A2O LITE's NEON Hit No. 1 on Melon in 29 Hours, Then Lee Soo-man Joined the Meme

Sunny posted an AI video of Lee Soo-man, 74, and producer Yoo Young-jin nailing the choreography to A2O LITE's debut single NEON, and SM Entertainment's current and former artists swarmed the comments. Lee founded SM. His new company, A2O Entertainment, is the one Sunny now works for.

The Girls' Generation member posted it on the 15th with the caption "Sharp angles! Are you joining Next week's M Countdown?" and a hashtag that roughly reads: even if you add up all the members' ages, not one of them can beat him. The dancing isn't real. Both men's faces were composited onto the choreography with AI.

The reactions

Super Junior's Kim Heechul wrote that Lee is clearly doing well, with a clapping emoji. 2PM's Ok Taec-yeon was less sure: "Is this okay?"

The likes were the bigger story. Super Junior's Leeteuk and Heechul, TVXQ's Max Changmin, Girls' Generation's Tiffany, WayV's Hendery and aespa's Winter all tapped the heart. Fans called the thread a mini SMTOWN.

Sunny left SM when her contract ended in August 2023 and joined A2O, founded by Lee, her uncle. She trains under Yoo Young-jin on production and also handles trainee coaching, choreography guidance and psychological care.

Why NEON is a meme

A2O LITE is a nine-member multinational girl group. NEON arrived as a digital single on the 13th and reached No. 1 on Melon's TOP100 in 29 hours. One report says that is the fastest No. 1 for a rookie debut since Melon adopted the current TOP100 system in 2021.

The opening choreography, a sharp two-person routine by members Aizing and Siri, keeps getting remade on Instagram and YouTube Shorts. Part of the spread is a mishearing: fans say the opening line of the English lyrics sounds like a Korean phrase about being unmarried, and parodies followed. Fans have pasted other faces onto the dance with AI, including characters from Infinite Challenge, Oldboy and The Glory.

Lee Soo-man is simply the most pointed entry yet. A founder-producer joining his own new group's meme is either good promotion or very good timing, and the replies suggest SM alumni can't decide which.