A2O LITE (Ei-to-O Light), a rookie group produced by Lee Soo-man after his departure from SM Entertainment (hereinafter SM), has rewritten K-pop history by reaching No. 1 on the music chart just 29 hours after their debut.
A2O LITE’s debut track, “NEON,” reached No. 1 on Melon’s TOP100 chart as of 11 p.m. on the 14th. It climbed one spot from its previous ranking, pushing Soyeon’s “I’ll Quit My Job” down to No. 2. This was just 29 hours after the track was released at 6 p.m. on the 13th.
This is the fastest record among rookie group debut tracks to reach No. 1 since Melon revamped its TOP100 chart in August 2021.
The previous shortest-time record was held by All Day Project, a group featuring Annie, daughter of Jung Yu-kyung, CEO of Shin Se-gye (Chairman). All Day Project’s debut track, “FAMOUS,” reached No. 1 at 11 p.m. on June 26 last year, three days after its release.
“NEON” first entered the TOP100 chart at No. 77 at 10 p.m. on the 13th, its release day. It then rose to No. 10 by 9 a.m. the following day, the 14th, and remained at No. 2 until 10 p.m., before climbing to the top of the chart at 11 p.m.
This record carries even greater significance when measured against the current TOP100 aggregation method. The current TOP100 calculates rankings hourly by combining usage data from the past 24 hours and the past hour. It is difficult to reach No. 1 based solely on a brief surge in usage within a single hour.
In 2016, when an hourly real-time chart was used, BLACKPINK’s “Whistle” reached No. 1 at 1 a.m. the day after its release, but the aggregation criteria have changed since then.
Riding this momentum, A2O LITE is scheduled to appear on Mnet’s “M Countdown,” airing on the 15th, to showcase their first music show performance since debut.
in ENTERTAINMENT
