K-Pop Spotlight: ‘Give Love’ for AKMU!
If you aren’t familiar with the four letters ‘A’ ‘K’ ‘M’ and ‘U’ – you’re seriously missing out. Originally known by the name ‘Akdong Musician’, Lee Chan-Hyuk (18 years old) and Lee Soo-hyun (15 years old) are a brother-sister duo who got their start on K-Pop Star, Season 2 and are currently taking the Korean pop world by storm. They embody a certain ‘neu-kkim’ (느낌= a certain ‘feeling’, something special.. As in, ‘느낌 아니까’= I get the feeling, I know the feeling) and their unique melodies and undeniably catchy lyrics give you that warm and fuzzy feeling inside that no one can resist.
악동뮤지션: Lee Chan-hyuk & Lee Soo-hyun
FUN FACT: Despite the flood of popular Korean artists, groups and idols over the years, it is kind of rare to come across anyone who can honestly take credit for writing an entire album on their own. Well, Lee Chan-Hyuk wrote and produced the entire first album that AKMU released under their label, ‘YG Entertainment’. They deserve a serious round of applause for introducing us to the softer, more honest side to Korean music that hasn’t quite been explored much up until now.
STUDIO ALBUM: Their first studio album, ‘Play’, was released online on April 7th (3,326,063 downloads so far) and a significant number of physical copies were sold after it was released in stores on April 9th. The album is a delightful pop record filled with upbeat, mid-tempo and ballad tracks that are guaranteed to satisfy. The entire album has a lot of love and passion poured into it, and you can feel it in each and every song on the album. It has an organic quality that rarely exists in the music industry on a global scale, so these two are worth checking out.
‘GIVE LOVE’: To get you started, I want to introduce you to their most recent single, as well as a few links to some of their older songs to give you the full scoop on these talented siblings. Their most recent music video, released on May 1st, spreads a powerful yet simple message about ‘giving love’ to the people around you. Releasing this song as their 3rd single was timed well as it helps to bring some hope and closure for those who are suffering and who have been affected by the tragic Sewol Ferry incident. Even though there is still a dark cloud hovering over the people of South Korea, we need to do our part to mend and heal the wounds as time continues to tick along. If you want to do your part, you can share this video on Facebook, Twitter and various other social networking sites to help ‘Give Love’ to the people of South Korea. ♥ http://bit.ly/Skh5W8 Use hashtags #givelove #AKMU & #kimcheemag to ensure I can give you props for doing your part!
‘Give Love’ and show your support! Share this video with friends, family and spread the word. #givelove #AKMU #kimcheemag
Want to check out more AKMU goodness? Here are some links to their most catchy tunes (both new and old):
‘Give Love’
‘200%’
‘얼음들(Melted)‘
‘I love you’
다리 꼬지 마(Don’t Cross Your Legs)
매력있어(You Are Attractive)