Akdong Musician

Akdong Musician

L-R: Lee Chanhyuk, Lee Suhyun
Background information
Also known as AKMU, "Nation's Siblings"
Origin Uijeongbu, South Korea
Genres
Years active 2012 (2012)–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website www.yg-akmu.com
Members
  • Lee Chanhyuk
  • Lee Suhyun
Korean name
Hangul 악동뮤지션
Hanja 樂童音樂家[2][3][4]
Literal meaning Mischievous Child Musician[5]
Revised Romanization Akdong Myujisyeon
McCune–Reischauer Aktong Myuchisyŏn

Akdong Musician (Korean: 악동뮤지션, also known as AKMU) is a South Korean duo debuted under YG Entertainment, consisting of siblings Lee Chanhyuk and Lee Suhyun. They won the second installment of the K-pop Star series.[6]

Songs from the group's 2014 debut album Play have more than 6.1 million total downloads.[7]

History

2012-2013: K-pop Star 2

Lee Chanhyuk and Lee Suhyun lived with their parents in Mongolia for almost two years before they returned to South Korea to pursue a career in the music industry.[3][8][9] The siblings, under the name Akdong Musician, became part of the Proteurment agency.[10] Under the company, they did several stage performances and even released an original song called "Galaxy", which was later used as a soundtrack for a Samsung Galaxy S4 commercial.[11]

In August 2012,[12] the duo participated in the preliminary auditions of K-pop Star 2, which were held at Jamsil Arena in Seoul.[9] They passed their audition, and in the show's first round they sang a cover of Miss A's "Breathe" and an original song titled "Don't Cross Your Legs",[3] to praise from all three judges. Park Jin-young, founder and CEO of JYP Entertainment, praised the chemistry between the siblings and the techniques they had incorporated in their performances. Singer and representative of SM Entertainment BoA highlighted and praised the lyrics of their original song, while Yang Hyun-suk, founder and CEO of YG Entertainment, described them as "true artists" among the people who had auditioned for the show.[13] The duo continued to receive positive responses from the judges,[14][15][16] until after their second performance in the third round.[17][18] The judges pointed out that their lack of confidence was the main reason behind their lukewarm performances in the succeeding rounds.[19][20] In spite of this, they eventually won the competition.[6][21]

Some of their original songs performed during the competition were released under LOEN Entertainment and were well received;[9][22] "You are Attractive", released on 12 December, immediately reached the number one spot on the Gaon Charts.[23] After the competition, despite not being signed under an entertainment agency, they participated in commercials and composed several songs. One of these songs was "I Love You" for the television series All About My Romance.[11][24]

On 24 May 2013, a month after winning K-pop Star 2, the siblings signed an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment.[25][26]

2014: Debut under YG Entertainment and Play

Akdong Musician's debut album, Play, was released digitally on 7 April, and physically on 9 April, nine months after winning K-pop Star 2.[27] The album has eleven songs, all written and produced by Lee Chanhyuk.[28] It has a total of three title tracks accompanied by three different music videos, with the third title song determined by fan voting. The first song, "200%", was chosen by Yang Hyun-suk, and the second song, "Melted", was chosen by Akdong Musician.[29] The album debuted at number two on Billboard's U.S. World Albums Chart.[30] Akdong Musician's debut stage was on K-pop Star 3 on 6 April.[8]

The music video for "200%" was released on 7 April along with the digital album. Shortly after its release, "200%", topped the music charts, with the rest of the songs on the album also charting high.[8][31] The music video for "Melted" was released on 14 April. The last and third title song was "Give Love", which was the third high-charting song, after "200%" and "Melted". The music video for "Give Love" was released on 2 May.

On 16 June, Akdong Musician participated in YG Family's cover project, releasing a cover of Taeyang's "Eyes, Nose, Lips".[32]

Akdong Musician's first live concert tour, called "AKMU Camp", took place on 21–23 November at Blue Square Samsung Card Hall, Hannam-dong, Seoul.[33]

On 10 October, Akdong Musician released a digital single, "Time and Fallen Leaves" (Hangul: 시간과 낙엽; RR: Sigan-gwa Nagyeop), written and composed by Lee Chanhyuk.[34] It was originally going to be the title track of Play, but was held back for an October release because it suited the autumn season better.[35][36] The song made an "all-kill" two consecutive days after release by ranking number 1 on nine major real-time music charts.[37][38] It also ranked number 1 on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart the second week of release. The song was not given a music video so the listeners would imagine their own stories.[39]

On 5 November, it was revealed that Suhyun would be a part of the YG Family sub-unit "Hi Suhyun" with Lee Hi.[40] Their debut single, "I'm Different" (Korean: 나는 달라), was released digitally on 11 November.[41]

2015: Woori Card Collaboration

On October 9, Akdong Musician released the song "Like Ga, Na, Da" (가나다같이)" along with a special video in celebration of Korea's "Hangul Day". The song is a joint production from YG Entertainment and Woori Card as part of an official Hangul Day campaign.[42]

2016: Comeback with 2nd Mini-Album

On April 25, Akdong Musician confirmed their May 4th comeback with their mini-album, titled Spring Vol.1 (思春記上). They will release two singles to support the mini-album.[43] On April 26, Akdong Musician released a short art film to tease their comeback. It starts out playful in a fantasy like world until things begin to take a turn for a somewhat dark and creepy ending that gives the feeling of an "Uncanny Valley" effect. It was announced that Chanhyuk will enlist in the military right after the comeback.[44]

Members

Akdong Musician has two members.

Tour

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak
positions		 Sales
KOR
[46]		 US
Heat
[47]		 US
World
[47]
Play 3 20 2 KOR: 35,583[48]

Extended plays

Title Album details Peak
positions		 Sales
KOR
[49]		 US
Heat
[47]		 US
World
[47]
Spring
  • Released: May 4, 2016
  • Label: YG Entertainment, KT Music
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 To be released

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR
Gaon
[22]		 KOR
Billboard
[50]
2014 "200%" 1 1
  • KOR: 1,436,302+ [51]
Play
"Give Love" 4 3
  • KOR: 1,068,882+ [51]
"Melted" (얼음들) 5 8
"Time and Fallen Leaves" (시간과 낙엽) 1 N/A Non-album single
2016 "Re-Bye" To be released Spring Vol.1
"How People Move" To be released

Other charted songs

Year Title Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR
Gaon
[22]		 KOR
Billboard
[50]
2012 "Don't Cross Your Legs" (다리꼬지마) 2 2
  • KOR: 1,241,714+ [52]
K-pop Star Season 2: Don't Cross Your Legs
"You are Attractive" (매력있어) 1 2
  • KOR: 1,036,964+ [53]
K-pop Star Season 2: You are Attractive
2013 "Is It Ramen?" (라면인건가) 3 2 K-pop Star Season 2 Top 10 Part 1
"Crescendo" 1 2
  • KOR: 1,278,263+ [55]
K-pop Star Season 2 Top 6
"Love in the Milky Way Cafe" 11 14
  • KOR: --
 K-pop Star Season 2 Top 4
"Foreigner's Confession" (외국인의 고백) 4 6 K-pop Star Season 2 Top 3 Part 2
"Officially Missing You" 11 11
  • KOR: 580,075+(DL)
 K-pop Star Season 2 Top 2 Special
"I Love You" 3 3
  • KOR: 1,131,136+ [57]
All About My Romance OST Part 3
"Bean Ice Flakes with Rice Cake"[nb 1] 4 2 Bean Ice Flakes with Rice Cake
2014
"Artificial Grass" (인공잔디) 7 12 Play
"On The Subway" (지하철에서) 8 15
"Little Star" (작은별) 9 13
"Don't Hate Me" (안녕) 10 21
  • KOR: 323,101+
"Galaxy" 11 20
  • KOR: 336,140+
"Anyway" (길이나) 12 22
  • KOR: 329,603+
"Hair Part" (가르마) 13 26
  • KOR: 297,270+
"Idea" (소재) 14 31
  • KOR: 279,481+

Awards and nominations

2014 Bugs Awards

Year Category Recipient Result
2014[62] Top 10 Song "200%" Won
Top 10 Album Play Won
Song of The Year "200%" Nominated
Album of The Year Play Nominated
Rookie of The Year Akdong Musician Won

Mnet Asian Music Awards

Year Category Recipient Result
2014 Best New Artist[63] Akdong Musician Nominated
Artist of the Year[63] Nominated

Golden Disk Awards

Year Category Recipient Result
2015 Disk Bonsang Play Nominated
Digital Bonsang "200%" Nominated
New Artist Award Akdong Musician Nominated

Cyworld Digital Music Awards

Year Category Recipient Result
2012 Rookie Of The Month – December[64] "You are Attractive" (매력있어) Won

MelOn Music Awards

Year Category Recipient Result
2013 OST Award "I Love You" Nominated
2014
[65]		 Top 10 Artists Akdong Musician Won
Artist of the Year Nominated
Album of the Year Play Nominated
Song of the Year "200%" Nominated
Folk Song Won

Naver Yearly Ranking 2014

Year Category Recipient Result
2014 Top 10 Album Play Won
Top 10 Song "200%" Won

Korean Music Awards

Year Category Recipient Result
2014 Rookie of the Year Akdong Musician Nominated
Best Pop Album Play Won
Best Pop Song "Melted" Nominated
Netizens' Choice: Artist of the Year Akdong Musician Nominated

Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards

Year Category Recipient Result
2014 Best Song of April "200%" Won

World Music Awards

Year Category Recipient Result
2014 World's Best Song "200%" Nominated
"Give Love" Nominated
"Melted" Nominated

SBS Awards Festival

Year Category Recipient Result
2014 Top 10 Artist Akdong Musician Won

Music programs

M! Countdown

Year Date Song
2014 17 April "200%"
24 April
1 May

Inkigayo

Year Date Song
2014 20 April "200%"
27 April
4 May

Notes

  1. ↑ English translation of the song is provided by Billboard Charts.

References

  1. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (11 September 2014). "Akdong Musician: 21 Under 21 (2014)". Billboard.com. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 梁铉锡：乐童音乐家出道专辑中未有合作曲 随心所欲地做音乐(采访) (in Chinese). yg-life.com. 2014-03-31.
  3. 1 2 3 "Episode 1". K-pop Star 2 (in Korean). 18 November 2012. SBS.
  4. ↑ 우정공무원교육원, 악동뮤지션 초청 음악회 개최 (in Korean). Acrofan. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Seo Byoung-gi (14 April 2013). "The real meaning of the birth of ‘K Pop Star 2’ Akdong Musician". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 Kang, Seon-ae (7 April 2013). "'K팝스타2' 악동뮤지션, 방예담 누르고 최종 우승" (in Korean). Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Gaon Download Chart – For the Year 2014". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Woo, Jaeyeon (8 April 2014). "Akdong Musician Soar to Top the Charts With ‘Play’". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Park, Soo-jin (26 March 2013). 가요계 흔드는 ‘악동 뮤지션’... "우리가 부르면 인기 검색어가 바뀐다" (in Korean). The Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Park, Jun-yong (15 May 2013). 악동뮤지션 소속사는 아니지만 우리도 공연해요 (in Korean). OhmyNews. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  11. 1 2 악동뮤지션 귀국, 양현석-박진영-보아 '그들의 선택은?' (in Korean). 9 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  12. ↑ Yoon, Sang-geun (3 August 2012). "'K팝★ 시즌2', 국내오디션 돌입..제2의 박지민은?" (in Korean). StarNews. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  13. ↑ Kang, Seon-ae (19 November 2012). 양현석 예언 적중, '다리꼬지마' 가사 어떻길래? (in Korean). SBS & SBS Contents Hub. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  14. ↑ 악동뮤지션 '매력 있어' 관심 폭발 "매력학과 전공했나" (in Korean). SBS & SBS Contents Hub. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 "Episode 4". K-pop Star 2 (in Korean). 9 December 2012. SBS.
  16. 1 2 "Episode 7". K-pop Star 2 (in Korean). 30 December 2012. SBS.
  17. ↑ "Episode 11". K-pop Star 2 (in Korean). 27 January 2013. SBS.
  18. ↑ "Episode 13". K-pop Star 2 (in Korean). 10 February 2013. SBS.
  19. ↑ 악동뮤지션 못나니 무대에 최초 혹평, 원래는 어땠기에? (in Korean). SBS & SBS Contents Hub. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  20. ↑ "Episode 10". K-pop Star 2 (in Korean). 20 January 2013. SBS.
  21. ↑ Kim, Jae-yun (10 February 2013). "[K팝] 악동뮤지션, 6번째 자작곡 선보이며 ‘절치부심’" (in Korean). SBS & SBS Contents Hub. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 "Gaon Singles Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  23. ↑ "'K팝스타2' 악동뮤지션 ‘매력있어’, 음원 공개 직후 ‘실시간 1위’" (in Korean). SBS & SBS Contents Hub. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  24. ↑ "'YG행' 악동뮤지션, 이틀째 음원차트 석권 '돌풍'" (in Korean). JCube Interactive Inc. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  25. ↑ "악동뮤지션 YG행 "이하이 이어 양현석 품으로"...이유 들어보니". SBS CNBC (in Korean). SBS Contents Hub & SBS Business Network. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  26. ↑ Kim JiYeon; Lee, Nancy (24 May 2013). "Akdong Musician Signs With YG Entertainment". CJ E&M enewsWorld. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  27. ↑ Yang Hyun Suk CEO (31 March 2014). "NEWS ABOUT AKDONG MUSICIAN". YG Life Blog. yg-life. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "악동 뮤지션 데뷔, 'K팝스타3'에서 데뷔 무대 "전곡을 직접 프로듀싱" 기대만발" [Akdong Musician Debuts with all the songs they produced by Live Performance in "K-POP STAR 3"] (in Korean). Chosun.com. 31 March 2014.
  29. ↑ http://www.yg-life.com/archives/30788?lang=en
  30. ↑ Chung, Ah-young. "AKMU's album ranks second on Billboard". THE KOREA TIMES. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  31. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (22 April 2014). "Akdong Musician Rules K-Pop Hot 100 With Debut Album 'Play'". Billboard K-Town. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  32. ↑ Hong, Grace Danbi (17 June 2014). "Akdong Musician Delivers a Beautiful Cover of Big Bang Taeyang’s ‘Eyes, Nose, Lips’". CJ E&M enewsWorld. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  33. ↑ "AKMU holds first exclusive concert". YG Life (YG Entertainment). 9 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  34. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (9 October 2014). "Akdong Musician Drop Stunning, String-Laden 'Time and Fallen Leaves' Single". Billboard K-Town. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  35. ↑ "YANG, "No M/V for AKMU’s new song: A deliberate plan" [Interview]". YG Life (YG Entertainment). October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  36. ↑ "AKMU holds first exclusive concert". YG Life (YG Entertainment). October 9, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  37. ↑ Ahn Sung-mi (October 10, 2014). "Akdong Musician makes chart-topping comeback". The Korea Herald. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  38. ↑ Ock Hyun-ju (October 12, 2014). "Akdong Musician tops music charts for 3rd day". K-Pop Herald. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  39. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (October 9, 2014). "Akdong Musician Drop Stunning, String-Laden 'Time and Fallen Leaves' Single". Billboard K-Town. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  40. ↑ Hong, Grace Danbi (5 November 2014). "YG Unveils AKMU′s Lee Suhyun as Final Member of New Unit Group, Hi Suhyun". enewsWorld (CJ E&M). Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  41. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (19 November 2014). "Lee Hi & Akdong Musician's Suhyun Say 'I'm Different' on Brassy Collaboration". Billboard K-Town. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  42. ↑ Kim, Ga-yeong. "악동뮤지션, 한글날 ‘가나다같이’ 음원 깜짝 공개". TV Report. TV Report. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  43. ↑ "AKMU confirmed double title tracks for new mini-album… To be released on May 4 at 0 o’clock". April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  44. ↑ "AKMU To Comeback In April And Chanhyuk To Enlist Right After". March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  45. ↑ 악동뮤지션 > 인기차트. Daum (in Korean). Daum Communications. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  46. ↑
  47. 1 2 3 4 "Akdong Musician: 21 Under 21 (2014)". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Gaon Album Chart - 2014" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  49. ↑
  50. 1 2 "Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  51. 1 2 3 4 Sales references for "200%":
  52. ↑ Sales references for "Don't Cross Your Legs":
  53. ↑ Sales references for "You are Attractive":
  54. ↑ Sales references for "Is It Ramen?":
  55. ↑ Sales references for "Crescendo":
  56. ↑ Sales references for "Foreigner's Confession":
  57. ↑ Sales references for "I Love You":
  58. ↑ Sales references for "Bean Ice Flakes with Rice Cake":
  59. ↑ Sales references for "Artificial Grass":
  60. ↑ Sales references for "On The Subway":
  61. ↑ Sales references for "Little Star":
  62. ↑ "2014 Bugs Awards Winners and Nominees". Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  63. 1 2 "MAMA vote 2014". Mwave. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  64. ↑ "The Winners Of 2012 Rookie Of The Month". Cyworld BGM (in Korean). Cyworld. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  65. ↑ "2014 MelOn Music Awards". MelOn. LOEN Entertainment. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

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