A2O LITE ‘NEON’ achieves fastest No. 1 for a debut song since Melon TOP100 reorganization
A2O LITE's debut song ‘NEON’ reached No. 1 on the Melon TOP100 just 29 hours after its release. This marks the fastest time a debut song has reached the top spot since the Melon TOP100 was reorganized in August 2021.
According to media reports, A2O LITE's debut song ‘NEON’ rose to the top of the Melon TOP100 at 11 PM on the 14th, the day after the song was released. This occurred 29 hours after its release at 6 PM on the 13th. It climbed one spot from its previous ranking, pushing Soyeon's ‘I'll Quit My Job’ to 2nd place. This is the shortest time for a debut song to reach No. 1 since the Melon TOP100 reorganization in August 2021.
The previous record for the shortest time was held by ALLDAY PROJECT's ‘FAMOUS’. That song reached No. 1 at 11 PM on the 26th, three days after its release on June 23, 2025, and at that time, Melon introduced it as the debut song to reach No. 1 in the shortest time since the TOP100 reorganization. ‘NEON’ entered the chart at 77th place at 10 PM on the 13th, the day of its release. The next day at 9 AM, it recorded 10th place on TOP100 10 and 2nd place on HOT100 2 at the same time.
‘NEON’ remained at 2nd place on TOP100 2 at 9 PM and 10 PM on the 14th, before reaching No. 1 for the first time at 11 PM. Compared to the debut songs of other rookie groups, NewJeans' ‘Attention’ reached No. 1 on the Melon TOP100 on the 9th, eight days after its release on August 1, 2022. ILLIT's ‘Magnetic’ was released on March 25, 2024, and reached the top of the chart before two weeks had passed.
The current Melon TOP100 calculates hourly rankings by combining usage from the last 24 hours and the last 1 hour. Therefore, it is difficult to reach No. 1 simply by having concentrated usage for one hour, as listening data for more than a day after release is reflected. In 2016, BLACKPINK's ‘Whistle’ reached No. 1 on the hourly real-time chart the morning after its release, but the calculation standards then are different from the current ones.
According to media reports, producer Lee Soo-man said during a debut show on the 12th, "Before looking for 'what is different,' I hope people first feel that it is 'good'." The reports interpreted the chart performance as the public's response to the statement about focusing on 'good songs.' A2O LITE will showcase their first music broadcast stage on Mnet's ‘M COUNTDOWN’ on the 15th.
Covers K-pop for KSW Journal, and also writes about Culture and K-Variety.
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