On Oct. 25, Chinese girl group A2O MAY hosted a release party for their first EP, “PAPARAZZI ARRIVE,” at The Vermont Hollywood. The party featured a red carpet area, listening zone and photo section for attendees to enjoy; however, the main attraction of the event was A2O MAY’s live performance, featuring all of their new and old songs.
From curious first-time listeners to mega fans, the event attracted a wide range of music enthusiasts, providing something for everyone to enjoy.
A2O MAY and Zalpha Pop
But who is A2O MAY, and what exactly is “Zalpha Pop?” A2O Entertainment and A2O MAY, its first girl group, are the vision of legendary founder and former CEO of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man. By producing iconic K-pop groups such as TVXQ!, Girls’ Generation, NCT and aespa, Soo-man has earned a reputation as a leading figure in the K-pop industry. Since leaving SM Entertainment, Soo-man has formed A2O Entertainment, a new entertainment agency based in Hollywood.
A2O MAY, a group of five Chinese female artists, is the first girl group to debut under the new agency. Formed in December 2024, the group has quickly achieved a large fanbase and widespread acclaim. The group‘s single, "BOSS," reached #32 on Top 40 Radio, the first Chinese girl group to achieve such a placement. Their most popular single, “B.B.B” has garnered over 49 million views on YouTube at the time of reporting. In addition, the group’s latest single, “PAPARAZZI ARRIVE,” has reached over 39 million views in its first week of release. The group’s rapid ascent shows its undeniable potential for success within the competitive industry.
Although a Chinese group, A2O MAY releases all of its songs in English. Instead of focusing on a single market, A2O MAY plans to showcase its music to an international audience. This is demonstrated in the new EP “PAPARAZZI ARRIVE” where some songs appear in both Chinese and English and a Spanish cover for the song “SWEAT.”
The members of A2O MAY embody Soo-man’s vision of “Zalpha Pop.” According to A2O Entertainment’s website, this new genre is defined as “a distinctive musical style showcased by A2O Entertainment’s artists, primarily from Generation Z (Gen Z) and Generation Alpha (Gen A).” In essence, this new form of pop reflects the generation and spirit of the modern youth.
Compared to Soo-man’s previous works, A2O Entertainment and A2O MAY represent a new era for the K-pop producer. A2O MAY clearly shows that a fresh take can lead to success in the industry.
The Release Party
Announced on Instagram, fans had the opportunity to enter a lottery system for a chance to attend the “PAPARAZZI ARRIVE” release party. When asked, attendees Ricky Chen and Katherine Fu, USC graduate students, shared their thoughts on the group.
Chen stated that his interest in A2O MAY came from the group consisting of Chinese artists and its target market being the U.S. This sparked his curiosity about the group for him to attend the event.
“I’m really curious how five Chinese members could do Korean pop music, but in [the] U.S.,” Chen said.
While admittedly not very familiar with A2O MAY’s works, Chen and Fu said they wanted to discover more about the group at the event. They stated their thoughts on what they knew about their music and described it as follows.
“I think their music is a little bit old school, maybe like [from the] 2010s” said Chen. “It is similar to the first or second generation of K-pop music. But their appearance [is modern]; they are very fashionable. So, it’s a combination of old school, old-fashioned and current fashion.”
Compared to other groups, Fu felt that the group has a “similar style with Blackpink or rock girls.”
Despite being new to A2O MAY and its music, attendees were in store for an electrifying performance.
The Performance
Shortly after being welcomed to the stage, A2O MAY wasted no time and began their performance with “BOSS.”
In between each song, A2O MAY members were interviewed and discussed their experience working as idols and expressed their gratitude to their fans. They then went on to thank Soo-man for leading the creative direction of their music videos.“
[Mr. Lee] gave us a lot of cool advice and told us to be really confident about ourselves. So we ended up doing really cool buddy poses, and those shots turned out amazing. So I want to give thanks to Mr. Lee. Thank you for his directing,” A2O MAY member Kat said.
The group performed every song from “PAPARAZZI ARRIVE,” backed by dynamic choreography that K-pop has become synonymous with. This excitement was felt by the fans who screamed and cheered at the end of each song.
In addition to A2O MAY’s previous songs, attendees also were treated to first-time performances of all the songs from the new EP, notably solos “Someone you Loved” and “Black Sheep” and duet “SWEAT.” These songs do not feature online music videos and the performances were only seen at the event.
The event closed with a photo opp with the group for the attendees and the release of confetti into the crowd, officially ending the celebration of “PAPARAZZI ARRIVE.”
After the performance, Chen described the group’s music as having a Gen Z style with “very easy to remember” lyrics. He believes that the group will catch the attention of a younger audience given these musical attributes.
“[A2O MAY’s performance was] very powerful,” Chen said. “I love Shijie the most because I think she’s really great, and she has like that star aura.”
Another USC student attendee Lisa Li discussed her thoughts on the concert, describing A2O MAY’s performance as “very powerful.”
“They look like icons,” Li said. “I believe they will have a very bright future in both the market in China and the U.S.”