AKMU (악뮤), formerly Akdong Musician (악동뮤지션), is a South Korean duo consisting of siblings Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun. Ever since their debut at ages 16 and 13, respectively, AKMU have been lauded for their musical sensibility and emulated traits of a “musical prodigy” and “genius” and quickly established themselves as “true artists”.
In their home country, AKMU is dubbed “The Nation’s Siblings”.
Viral songs of the duo include tracks like “Last Goodbye”, “Time and Fallen Leaves”, “How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love”, “Love-Lee”, and many more.
AKMU’s Biography
- Group name: AKMU (formerly Akdong Musician)
- Debut date: 07/04/2014
- Company: YG Entertainment
- Total member: 2
- Members: Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun
- Fandom name: AKKADEMY (아카데미)
- Instagram: @akmuofficial, @akmu_suhyun (Lee Su-hyun), @leechanhyuk (Lee Chan-hyuk)
Career
In 2012, Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee So-hyun appeared together on the music reality show “K-pop Star 2”, where they garnered significant attention and won 1st place, which led to their signing a contract with YG Entertainment in 2013
Even prior to their debut, the duo have garnered a significant following, with their songs on the show topping Korean charts, various endorsements, and releases of several singles and OSTs..
In 2014, the duo debuted as “Akdong Musician” with their 1st album “Play”, containing 11 tracks. Among those are 3 title tracks, including “Melted” chosen by the duo, “200%” chosen by YG Entertainment, and “Give Love” chosen after a round of fan voting.
Following their debut, the two consistently attained both critical and commercial successes, not only winning prizes at music awards but also holding concerts and tours, as well as filming variety shows under their namesake.
In 2017, however, the duo went on a 2-year hiatus starting in 2017, as Lee Chan-hyuk began his mandatory military enlistment.
In 2019, as Chan-hyuk returned to activities, the duo made the decision to promote as “AKMU” instead of their old stage name “Akdong Musician”.
In 2020, Su-hyun made her solo debut with the digital single “Alien”, while Chan-hyuk later debuted as a soloist in 2022 with the album “Error”.
Discography (not including solo tracks and promotional singles)
Studio albums
- Play (2014)
- Winter (2017)
- Sailing (2019)
Live albums
- AKMU ‘Sailing’ Tour Live (2020)
Mini albums
- Spring (2016)
- Next Episode (2021)
- Love Episode (2024)
Digital singles (not including album singles)
- Time and Fallen Leaves (2014)
- Summer Episode (2017)
- Happening (2020)
OSTs
- “I Love You” – All About My Romance OST Part.3 (2013)
- “Be With You” – Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo OST Part.12″ (2016)
Features & Collabs
- Yang Hee-eun – “The Tree” (2017)
- Mudd the Student – “Dissonance” (2021)
- Zion.T – “V (Peace)” (2023)
Special Information
Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun were born in South Korea, but their father’s missionary work caused the family to move to Mongolia for almost 5 years before returning to South Korea.
In addition, Chan-hyuk composed all of AKMU songs
Controversies
AKMU maintains a rather clean reputation and is particularly favored by the Korean public. There has been a case, however, of AKMU’s Lee Chan-hyuk being criticized after he stayed completely silent without answering any questions from the MCs while appearing on a music show.
