Netizens Baffled By The Ages Of Male Trainees Under Lee Soo Man’s New Label

A2O Entertainment, the new venture of former SM Entertainment CEO Lee Soo Man, recently introduced its seven male trainees through a music video. The members performed a Chinese remake of H.O.T’s hit song “CANDY.”

So far, A2O Entertainment hasn’t divulged much information about its trainees, except that they are divided into four age groups: High Teen Girls (16 and up), Low Teen Girls (15 and under), High Teen Boys (16 and up), and Low Teen Boys (15 and under).

The seven rookies introduced to the world through the “CANDY” music video on November 23, KST, all belonged to the Low Teen Boys group, making them all 15 and under. Though not all of the members’ ages are known to the public, the known ones range from 12 to 15.

While the “CANDY” music video didn’t make any mentions of ages, netizens were taken aback to see how young each of them appeared. While the video went viral on the popular online community, Theqoo, the comments under it reflected the shock most were in to see such young kids in it.

• “I hate this a lot. The kids are too young, and the fact that they made a Chinese version of ‘CANDY.’”
• “They’re really very young, no?”
• “Are they trying to gain popularity among Chinese elementary school students? It has a bit of a mainland 7 Princesses kind of vibe.”
• “They’re way too young, and talking about whether it’s okay for them to be idols or not feels like a crime. I honestly just hope they don’t succeed in Korea for it to become a thing.”
• “[Lee Soo Man] is f*cking consistent with his taste.”
• “Feels like I’m watching my son’s school play… Let’s come back to this in 5 years.”
• “These are babies!”

Meanwhile, Lee Soo Man’s role in producing A2O trainees had received scathing criticism before as well. You can read about it here.