The cameras are flashing, and fans are more eager than ever, as Chinese global pop group A2O MAY releases their highly anticipated first full-length album, PAPARAZZI ARRIVE, a bold blend of global influences, covers, and original solo and duo tracks.
A2O MAY, emerging from A2O Entertainment, the creative venture founded by Lee Soo Man, the visionary behind SM Entertainment’s powerhouse acts like EXO, Red Velvet, and NCT, is carving out a fresh, confident space in the global pop scene. Their sound is unapologetically powerful, dynamic, and fearless.
The five members, Miche and Kat, the sister duo, Shijie, Quchang, and Chenyu, bring a fiery energy and passion to their craft, creating music that feels both refreshing and familiar.
PAPARAZZI ARRIVE captures that duality perfectly, with covers like Lewis Capaldi’s “Somebody You Loved” and Ella Mai’s “Trip,” alongside striking original tracks such as “B.B.B (Bigger, Badder, Better)” and the electrifying title song, PAPARAZZI ARRIVE.
Kat describes the title track as one that “…blends all of our different backgrounds and styles, from pop to Latin to R&B. The album is really about confidence and self-expression, stepping into the spotlight, and owning who you are.”
Fans can now listen to the title track and watch the dark, confident official video that showcases the group’s charisma and star power below!
The Knockturnal caught up with A2O MAY for the second time; the last interview took place in May 2025 (how fitting!), to discuss how PAPARAZZI ARRIVE pushes the boundaries of their signature “Zalpha Pop” sound.
The group opened up about experimenting with Latin-inspired tracks, learning Spanish lyrics in just 20 minutes, and embracing global sounds that highlight their versatility.
Their recent appearances in Los Angeles, including a major release party with over 1,000 attendees and a performance at Line Friends CityWalk, mark another milestone, cementing them as trailblazers for Chinese girl groups on the international stage.
Since their festival performances, the members have continued to refine their stage presence, debuting new songs like “SWEAT,” a sister-duo track infused with irresistible Latin rhythms.
Read our full conversation below, where the members talk about new stages and concepts, upcoming Jingle Ball performances, heartfelt Chinese thank-you messages, and even their favorite paparazzi poses (yes, we’ve got photos!).
THE KNOCKTURNAL: Welcome back to LA. It’s been a minute since we last caught up, and you guys have since released a full-length album. How have things been for you all since back then, before the album?
You released “B.B.B (Bigger Badder Better)” which felt like a teaser for what was coming next. Tell me about the preparation process leading up to this moment. Any challenges or surprises?
KAT: Our song “B.B.B” represents the overall concept of ‘A2O’s School.’ With ‘Zal-Drama’, which we released not too long ago, which explains the whole storyline, our fans have started to understand more about A2O MAY.
At this stage, releasing an album is really exciting for us! We get to show the audience our colors as a group and individually through our solo and unit tracks. Having solo and unit songs isn’t very common for girl groups, so it’s quite a surprise for the audience!
Watch the music video below!
THE KNOCKTURNAL: That is incredible for sure. The whole album itself showcases a wide range of different influences.
There’s the Latin-inspired energy of “SWEAT,” and you’re known for your multilingual versions in English and Chinese. How did your global group identity shape the sound and message behind this album? Were there any inspirations?
KAT: As a global girl group, we need to connect with fans from different countries, which is why we have both English and Chinese versions of our songs. We don’t want music to have limits; it should bring people together.
PAPARAZZI ARRIVE blends all of our different backgrounds and styles, from pop to Latin to R&B, showing who we are individually and as a team. The album is really about confidence and self-expression, stepping into the spotlight, and owning who you are.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: You guys are always so passionate about taking influences from different places; it really lets different audiences connect with you all. Let’s talk about the tracks on this album. There are solo songs, unit songs, and the sisters with their unit song. Do you each have a personal favorite track? What was it like recording solo and duo songs? Did it feel creatively different, or did it come easily?
MICHE: I think there are limits when doing group songs because we can’t get many parts in a group song. Solo tracks allow more possibilities to experiment with our voices. It’s very fun to see each other exploring that side, which group songs may limit.
KAT and I did a track together, “SWEAT”. It was fun to experience that Latin side, especially since we haven’t tried it before, so now we got to on our first album. It’s also very challenging because we had to learn Spanish in just 20 minutes before recording!
THE KNOCKTURNAL: I’d love to talk about the title track, PAPARAZZI ARRIVE. It’s so addictive, from instrumentals to vocals to visuals. What made this song stick out as the title track?
MICHE: We felt it was best to represent the album’s message: having the courage to do what you do and own the spotlight. As a new girl group, it’s important to try new things, tell our story, and stand for what’s different. It takes courage to stand out.
This track represents the powerful and confident side of us. We want our fans to know that staying different is special and never to change because of someone else or how the world projects you.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: It’s a great example for listeners. Speaking of covers on this album, “Trip,” “Someone You Loved,” and “Black Sheep,” what inspired you to reinterpret these songs?
SHIJE: “Trip” is an R&B song. I really love R&B and Ella Mai. We remade it with more ad-libs and melody changes, which was challenging. Singing for me at the moment is challenging, but it was nice to try new stuff on my own. When I first heard the song, I thought it matched my voice very well, but it was hard! The producers guided me, and it turned out really well.
QUCHANG: “Black Sheep” by Gin Wigmore is my solo track. I loved her first, and I love country-rock-inspired music. I brought this song to the audition, and Mr. Lee thought this song matched my style, voice, and attitude. He encouraged me to keep working on the songs and master the track, so it became my solo track on the album.
CHENYU: When I first heard “Someone You Loved,” I was attracted by Lewis’s (Capaldi) voice. It was really powerful and unique, so I wanted to try. Honestly, the low tone was a challenge for me, but I got it! It helped me discover my unique style and lower tone.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: You just had your EP release party with over 1,000 fans who showed up, and you all performed at Universal City Walk. So many ‘firsts’ as a group, and a pioneering Chinese group like A2O MAY! What does this mean to you? Any standout fan moments worth shouting out?
KAT: We’re honored to achieve these milestones as a global girl group. Overseas, we truly appreciate the opportunities that Mr. Lee and Mr. Yoo provide for us, as well as our hard work.
Meeting our fans overseas and in China means everything to us; it is our biggest motivation to keep going. At our LA release party and Hollywood City Walk, we really felt the fans’ energy; it was very touching. We want to give a greater performance, do more shows, and hopefully meet our fans all over the world!
QUCHANG: I was really touched seeing a huge crowd of people coming to our release party, just for us. It is totally different from festivals and concerts with other artists. It is super touching for me.
SHIJE: We’re still a new group, but our fans have been incredibly supportive. We’re so grateful for them and plan to keep working hard to bring even more performances and music to our fans in the future.
CHENYU: This year means a lot to us; everything has been a “first.” Our first fan meetings, our first shows… But the most memorable moment for me was walking through Times Square and seeing our visuals on the big screen!
It really made us realize that we’re a global group. It was such a big moment for us — and our beautiful teasers at the beautiful Times Square Line Store made it even more special.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: You’ve experimented with so many genres. What direction does A2O MAY want to head next musically and visually? Any collaborations or concepts?
KAT: We love exploring new sounds, so maybe next time we’ll try something in the Afrobeats or Hip-Hop style. Visually, we’re drawn to cinematic and futuristic concepts. We’d also love to collaborate with global artists like Dua Lipa or 88rising, people who really embrace international sounds and music.
Aside from “BOSS,” we don’t have many rap songs yet, so we’re looking forward to including more in our next album. Our previous releases had a powerful concept, so maybe next time we’ll try something softer, a 2000s or Y2K-inspired vintage vibe.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: For a fun question, can you do your favorite Paparazziri poses?
THE KNOCKTURNAL: With so many successes this year, what’s next for A2O MAY? Personal goals for the year or next year?
SHIJE: Well, we’re planning to hold our own show, like an A2O concert in China, and hopefully globally in the future. It’ll be our very first concert, a special stage just for A2O. It’s not only for us, but also for the A2O ROOKIES, and we’ll be having lots of fan meetings across China, traveling to different cities to meet everyone. We’re really looking forward to it!
At the A2O show, we’ll be bringing new stages, more music, and different performance styles.
MICHE: We’ll also be coming back to the U.S. more often to do more shows. In December, we have Jingle Ball!
QUCHANG: This year, we just made it into the U.S. Top 40 radio chart! Our next goal is to make it onto the Billboard charts and perform on even bigger stages.
THE KNOCKTURNAL: And to wrap things up, is there any message you’d like to share with your fans or new listeners of A2O? It can be in English or Chinese!
KAT: We want to give a big thanks to our MAYnia for all your love and support. We couldn’t have done any of this without you, and we’re so grateful. We’ll continue to work really hard, whether it’s for our current album PAPARAZZI ARRIVE, or for future music, we want to keep growing and showing you who we truly are as A2O MAY!
CHENYU: Thank you so much to all our fans for your support. I hope you can all love yourselves even more!
(In Chinese) Thank you all for your support! That means we’ll be returning to China soon for more activities, and we hope to see everyone more often.
(谢谢大家的支持 也就是说我们会很快回到国内活动的 然后希望也可以跟大家见更多面)
SHIJE: I just want to say a big thank-you to our MAYnia. You’re always our motivation. Even when we feel tired or exhausted, thinking of you gives us warmth and strength to keep going. We have so much we want to show you! Since we’re still a new group, we’re figuring out what A2O’s sound really is, so please keep your eyes on us! We promise to keep bringing you more and more!
(In Chinese) Thank you to our MAYnia for always loving us. We’ve always loved you too, and we’ll continue to work even harder in the future — we won’t let you down.
(谢谢我们的MAYnia一直爱我们,我们也一直爱你们,今后也会更努力,不会让你们失望。)
MICHE: I just want to thank our MAYnia for being on this journey with us. You are our inspiration and motivation; you are the reason we do what we do.
(In Chinese) We sincerely appreciate your ongoing support.
(感谢您一直以来的支持,并感谢您的支持。)
QUCHANG: I also want to thank our MAYnia for always staying with us, even during quiet or breaktime. You’ve always been by our side, and we feel so honored and thankful for your love and support.
(In Chinese) Thank you to our MAYnia for always being with us. Even when we don’t have many activities sometimes, we can still see you supporting us and promoting us behind the scenes. We truly feel so, so honored. Thank you all!
(谢谢明年宝宝们 这个一直陪着我们 哪怕我们有时候就是可能活动没有那么多的时候 还是能看到你们一直在背后支持我们宣传我们 真的感觉到非常非常的荣幸 谢谢大家)
A2O MAY is more than just a pop group; they’re leading a new wave of global music, breaking boundaries and redefining what success looks like, step by step.
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