Teen Thai singer RADA steps onto K-pop stage with A2O LITE

Thai singer Rada Kanjanapruk has made her K-pop debut as the only Thai member of A2O LITE, a nine-member girl group whose members come from five countries. At 15, she brings years of vocal training and performance experience to the group, including an early voice role as young Anna in the Thai dub of Frozen 2.

Rada, who performs under the name RADA, was born on 11 April 2011. Her group released its debut single, NEON, on 13 October, after introducing the members at a showcase in Goyang, South Korea. A2O LITE is one of two new groups launched by A2O Entertainment, founded by former SM Entertainment chief Lee Soo-man.

For Rada, the move to Korea follows years of musical training and performance. In 2021, when she was 10, she won first place in the Young Singers classical category at the American Protégé International Vocal Competition. Khaosod (Thai) reported at the time that she was invited to perform at the competition’s winners’ recital at Carnegie Hall in New York. She also received a Platinum Trophy Award at the 1st Bangkok Classical Music Festival in July 2019.

Her voice work as young Anna in the Thai-language version of Frozen 2 gave her another early credit. Rada is also a pianist and says she began singing lessons at age four. A2O LITE profiles describe her as the group’s main vocalist.

Rada is the group’s sole Thai member. The other eight members are from South Korea, China and Japan, alongside Oa, who is a Japanese-American. The multinational lineup places Rada among a growing number of Thai performers entering K-pop, while her classical competition experience and work in Thai-language dubbing give her a distinctive path into the industry.

NEON quickly drew attention in South Korea: it reached No. 1 on Melon’s Top 100 chart about 29 hours after its release, before dropping to 6th place the following morning. The early chart result gives A2O LITE a high-profile start as Rada begins her career with the group.