Lee Soo-man’s new boy band A2O Soul to release 1st album in November

Former SM Entertainment chief Lee Soo-man’s new boy band A2O Soul will release its first album "Superstar" on Nov. 9, its agency A2O Entertainment said Thursday.

The album comes just nearly a month after the group released its prerelease single of the same name on Oct. 13.

The new album will feature five tracks, including the prerelease single and title track "Superstar" and the second lead track "Dancing in the Dark."

“Chief producer Lee shaped the album's musical direction and personally selected world-class songwriters he had never worked with before, which brought fresh musical synergy to the project and enhanced the album's overall quality,” the agency said in a press release.

The physical album will be released in three versions with preorders available through major online and offline retailers in Korea and overseas.

A2O Soul debuted with its prerelease track “Superstar” under Lee’s newly launched agency A2O Entertainment. The single reached No. 18 on YouTube's trending music chart. It also ranked No. 2 on QQ Music's new songs chart, No. 6 on its popular songs chart and No. 4 on its global music video chart.

A2O Soul comprises 15 members: Moon, Seoha, Hansung and See-one from Korea; Lucien from Korea and the United States; Sora, Gaku and Sono from Japan; Teo, Jun, Tai, Zai, Ayden and Zet from China; and Alure from Thailand.

Lee founded SM Entertainment in 1995 and launched some of Korea’s most iconic idols such as BoA, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, EXO, Red Velvet, NCT and aespa.

He left SM Entertainment following a high-profile battle for control of the company in 2023 and later established A2O Entertainment.

When Lee sold his SM Entertainment shares to HYBE in 2023, he signed a three-year noncompete agreement barring him from participating in Korea’s entertainment industry, a restriction that expired in March. He introduced boy band A2O Soul and girl group A2O Lite in Korea in October.

BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]