertainment that SM is sorely missing.
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This is so good 😭😭😭😭
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I’ve only been listening to K-pop for the past few years, so although I knew the name Lee Soo-man, I wasn’t really familiar with his work in real time. Watching this MV made me realize just how talented a producer he was. Yoo Young-jin, who handled the song’s production, also did an incredible job, and I was especially impressed by the way the vocals were produced.
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Vision is just incredibly different, I hate to praise LSM but he was a visionary when it came to music and he curated tf out of SM’s discography during his time there. YYJ your vision also needs to come back to SM, I need to hear your take on RIIZE’s music so bad (not related, but Wonbin is literally the kind of vocal tone YYJ would LOVE).
I think this just shows the sorry state of SM’s music… like yeah, they’ll have a hit here and there, but I’ve found many of the releases this year a bit lacking. It’s hard to get another Supernova in this post-LSM era.
The futuristic android-like soundscape is so addictive. Biggest gripe being the girls are extremely young so I don’t want to support this, and also they’re still vocally not there yet (bc of their youth). Some parts are missing more power, especially that high note. I can’t help but wonder what a group with an older age range would sound like on a song like this – I can already hear Winter and Karina.
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between openly bragging about training AI on the members voices for future use, and having THREE 13 year olds BARELY even teenagers….yeah I don’t care how good the music is I’m icked out
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This is really why LSM is really still evil even if he has some of these “good” ideas. ngl him being away from k-pop ultimately was good
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This song is really good. Solid production and nice harmonies. Probably a 9/10 for me.
Also what a day to get 40 million views on the Bias List. Your blog has been really good at helping me find appreciate older generation K-pop music and discover new music which is appealing to me. Congratulations and hope for a better future for this blog🥳🥳🥳
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nick should make a celebratory post abt it!
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I think he should do it at 50 million views. More significant milestone.
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last time nick did smth was when he reached 20 million views, which was 3 and a half years ago
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Thank you!
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This is awesome
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I can totally hear the second generation SM production style here, especially the electronic-sounding songs by Girls’ Generation, Super Junior and f(x) back in the early to mid 2010s, so it’s really compelling for childhood/nostalgia reasons.
Also, I really enjoyed the chorus and the quirky production elements here and there, and the harmonies. I’m not sure if the whole thing works put together, but it’s cool to see a group debuting with something that uses the current “electropop” trend but takes it to a very particular time of the K-pop legacy.
I’m worried about the group’s concept because we know this guy can go a little over the top and start doing some really dumb/cringe lore stuff (having aespa flashbacks here). I just think a lot of times he takes it way too seriously, like the groups are these technological products, and it makes it all seem a little strange. Regardless, this first song was a really nice introduction to the girl group and I’m excited to see what they do next.
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Just make me realize instead of stanning SM I do stan more on LSM instead.
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This is giving me more T-ara One and One than any f(x) song I can think of, but it’s still bringing back those off-the-wall 2nd gen girl groups. I think it’s on 8.5 for now, might grow on me more.
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This is reminding me more of T-ara One and One than any particular f(x) song I can think of, but I’m still appreciating this off-the-wall sound. Probably an 8.5 for now, may grow on me.
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Some SM stans may not like LSM much, but they can’t deny his abilty as music producer rarely miss the mark. I am not fond of the current SM approach for their girlgroups, e.g. aespa and H2H, as it seems sorely lacking in foresight and strategic vision.
Idle talk aside, the song was quite wonderful and unique. Its interesting how they can use repeated catchphrase NEON in such a stylish and refreshing way thanks to its production and vocal effect. Far from boring, the repeating hook had become the centerpiece of action instead. Kudos to the music engineer that managed to elevate this track into a banger.
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