![\"Lee](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-p.v1.20251127.a62f9c6adb0b4df2936cd58f5f1bd3b5_P1.jpg\")
Lee Chan-hyuk (YG Entertainment) <\/p>\n Lee Chan-hyuk (YG Entertainment) <\/p>\n
In South Korea’s highly saturated music scene, similar tunes and repetitive hooks dominate the mainstream, and a song’s popularity is often measured by the size of its singer’s fandom. Lee Chan-hyuk of indie pop band AKMU took a different approach.<\/p>\n
Many K-pop releases tend to place heavy emphasis on photo concepts and universe storylines. But the 29-year-old’s second album “Eros,” released in July, delves into the emotional void and inner turmoil that follow the loss of another person. It extends the thematic arc of his first album “Error,” where he first explored the concept of death.<\/p>\n
In a big swerve from the usual fluffy, performance-driven loud beats, Lee’s album cuts through the noise with a bold mix of genres layered over a distinctly 1980s retro synth-pop base. At first, the songs may not grab listeners the way other K-pop tracks do, but his self-crafted, nine-track album doesn’t just aim to entertain listeners with good visuals. It wants to be heard.<\/p>\n
The album explores love — yes, a familiar theme in music — but goes further, diving into the emotions of emptiness, numbness and the surreal disorientation of youth in a society that pressures you to conform, inviting music listeners to his unique artistic flair. Its reflections linger, resonating long after the music ends.<\/p>\n
Lee’s blending of mainstream and experimental, personal and universal in “Eros” has helped him cement his reputation as one of Korea’s most original artists. Taking a turn from fleeting trends, Lee proved he can carve his own path, and that popular music isn’t just about aesthetics, raising anticipation for what he will bring out next.<\/p>\n
In particular, the album’s side track, “Endangered Love,” has risen to prominence, leaving a bold mark on domestic music charts.<\/p>\n
Rare for a side track, the song sat on No. 26 on Melon, Korea’s biggest music-streaming platform, No. 37 on Genie Music, No. 46 on Naver Vibe and skyrocketed to No. 5 on Bugs.<\/p>\n
The track’s rising fame landed him consecutive Blue Dragon Awards performances. The video of his performance, uploaded on Nov. 19, racked up more than 1.8 million views on YouTube in less than a week, highlighting the song’s soaring popularity.<\/p>\n
Music critic Lim Hee-yun said Lee’s “Endangered Love” is gaining traction because it hits a rare sweet spot between accessibility and artistry.<\/p>\n
“K-pop today has become harder for listeners to enjoy and get into. The music has grown increasingly trend-driven, prioritizing sound design and performance over melody or storytelling, especially among major entertainment agencies and idols. So, listeners who want to genuinely enjoy the music often feel shut out,” Lim told The Korea Herald.<\/p>\n
But “Endangered Love” fits this shift. It’s easy to listen to, with a strong melody and a clear message, making it broadly appealing without losing depth, according to the music critic.<\/p>\n
“As the chorus builds, the melody intensifies, delivering that swell of emotion reminiscent of a group sing-along moment or even the emotional lift of an anime theme song. Yet the track still has a sleek, vibe-driven production. It’s easy to listen to and still stylish,” Lim noted.<\/p>\n
junheee@heraldcorp.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lee Chan-hyuk (YG Entertainment) In South Korea’s highly saturated music scene, similar tunes and repetitive hooks dominate the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[6520,93,61,60,6521,6517,6516,6522,278,6518,6519,6515,6524,6525,6523],"class_list":["post-162534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-asia-news","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-k-pop","tag-koreaherald","tag-korean-news","tag-kpop","tag-music","tag-south-korea-news","tag-south-korea-news-in-english","tag-the-korea-herald","tag-6524","tag-6525","tag-6523"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}