Play (AKMU album)

Play (stylized in all caps) is the debut studio album by South Korean brother-sister duo, AKMU, and their first release since winning K-pop Star 2 in 2012. It was released through YG Entertainment on April 7, 2014.

Play
Digital edition cover
Studio album by AKMU
Released	April 7, 2014 (2014-04-07)
Recorded	2013–2014
Studio	YG (Seoul)
Genre	K-pop folk-pop[1]
Length	38:17
Language	Korean
Label	YG KT
Producer	Lee Chan-hyuk
AKMU chronology
Play (2014) Spring (2016)
Singles from Play
"200%" Released: April 7, 2014 "Melted" Released: April 14, 2014 "Give Love" Released: May 2, 2014
Alternative cover
Physical edition

Background

On March 31, 2014, YG Entertainment revealed the first teaser picture.^[2] On April 1, the second teaser picture was revealed, followed by the album's track list^[3] on April 2.

Composition

Lee Chan-hyuk produced and wrote all the songs on the Play album. YG Entertainment's CEO Yang Hyun-suk explained,

"Up to now, I was in charge of producing albums for many singers. However, Akdong Musician's was the hardest for me. The musical genres I had mainly worked with were hip hop and R&B. However, Akdong Musician's genre is folk. It was a genre I have never tried before, so it was only right that they did it themselves. The two members of Akdong Musician debuted at an extremely young age. This year, Chan-hyuk will be 18 and Su-hyun will be 15. Because they are so young, if I were to order them to do this and that, their purity could get ruined. I decided it might actually be much more effective if the siblings personally [produced] it. As you can see by the results, this was verified after the album came out.^[4]

Promotion and release

The album was digitally released on April 7, 2014. The album, consisting of 11 songs, was released worldwide through iTunes, Melon, Genie, and other online music portals. The physical album hit stores on April 9. The group's first stage comeback was on K-pop Star 3 on April 6. "200%" and "Melted" had been chosen directly as the title tracks, and the third title track, "Give Love", was chosen on April 14 after a round of fan voting.^{[citation needed]}

Accolades

In 2024, EBS named Play one of the 100 best Korean popular music albums since 2004.^[5]

Music program awards for "200%"

Program	Date	Ref.
M! Countdown	April 17, 2014	[6]
	April 24, 2014	[7]
	May 1, 2014	[8]
Show! Music Core	April 19, 2014	[9]
	April 26, 2014
	May 3, 2014
	May 10, 2014
Inkigayo	April 20, 2014	[10]
	April 27, 2014	[11]
	May 4, 2014	[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lee Chan-hyuk.

No.	Title	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Give Love"	Seogi Shin Seung-ik	2:56
2.	"200%"	Rovin Lee Chan-hyuk	3:13
3.	"Melted" (얼음들[a])	Rovin	3:55
4.	"On the Subway" (지하철에서[b])	Rovin Lee Chan-hyuk	3:41
5.	"Hair Part" (가르마[c])	Rovin	3:46
6.	"Artificial Grass" (인공잔디[d])	Rovin	3:45
7.	"Don't Hate Me" (안녕[e])	Philtre	3:47
8.	"Little Star" (작은별[f])	Rovin	3:47
9.	"Anyway" (길이나[g])	Seogi Shin Seung-ik	3:09
10.	"Idea" (소재[h])	Rovin	3:19
11.	"Galaxy"	Seogi Shin Seung-ik	2:59
Total length:			38:17

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Play Chart (2014) Peak position South Korean Albums (Gaon)[13] 1 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[1] 20 US World Albums (Billboard)[1] 2

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Play Chart (2014) Peak position South Korean Albums (Gaon)[14] 57

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
Various	April 7, 2014	Digital download streaming	YG KT
South Korea	April 9, 2014	CD

Notes

1. Eoreumdeul lit. "Ice"
2. Jihacheor-eseo
3. Gareuma
4. In-gong Jandi
5. Annyeong lit. "Hello"
6. Jageun Byeol
7. Girina
8. Sojae