A new MHN analysis on October 21 has drawn a direct line between two of K-pop’s hottest rookie girl groups: Lee Soo-man’s A2O LITE and SM Entertainment’s Hearts2Hearts. Despite sharing the same roots, the two groups are heading down visibly different paths.
A2O LITE, the nine-member group launched through Lee Soo-man’s comeback project with SMP founder Yoo Young-jin, stunned the industry with their digital single “NEON,” released October 13. The title track topped Melon’s main TOP100 chart just 29 hours later, the fastest ascent for any rookie group’s debut song since Melon’s August 2021 chart reform. The nine members, with an average age of just 14.8, then claimed their first music show trophy on SBS Life’s “The Show” on October 20, only a week after debuting.
On the other side, Hearts2Hearts carry the legacy of SM without Lee Soo-man or Yoo Young-jin. The eight-member group debuted in February with “The Chase,” which sold over 400,000 copies in its first week. Their February release “RUDE!” climbed to No. 3 on Melon’s daily chart in March and surpassed 100 million Spotify streams within three months, while their second mini album “Lemon Tang” set a personal record of 592,312 first-week sales on the Hanteo chart.
MHN argues the difference comes down to production philosophy. A2O LITE leans into SMP, Yoo Young-jin’s signature sound that defined TVXQ, SHINee, and EXO, and that aespa first brought to girl groups in 2020. Hearts2Hearts instead follow SM’s other axis, shifting concepts with each release like SNSD, f(x), and Red Velvet, under the multi-producing system introduced after Lee Soo-man’s departure.
No official statement was available from either A2O Entertainment or SM Entertainment. But with A2O LITE riding rookie-of-the-year momentum and Hearts2Hearts firmly in the half-million-seller tier, the fifth generation’s girl group landscape is splitting into two rival visions of SM’s legacy.
