I can’t get enough of kpop pair Akdong Musician for their cute, feel good pop music. I’ve been playing their songs Give Love and 200% nonstop since November. Akdong means mischievous child in Korean and I think it’s a cute name for the young pair who are only seventeen and fifteen years old. Akdong Musican consists of sibling duo Chanhyuk (17) and Suhyun (15). Suhyun recently collaborated with Lee Hi in a song called I’m Different which I wrote about last year.
The pair got their start after winning Kpop Star which is a
reality singing contest like American idol. They signed onto YG Entertainment,
a prestigious entertainment agency and launched their first album Play last
year. What is unique about their situation is that Chanhyuk wrote all the songs
and produced the music for the album.
Most Korean pop stars are manufactured artists. They are
selected at a young age for their looks and talent and spend years training
with their company until they debut. The talent agency decides whether to form
the young people into groups or as solo artists. Some debut earlier than others
which is decided by the company. The artists usually don’t have much influence
in the decision making process, which means that most don’t write their own
music until they are more established artists. So, AKMU are fortunate that they
were given creative freedom.
The songs that I am showcasing today are my favourite AKMU
songs.
200% is Akdong Musician’s debut song. In the video clip,
Suhyun chases after a boy she has a crush on and the storyline continues in
their next song, Give Love.
In Give Love, Suhyun tries to compete for the affections of
a boy and has a rival to his love. However, that rival is revealed not to be a
rival at all but the boy’s sister.
