MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / K-POP NEWS

AKMU 'Next Episode': Release date and how to listen to Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun's collab

AKMU to release 'Next Episode' a collaborative album with a different artist being featured on each track

AKMU is a musical duo consisting of siblings Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun. They debuted in 2014 under YG Entertainment and have gone on to win Bonsang (major prize) and other awards at reputable award shows like Golden Disc Awards and MelOn Music Awards. Their debut album was also at #2 on Billboard’s World Albums Chart. We last saw them with the single ‘Happening’ which was released in 2020. ‘Next Episode’ is their first release of 2021.

‘Next Episode’ is AKMU’s fourth full album and is their first album in 2 years. It is a collaborative project with each of the tracks featuring a new artist. The title track features none other than IU. Back in 2020 itself, Chan-hyuk had hinted that ‘Happening’ was a sort of prelude to their next comeback. Hours before their release, the duo was trending on MelOn at #1. They will also be appearing on 'Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook' to perform live along with one of their collaborators, Zion.T.

READ MORE
EXO's D.O. 'Empathy': Release date and how to listen to multilingual solo debut album

Red Velvet teases comeback with archive project, fans call them 'concept queens'

Date and time

The album ‘Next Episode’ as well as the music video for the title track, ‘NAKKA’ (Fall) featuring IU will be released on July 26 at 6 pm KST (5 am ET).

Where to watch and listen

The music video will be available on AKMU’s official YouTube channel. The album will be available on all major music streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, MelOn and more.

Tracklist

1. 'Hey kid, Close your eyes' ft Lee Sun-hee
2. 'NAKKA' ft IU - Title track
3. 'BENCH' ft Zion.T
4. 'Tick Tick Tick' ft Beenzino
5. 'Fight' ft Choi Jung-hoon of Jannabi
6. 'Stupid love song' ft Crush
7. 'EVEREST' ft Sam Kim

Chan-hyuk was involved in the making of all seven tracks. Beenzino wrote some of the lyrics for ‘Tick Tick Tick’. It should also be noted that Crush recorded the track ‘Stupid love song’ before enlisting for his mandatory military service.

Teasers and music video

YG Entertainment has announced that all of the tracks will have their own music video. They also released the lyrics for ‘NAKKA’ which is especially relevant in today’s time as it talks about the promise of staying with the other during harsh times without paying any heed to what other people think. It was written with the film ‘The Greatest Showman’ as inspiration. The teaser images are retro yet fun with bizarre insets of sheep and an upside-down chair.

AKMU released a video trailer last week to give us a sneak peek into what to expect from this album.

They then also dropped a music video for their pre-release single ‘Hey kid, Close your eyes’ featuring Lee Sun-hee.

Finally, they released a teaser of the title track’s music video ‘NAKKA’.

Watch the music video for 'NAKKA' below.

‘Song of the year’

One fan tweeted, “Akmu always have the coolest concepts and amazing aesthetics.” Another fan tweeted, “SONG OF THE YEAR.” One tweeted, “IT'S D-DAY!!! i just woke up and i can't stop thinking about akmu comeback asdjdmdjdkkl i've been busy lately but will surely make time for today.” Another tweeted, “AKMU's press photos for their comeback today! They look good in white aaaaaa.” One tweeted, “Akmu: the best duo, the best siblings.” Another tweeted, “So I'm look forward to what kind of sound AKMU's upcoming album will bring.”