Love Lee

"Love Lee" is a song by South Korean duo AKMU from their third EP Love Episode.^[1] It was released as a single alongside its B-side "Fry's Dream" on August 21, 2023, by YG Entertainment. The song is the duo's first music in about two years since their extended play Next Episode (2021). "Love Lee" debuted at number one on the Circle Digital Chart, the group's eighth number-one single. It stayed atop the chart for six non consecutive weeks.^[2]

"Love Lee"
Single by AKMU
from the EP Love Episode
Language	Korean
B-side	"Fry's Dream"
Released	August 21, 2023
Studio	YG (Seoul)
Genre	Folk dance
Length	2:59
Label	YG
Composer(s)	Lee Chan-hyuk Millennium Sihwang
Lyricist(s)	Lee Chan-hyuk
Producer(s)	Lee Chan-hyuk
AKMU singles chronology
"Nakka" (2021) "Love Lee" (2023) "Hero" (2024)
Music video
"Love Lee" on YouTube

Background and composition

On August 9, 2023, YG Entertainment uploaded a short video titled "AKMU Is Coming", announcing their new music to be released on the 21st. The video depicts a fresh pink city unfolding on a mobile phone screen. Su-hyun, portrayed as a Cupid character, approached the place where Chan-hyuk was, and the line continued in the shape of a heart.^[3] The next day, the duo revealed the poster of the siblings wearing colorful costumes and balaclava, staring into the lens, and unveiling the new single titled "Love Lee".^[4][5] First performed at their 2014 concert tour AKMU Camp, "Fry's Dream" was also included on the single as B-side due to the duo's fan requests.^[6]

AKMU introduced the single "Love Lee" at a press conference held in Seoul on August 21, the release date. According to Chan-hyuk, the song's main composer and sole lyricist, the song "Love Lee" can be seen as the "second edition" of the duo's debut single, "200%": "With '200%,' We sang with a naivety, unaware of what the public wanted from us. We put ourselves out there and sang what we wanted with confidence. Since then, we've explored different genres, and now I think we know a tad better about what people expect from us. 'Love Lee' is a song that we wrote as a gift for them."^[7] Musically, "Love Lee" combines the duo's vocals against a backdrop of "acoustic tones and rhythmic drums". Its title is a portmanteau of the word "lovely" and the siblings' last name "Lee". The B-side "Fry's Dream" features instrumentation from a synthesizer with lyrics "personifying fried eggs".^[8]

Music video and promotion

An accompanying music video for "Love Lee" premiered on August 21, 2023, in conjunction with the single release, preceded by one teaser.^[9] The music video depicts Su-hyun as Cupid helping Chan-hyuk to propose marriage.^[10] AKMU performed the song at several music shows: M Countdown,^[11] Show! Music Core,^[12] Inkigayo,^[13] and The Seasons.^[14]

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Love Lee"

Ceremony	Year	Award	Result	Ref.
MAMA Awards	2023	Song of the Year	Longlisted	[15]
		Best Vocal Performance Group	Won	[16]

Music program awards for "Love Lee"

Program	Date	Ref.
Show! Music Core	September 16, 2023	[17]
	September 23, 2023	[18]
Inkigayo	September 17, 2023	[19]
	October 15, 2023	[20]
	October 22, 2023	[21]

Year-end lists for ""

Critic/Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Grammy	15 K-Pop Songs That Took 2023 By Storm	N/A	[22]

Track listing

All track are written lyrics and produced by Lee Chan-hyuk.

"Love Lee" track listing

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Love Lee"	Lee Chan-hyuk Millennium Sihwang	2:59
2.	"Fry's Dream" (후라이의 꿈)	Lee Rovin	3:24
Total length:			6:24

Credits and personnel

Personnel

• Lee Chan-hyuk – vocals, lyrics, composition, producer
• Lee Su-hyun – vocals
• Millennium – composition
• Sihwang – composition
• Lee Kyung-joon – recording
• Shin Sung-kwon – recording
• Lee Ji-hun – recording
• Bang Dae-hyung – recording
• Nam Jung-woo – recording
• Jason Roberts – mixing
• Chris Gehringer – mastering

Locations

• YG Studio (Seoul) – recording
• TheLab (Los Angeles, CA) – mixing
• Sterling Sound (New York City, NY) – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Love Lee" Chart (2023) Peak position Global 200 (Billboard)[23] 91 Japan Heatseekers (Billboard Japan)[24] 4 Japan Streaming (Billboard Japan)[25] 99 South Korea (Circle)[26] 1

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for "Love Lee" Chart (2023) Position South Korea (Circle)[27] 1 Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Love Lee" Chart (2023) Position South Korea (Circle)[28] 32

References

1. Kim, Se-hee (May 28, 2024). "악뮤, 미니 3집 트랙리스트 공개…타이틀 곡 '히어로'". BridgeEconomy (in Korean). Retrieved May 28, 2024.
2. Kim, Ki-joo (October 12, 2023). "악뮤(AKMU), 9월 음원 시장 싹쓸이...써클차트·멜론·지니·벅스 등 1위 차지". News Culture (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
3. Kim, Do-gon (August 9, 2023). "AKMU, 8월 21일 컴백 확정[공식]". Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
4. Pyo, Kyung-min (August 22, 2023). "AKMU returns to spotlight with 'Love Lee'". The Korea Times. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
5. Lee, Mi-young (August 10, 2023). "'컴백' 악뮤, 타이틀곡은 'Love Lee'…복면 쓴 러블리 남매". Joynews24 (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
6. Kim, Jin-seok (August 14, 2023). "악뮤, 2014년 미발매곡 '후라이의 꿈' 새 싱글 수록". JTBC (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
7. Choi, Ji-won (August 21, 2023). "AKMU returns with new single 'Love Lee'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
8. Pyo, Kyung-min (August 22, 2023). "AKMU returns to spotlight with 'Love Lee'". The Korea Times. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
9. Kim, Jin-seok (August 17, 2023). "악뮤, 타이틀곡 '러브 리' MV 티저 최초 공개". TV Daily (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
10. Jeong, Hyeon-tae (August 21, 2023). "AKMU, 이찬혁 실험 STOP! 이수현·대중 좋아하는 10년 전으로 돌아가 RESTART! [정현태의 뉴송왔송]". TV Report (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
11. Jin, Joo-hee (August 24, 2023). "'엠카' 뷔, 스테이씨 제치고 1위...악뮤 'Love Lee' 무대 최초 공개 [MK★TV픽]". MK Sports (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
12. Lee, Ha-na (August 26, 2023). "'음악중심' BTS 정국 출연없이 1위, 유노윤호 컴백→지효 솔로 데뷔[종합]". Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
13. Kim, Na-yeon (August 27, 2023). "'인기가요' 뉴진스가 뉴진스 이겼다..막방까지 1위 행진 [종합]". StarNews (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
14. Lee, Seong-mi (September 2, 2023). "'더 시즌즈-악뮤의 오날오밤', 이적ㆍ비비ㆍ250ㆍ이성경 "감성+재미 다 잡았다"". BizEnter (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
15. Grein, Paul (October 25, 2023). "Jimin & Tomorrow X Together Lead Nominations for 2023 MAMA Awards (Full List)". Billboard. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
16. Lee, Ki-eun (November 29, 2023). "'MAMA 2023' 뉴진스·세븐틴·BTS, 올해의 대상 [종합]". TV Daily (in Korean). Retrieved November 29, 2023.
17. Lee, Ha-na (September 16, 2023). "'음악중심' 악뮤 출연없이 1위, 키·크래비티 컴백→엘즈업 데뷔[종합]". Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
18. Kim, Ha-young (September 23, 2023). "'음중' 악뮤, 전소미·키 제치고 1위 등극". Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
19. Seo, Ji-hyun (September 17, 2023). "'인기가요' 악뮤, 출연 없이 뉴진스·라이즈 꺾고 1위 [TV캡처]". Sports Today (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
20. Jeong, Won-hee (October 15, 2023). "악뮤, 정국 꺾고 '인기가요' 1위 차지". Celuv Media (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
21. Kang, Seo-jeong (October 22, 2023). "악뮤, '인기가요' 1위 3관왕 '트리플크라운'..선미→킹덤 강렬 컴백[종합]". Osen (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
22. Assis, Tássia (December 21, 2023). "15 K-Pop Songs That Took 2023 By Storm: From Seventeen's "Super (손오공)" to NewJeans' "Super Shy"". grammy.com. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
23. "Billboard Global 200: Week of October 7, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
24. "Billboard Japan Heatseekers Songs – Week of October 11, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
25. "Billboard Japan Streaming Songs – Week of October 11, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 25, 2023.
26. "Digital Chart – Week 36 of 2023". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved October 19, 2023.
27. "Digital Chart – September 2023". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved October 18, 2023.
28. "Digital Chart 2023". Circle Chart. Retrieved January 12, 2024.