Pre-debut: Early life and K-pop Star 2 Lee Chan-hyuk (born September 12, 1996) and
Lee Su-hyun (born May 4, 1999) lived with their
missionary parents in Mongolia for five years before returning to South Korea to pursue a career in music. Living an impoverished life, they were
home-schooled, unable to afford education; detesting the idea of studying, they turned to music out of sheer boredom, learning to play the guitar and piano, respectively. Lee Su-hyun, the younger sister, abruptly returned to Korea for a short stay to resolve visa problems; her brother soon followed, deciding to stay. and performed on stages with an original song titled "Galaxy". In August 2012, the duo participated in the preliminary auditions of
K-pop Star 2 (2012–2013) at
Jamsil Arena in Seoul. Eligible to perform in the first round, they sang a cover of
Miss A's "
Breathe" and an original song titled "Don't Cross Your Legs", an instant audience favorite. and the freedom to sign a contract with one of the three largest entertainment agencies in the country:
S.M. Entertainment,
YG Entertainment, or
JYP Entertainment. Following almost two months of contemplation, the siblings signed an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment, believing it was the best place to support their music. Its founder, Yang Hyun-suk, cited the label would not change their unique image or their music style.
2014–2018: Debut, Puberty series, and military enlistment . Akdong Musician debuted with the studio album
Play on April 7, 2014, twelve months after winning
K-pop Star 2 (2012–2013). "Give Love" achieved the highest popularity, peaking at number four and three on the Gaon Digital Chart and the
Billboard K-pop Hot 100, respectively, becoming the third single. while "Melted" peaked at number five and eight, respectively. Both lead singles appeared on the
US World Digital Songs Chart at number 5 and 21, respectively, their first entries on the chart. Entirely written and produced by Lee Chan-hyuk,
Play claimed number one on the
Gaon Album Chart, number two on the
US World Albums Chart, and number twenty on
Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart, nearing a
Billboard 200 entry, an uncommon achievement for a new K-pop act. Following the
Sewol Ferry Incident, all of the sibling's activities were cancelled to share a state of mourning. The duo dedicated their single, "200%", to the victims of the sunken Sewol ferry and their families, and honored its victims by inserting an image of a yellow ribbon in the music video of "Give Love", released on May 2, 2014. Initially created for their debut album, the acoustic-ballad, "Time and Fallen Leaves" (), was held back for the autumn season. Released on October 10, the digital single peaked atop the Gaon Digital Chart in its second week of release, the latest addition of autumnal hits in the country; the single was not accompanied by a music video so the listeners would imagine their own stories. In November 2014, the duo embarked on a nationwide tour commenced in
Seoul, titled "AKMU Camp". in May 2016. Two years since their last album, Akdong Musician returned with their first
EP titled
Spring on May 4, 2016, the first record of the two-part series,
Puberty. It was promoted with two lead singles: "Re-Bye" and "How People Move" (), including the Gaon Digital Chart, with "Re-Bye" becoming a chart-topper.
Billboard named
Spring the fourth best K-pop album of the year, where the record "boast a more theatrical feel to them to show the young duo is growing an exciting pace." To promote the EP, the duo performed at
Seoul Forest on
Children's Day in front of 10,000 people and 100,000 live streamers via
V Live, simultaneously. and toured in Asia, holding showcases at
Taipei,
Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur, and
Shanghai. On
New Year's Day, they released the short film "Spring of Winter", correlating to their second seasonally themed album,
Winter (2017). Two days later, the duo released their
second studio album, the second in a conceptual two-part album series
Puberty. Its lead single, "Last Goodbye" () became the second best-selling song within the first half the year, and the fourth within the entire year. It also became one of twelve songs to surpass 100 million streams in 2017, and was awarded Song of the Year (January) at the 7th
Gaon Chart Music Awards and the Digital Bonsang at the
31st Golden Disc Awards. Its second lead single, "Reality" (), Originally planned for six shows, two more shows were added due to the positive response of fans. Marking their first experimentation in music with
EDM, a challenge initiated to breakfree from the duo's usual acoustic mould, they released their first
single album titled
Summer Episode, on July 20, 2017, fronted by the lead singles "Dinosaur" and "My Darling". Based on the siblings' childhood, the former single peaked at number six on the Gaon Digital Chart, number nine on the US World Digital Song Sales Chart, and received greater attention in the following years, re-entering charts six years after its release.
Summer Episode served as the duo's last release ahead of Lee Chan-hyuk's mandatory military enlistment with the
Republic of Korea Marine Corps on September 18. Voluntarily enlisted early in comparison to other K-pop celebrities, he entered a training center in
Pohang,
North Gyeongsang Province. In this time, he wrote most of
Sailing (2019) while living on a ship over two years during his enlistment, as he was inspired by the new experience. The 22-year-old fulfilled his mandatory military service with the Marine Corps and was discharged on May 29, 2019, thus also simultaneously resuming the activities of Akdong Musician.
2019–2022: Sailing and continued success After a two-year hiatus from the industry, the newly-renamed AKMU decided to permanently use the abridged version of the name, Akdong Musician, referencing a "mischievous child", to avoid feeling constrained in their musical pursuits by its meaning. The duo returned with their third studio album,
Sailing, on September 25, 2019, supported by the lead single "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love" (어떻게 이별까지 사랑하겠어, 널 사랑하는 거지), remained atop their country's
largest streaming platform for over a month, the longest period since the chart's creation, and stayed within its top ten for one year and two months after its release. It sold 2.5 million copies, receiving a platinum certification for download from the
Korea Music Content Association (KMCA), and was certified triple platinum for streaming. The song further won Artist of the Year (September) at the 9th
Gaon Chart Music Awards and the Digital Bonsang at the
34th Golden Disc Awards. Notably, the album marked Su-hyun's first credited contribution to an AKMU song, "Farewell" (), which she arranged. To commemorate the launch of
Sailing, AKMU held a
guerilla stage at
Yeouido Hangang Park on September 29; it gathered over 30,000 people, 7-8 times larger than the size of the venue. Released on November 16, 2020, the digital single "Happening" expanded on the themes of their previous single and stylistically acted as a bridge to AKMU's next studio album. '' in August 2021 Following the end of AKMU's seven-year contract with
YG Entertainment, the duo re-signed with the label for five more years, citing the reliable support and creative freedom as reasons. Their second EP,
Next Episode, was released on July 26, 2021, with the lead single, "Nakka" () featuring
IU. Described as a "collaboration album", it comprises seven songs, each featuring different artists including
Lee Sun-hee,
Beenzino,
Crush,
Sam Kim,
Zion.T, and
Choi Jung-hoon of indie rock band
Jannabi, Inspired by the film
The Greatest Showman (2017), "Nakka" debuted at number three on the Gaon Digital Chart in the issue dated July 31, 2021, and rose to number one the following week, becoming their seventh chart-topping single. The single also peaked atop the
Billboard K-pop Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks. Furthermore,
Next Episode tracks occupied seven spots in the top ten of the Gaon Download Chart, indicating the best-selling singles of the week. "Nakka" received a
platinum certification for streaming by the KMCA, their second certified single since the system's implementation, and later won Best Pop Song at the 19th
Korean Music Awards,
Best Collaboration at the
2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, and the Digital Bonsang at the
36th Golden Disc Awards. All seven songs were released with music videos, each depicting a theme from the seven songs included in the album.
2023-present: Love Lee and independent label Released on August 21, 2023, their digital single,
Love Lee, primarily supported by the titular single of the same name, topped the
Circle Digital Chart (formerly Gaon Digital Chart) for six non-consecutive weeks, and remained at number one on Korea's largest streaming platform for nine consecutive weeks, the longest among all releases that year. "Love Lee" became their first entry on the
Billboard Global 200 and the
Billboard Japan Heatseekers Songs Chart, peaking at number 91 and 4, respectively. Its choreography also garnered interest, with related dance challenges and short-form videos posted on
TikTok amassing over 200 million views. "Love Lee" was later awarded Best Pop Song at the 21st Korea Music Awards, their second trophy in the category, and
Best Vocal Performance Group at the
2023 MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards). Its
B-side "Fry's Dream", found similar success, peaking at number two on the Circle Digital Chart, only behind "Love Lee", and topped the V Coloring Chart, a component chart of the
Circle Chart, for two consecutive months, In commemoration of AKMU's tenth anniversary, the act held a two-day concert titled "10VE" at
KSPO Dome in
Seoul, garnering 21,000 attendees. and served as the third installment of AKMU's
Episode series, following
Summer Episode (2017) and
Next Episode (2021). The EP was praised for its exploration of the universal emotion of love, conveyed through their distinct sensibility and language, and was met with widespread acclaim, securing high positions on Korean music charts. In November 2025, AKMU decided to part ways with YG Entertainment after 12 years and reportedly in talks to establish an independent label. In January 2026, AKMU announced the establishment of their independent label Cemter of Inspiration, with the new label name emphasising its identity as a pure creative space, originally used by member Lee Chan-hyuk for his personal exhibition. On April 7, AKMU released their fourth studio album
Flowering. == Artistry ==