A2O Soul, Lee Soo-man's 15-Member Boy Group, Readies Five-Track 'Superstar' Album for Nov. 9

A2O Soul, the 15-member boy group Lee Soo-man is producing at his new company, will release its first album, Superstar, at 6 p.m. on Nov. 9, A2O Entertainment announced Thursday, Yonhap reported.

The five-song record is built on two lead tracks. One is "Superstar," the prerelease single the group debuted with on Oct. 13. The other is "Dancing in the Dark." The remaining three songs lean into what the group calls its new synthwave sound, The Korea Herald reported.

The agency defines that sound as a modern K-pop update of the synth-heavy music of the 1980s. It layers retro, analog-flavored melodies and atmospheric textures over present-day pop song structures and vocal arrangements.

According to the agency, Lee steered the album's musical direction himself and recruited overseas writers and producers he had never hired before. A2O Entertainment explained the approach in a press release quoted by Korea JoongAng Daily:

"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 credits on "Superstar" combine old and new names. Longtime collaborator Yoo Young-jin works alongside Haan, who worked on The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber's "Stay," and Gent!, whose credits include music by Drake and Doja Cat, the Herald reported.

Most of the single's early chart numbers come from China. On QQ Music, "Superstar" reached No. 2 on the new-song chart, No. 6 on the popularity chart and No. 4 on the global music video chart. It also climbed to No. 18 on YouTube Korea's trending music chart. The only song ahead of it on the QQ new-song chart was "Neon" by A2O Light.

A2O Light, the agency's first girl group, debuted alongside A2O Soul and has moved faster at home. "Neon" reached No. 1 on Melon's Top 100 just 29 hours after release, and the group won first place on a weekly TV music show on Oct. 20, one week after its debut, Yonhap reported.

The two groups are Lee's first since he was barred from the business. He founded SM Entertainment in 1995 and left after a 2023 fight for control of the company, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. When he sold his SM shares to HYBE that year, he signed a three-year noncompete that kept him out of Korea's entertainment industry. It expired in March.

The lineup: 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.

The physical album will come in three versions: two photobook editions and a platform album, The Korea Times reported. Preorders are open at major retailers in Korea and overseas ahead of the Nov. 9 release.