AKMU's Lee Chanhyuk Leaves YG for Solo Career

Lee Chanhyuk of the group AKMU (Akdong Musician) spoke about the changes after leaving YG Entertainment and embarking on his solo journey. He recently appeared on Lee Sora's YouTube channel, 'Lee Sora's First Spring,' visiting the office of his newly established label, 'Inspiration Spring.'

When asked what made him happiest after founding the company, Lee Chanhyuk replied, "Being able to work with people I like, and being able to live like family with the 'inspirations' I personally chose." He added that the atmosphere is even closer because it's in the early stages. When asked if the employees liked the company, he said, "You can feel it from the atmosphere (at Inspiration Spring)," explaining that employees participate in all activities, from promotions and music video shoots to volunteer work, sharing their thoughts and inspirations with each other.

Discussing AKMU's recent comeback with their fourth full album, 'Growth,' Lee Chanhyuk revealed that his answer to loneliness is "Everyone is lonely, so let's be together." With this mindset, he said, good people gathered and they had fun filming the music video.

Regarding the title of the new album, 'Growth,' he explained that it expresses a period of settling down somewhere and cultivating our own things after releasing their third album, 'Sailing,' in 2019. He added that during that process, there were learning periods, such as Suhyun's slump and his own free-spirited activities, and as these experiences accumulated, the time came when he felt, "Now is the time."

Lee Chanhyuk also appeared on the YouTube channel 'Calm Down Man' and revealed the reason for leaving YG and establishing his own company, 'Inspiration Spring.' He answered, "It was time," explaining that as his producing scope widened and his musical color became more distinct, a point arose where the company's direction and his musical color diverged. He emphasized that YG was aware of this, and they had a beautiful parting with the company's support. AKMU established 'Inspiration Spring' after their exclusive contract with YG, with whom they had been for 12 years, ended on November 12th of last year.