AKMU pulls out all the stops to celebrate decade-long career at '10VE' concert

K-pop

Published: 17 Jun. 2024, 14:37 Updated: 17 Jun. 2024, 16:37

AKMU pulls out all the stops to celebrate decade-long career at '10VE' concert

Sibling duo AKMU celebrates its 10th anniversary of debut at its concert "10VE" held on June 15 and 16 at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul. [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

Picture perfect and pitch perfect — the very definition of a perfect concert took place at southern Seoul's KSPO Dome over the weekend for K-pop's most famous sibling duo AKMU, who celebrated their 10th anniversary with the concert, "10VE."

Fans were treated to a concert of absolute perfection and high-quality acoustic arrangements that gave the cleverly themed performances a musical-like ambience. AKMU's Lee Su-hyun and her angelic voice topped off the 160-minute celebratory concert dedicated to the brother-sister duo's decade of success in the Korean music industry.

Switching from the vibe of musical scenes from "La La Land" (2016) to “Chicago” (1975), the concert took the audience to the moment when AKMU made its first appearance in the local music scene through a television audition program back 12 years ago. "10VE" was a chance for AKMU and its fan club Akkademy to look back on the duo's 10 years of music and the love they shared over the years.

“Our very first album, ‘Play’ (2014), was themed around a mystical fairy living in the deep woods, even though you may not have known it,” Lee Su-hyun, the younger sister and vocalist of the duo, said, welcoming the audience to the concert.

“Today, we take a ride in a time machine to look back on the 10 years we had and also the 10 years with Akkademy.”

Sibling duo AKMU celebrates its 10th anniversary of debut at its concert "10VE" held on June 15 and 16 at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul. [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

“We wanted to make you feel like you’ve come to a picnic so that it’s not just about listening to our music but feeling recharged with love when you leave today,” AKMU songwriter and big brother Lee Chan-hyuk said.

AKMU fully utilized the two-floored setting of the stage to maximize the musical-like theme of the concert, with one side of the stage filled with a hillside-like installation and the other side featuring a live orchestra and band.

In fact, the "hill" opened in the middle of the stage to reveal the two singers clad in clothes from their childhood, enabling the duo to "travel back in time to 10 years ago" when the two singers won the second season of SBS’s audition program “K-pop Star” in 2013, according to AKMU.

“It was 12 years ago when we appeared on ‘K-pop Star’ like this for the first time,” Lee Chan-hyuk said. “We thought that we looked so cute while we were preparing for this. But as sad as it can be, we have to leave it as a memory and send ourselves off with a goodbye."

Sibling duo AKMU celebrates its 10th anniversary of debut at its concert "10VE" held on June 15 and 16 at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul. [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

The two and a half hours were indeed filled with memories of AKMU during its 10-year career, encompassing the best of its songs from its discography, including “Last Goodbye” (2017), “Re-Bye” (2016), “Nakka” (2021), “Dinosaur” (2017), “How can I love the heartbreak, you’re the one I love” (2019) and “200%” (2014).

A special song titled "Remember," which had not been released or revealed prior to the weekend's concerts, was sang by Lee Su-hyun for the first time.

“I sang this song for the first time today,” she said, finishing off the emotional performance of “Remember.” “It was meant to be included on my solo album when my brother started his military service. It was a message to my younger self, and I’m so happy that I got to sing it here today at the 10th anniversary.”

A special guest made an appearance on both days: Lee Hyo-ri on Saturday and IU on Sunday. The two stars each gave their own performances to congratulate the sibling artists on their landmark anniversary.

“AKMU came as guests to my first concert and now I’m here at their 10th-anniversary concert,” IU said. “Time has passed to bring us here today and I feel so overwhelmed with emotions as if they were my own family. They were 16 and 19 years old when I first saw them but now they’ve become one of the biggest artists in the country.”

Sibling duo AKMU celebrates its 10th anniversary of debut at its concert "10VE" held on June 15 and 16 at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul. [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

AKMU began its meteoric career rise by proving that musical talent ran in their DNA when they won the “K-pop Star” audition program under the name Akdong Musician.

In a surprise move after winning the program, AKMU signed with YG Entertainment. At the time, the label managed K-pop acts that were more on the hip-hop side of music, such as boy band Big Bang and girl group 2NE1.

Still, AKMU managed to pave its own path with the agency to become one of the most esteemed musical groups in the Korean pop music scene. The duo has won some of the biggest awards in Korea, including the Korean Music Awards’ Best Pop Album with debut album “Play,” the Song of the Year at the Golden Disc Awards with “Last Goodbye” in 2018 and the Best Vocal Performance Group award at the 2023 MAMA Awards in 2023.

AKMU held a string of events to celebrate its first decade in K-pop, including its third EP "Love Episode" released on June 3. An LP edition of the compilation was released Monday morning.

The duo is set to perform at the Summer Sonic 2024 festival in Japan on Aug. 17.

Sibling duo AKMU celebrates its 10th anniversary of debut at its concert "10VE" held on June 15 and 16 at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul. [YG ENTERTAINMENT]