"Take a seat for a moment / There's warm soup and meat" (from "A Rumored Paradise")

AKMU returns with a deeply resonant new release. On April 7, they dropped their fourth full-length album FLOWERING, marking their first album after leaving YG Entertainment.

The album fully captures AKMU's signature sensibility. It includes 11 tracks, from the pre-release "A Rumored Paradise" to the title track "Joy, Sorrow, a Beautiful Heart," along with "Spring Colors," "Paying with Bugs," and "Tent."

A Fully Self-Produced Bloom

Lee Chan-hyuk led the album as executive producer, taking charge of writing, composing, and arranging all tracks. Leveraging Lee Su-hyun's clear and refined vocals, the album blossoms into FLOWERING.

The lyrics stand out in particular. Songs like "Sunlight," gifted to Lee Su-hyun during a personally difficult time, convey messages of love and comfort through poetic expression.

"Inside the locked window / What on earth is happening / Open the door / Sunlight bless you" (from "Sunlight")

Messages of Healing in a Divided World

The album also delivers a message to a world filled with conflict and division. Through "The Right Person," AKMU suggests, "Let's stop fighting and share smiles with each other while we live."

"Who is the right person / Who is the wrong person / The one who felt like thorns to us / To someone else, they are given a rose" (from "The Right Person")

AKMU wrote in the album introduction, "We hope everyone who has grown together with us will joyfully welcome this no-longer-lonely 'paradise' and 'flowering' created with companions."

It reflects their wish for all who have shared 12 years of music with them to experience their own blooming in life. Embracing both sunlight and shadow, they suggest, "Let each of us cultivate our own garden."

Strong Chart Performance Across Platforms

Listener response has been explosive. As of April 8, "Joy, Sorrow, a Beautiful Heart" ranked No.1 on Melon's Hot 100 and No.2 on the Top 100. Other tracks also secured high chart positions.

Beyond Melon, seven songs from the album entered Bugs' real-time Top 10, including "A Rumored Paradise," "Spring Colors," "Sunlight," and "Young Couple."

On FLO, "A Rumored Paradise" and "Joy, Sorrow, a Beautiful Heart" ranked No.1 and No.2, respectively. On Genie's real-time chart, the title track reached No.2.

According to their agency, the first batch of FLOWERING sold out entirely on the day of release.