K-Pop Star 2 winners Akdong Musician have finally made their decision among the Big Three agencies - they are going to join YG Entertainment.
The loveable brother-sister duo gained attention on the second season of the reality audition program K-Pop Star for their natural charisma and catchy, original songs.
Even though they are young, composer and lyricist Lee Chang-hyuk is 16 while his vocalist little sister just turned 14, they have already have eight singles chart on the Gaon and Billboard charts - two of which reached the number one spot.
With a very different approach to the artistry of music and an appearance quite off from the 'idol standard,' the young pair took quite a bit of time to consider their agency choice carefully.
A press released from YG Entertainment on May 23 confirmed their decision, although details of the deal have not yet been made public.
The statement read, "Although we can't reveal the specific details of the contract, we have met with Akdong Musician and their parents and have completed the negotiations for the contract, and will be finalizing it within a few days."
The siblings responded to questions about their ultimate decision by saying, "We thought that the place that could support our music the best is YG. We want to make even better music in a good environment."
Even before the announcement was made, there was a lot of speculation about which company Akdong Musician would eventually join. The Big Three agencies each have a unique quality about them and their musicians.
SM Entertainment seemed like a rather unlikely choice because of their strong focus on idol groups - they have some of the biggest, most successful, and most attractive groups in K-Pop (Super Junior, Girls' Generation, EXO, et al). While SME is very successful and very good at the type of music they produce, it is a long way off from the musical stylings of Akdong Musician.
JYP Entertainment has been under a lot of scrutiny lately for mis-management, but CEO and founder Jin Young Park does have a track record of training and bringing up some of the best (and youngest) idols of today. Akdong Musician, however, are not looking for training - they already have the talent and are looking to keep their own personal style.
Akdong Musician needed a label that would give them the freedom to not only create their own music as they have been, but allow them to be original. YG Entertainment is well known for the uniqueness of their artists and a hands on approach to the music - most of the acts are heavily involved in the music creation process.
It, then, came as no big shock when Akdong Musician ultimately decided to join the ranks of Big Bang,Psy, 2NE1, Epik High, and Lee Hi at YG Entertainment.
Even with the scandal behind the previous season's K-Pop Star participants the Su Pearls signing to YG and ultimately being dropped in favor of Lee Hi's solo career, YG CEO Yang Hyun-suk has proven he can turn a 16-year-old girl with some impressively original pipes into a star in only a matter of months.
Akdong Musician fans around the world are excited about the decision and cannot wait to hear new music from them soon under their new label. Congratulations, Akdong Musician!
