''Sailing'' () is the third
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by South Korean brother-sister duo
AKMU. It was released on September 25, 2019, through
YG Entertainment. All the tracks' lyrics and music were written by member
Lee Chan-hyuk. The album was supported by the
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
"How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love", which reached atop on the
Gaon Digital Chart
The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...
and
''Billboard''s K-pop Hot 100. ''Sailing'' received generally positive reviews from
music critics, many of whom complimented AKMU's stylistic shift from their previous releases to more musical maturity.
Background
In September 2017,
AKMU member–
Lee Chan-hyuk–went on hiatus to enlist for his
obligatory military service; he was discharged in May 2019.
On September 5, 2019, AKMU's agency
YG Entertainment released a poster notifying their comeback in two years and two months, since ''
Summer Episode
''Summer Episode'' (stylized in all caps) is the first single album by South Korean brother-sister duo AKMU. It was released digitally by YG Entertainment on July 20, 2017. The single album features two title tracks – "Dinosaur" and "My Darli ...
'' in July 2017. Next day, disclosing a teaser video, YG Entertainment announced the release of AKMU's third full-length album, titled ''Sailing''.
On September 9, YG Entertainment informed that the album would be released on 25th, and unveiled a teaser poster.
Critical reception
In an article for ''
Korea JoongAng Daily
''Korea JoongAng Daily'' is the English edition of the South Korean national daily newspaper ''JoongAng Ilbo''. The newspaper was first published on October 17, 2000, originally named as ''JoongAng Ilbo English Edition''. It mainly carries news a ...
'', Kim Eun-jin wrote that AKMU "takes a sharp turn from the bright and bubbly tones that characterized their earlier music. ... With lyrics that discuss topics like freedom expressed through sentimental melodies and acoustic sounds, ''Sailing'' is an album that reflects the depth and maturity." In the album review, ''
IZM
''IZM'' () is a South Korean online magazine that publishes pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ...
''s Park Soo-jin gave a four-star rating out of five, and said that "this album backslashes genres and expresses them without boundaries," and concluded by writing that ''Sailing'' "will be the pinnacle of broadening AKMU's spectrum."
Tamar Herman of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' said that the "album features songs that show the pair's artistic development, exploring a variety of new genres all the while still incorporating their distinctly vibrant, soulful folk-pop sound." The publication additionally ranked "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love" number 7 in their list of 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019.
Accolades
Track listing
Credits adapted from
Melon and
Apple Music.
Charts
Sales
Release history
Notes
References
{{Authority control
AKMU albums
2019 albums
YG Entertainment albums
Korean-language albums