Propelled to national stardom through the second installation of K-pop Star (2012–2013), AKMU officially debuted in April 2014 with Play, a studio album solely crafted by Lee Chan-hyuk alone.

[3] Following the release of their critically acclaimed Puberty series, consisting of Spring (2016) and Winter (2017), the sibling duo reached greater career heights with Sailing (2019) and its lead single "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love", which not only topped the Circle Digital Chart, but also sold 2.5 million digital copies, following "Last Goodbye" (2017), and was the fourth single to be certified triple platinum for streaming in Korea Music Content Association history.

[4] Living an impoverished life, they were home-schooled, unable to afford education;[5] detesting the idea of studying, they turned to music out of sheer boredom,[6] learning to play the guitar and piano, respectively.

[7] The siblings, under the name Akdong Musician, joined Proteurment, an intercollegiate association that supports amateur artists, after they were discovered on YouTube,[8] and performed on stages with an original song titled "Galaxy".

[10] Eligible to perform in the first round, they sang a cover of Miss A's "Breathe" and an original song titled "Don't Cross Your Legs",[11] an instant audience favorite.

[11] Crowned as the winners of the competition, Akdong Musician received a cash prize of ₩300 million ($260,000), a Renault Samsung sedan,[13] and the freedom to sign a contract with one of the three largest entertainment agencies in the country: S.M.

[12] The duo have since garnered a significant following, where songs performed on the show, namely "Don't Cross Your Legs," spawned to number two on the Gaon Digital Chart in December 2012.

[34] It was promoted with two lead singles: "Re-Bye" and "How People Move" (사람들이 움직이는 게),[33] and represented the duo "growing up" through the themes of adolescence,[33] where all six tracks are about their youth during their five-years in Mongolia.

[36] Billboard named Spring the fourth best K-pop album of the year, where the record "boast a more theatrical feel to them to show the young duo is growing an exciting pace.

[56] Summer Episode served as the duo's last release ahead of Lee Chan-hyuk's mandatory military enlistment with the Republic of Korea Marine Corps on September 18.

[60] After a two-year hiatus from the industry,[61] the newly-renamed AKMU decided to permanently use the abridged version of the name, Akdong Musician, referencing a "mischievous child", to avoid feeling constrained in their musical pursuits by its meaning.

[69] To commemorate the launch of Sailing, AKMU held a guerilla stage at Yeouido Hangang Park on September 29; it gathered over 30,000 people,[70] 7-8 times larger than the size of the venue.

[73] Following the end of AKMU's seven-year contract with YG Entertainment, the duo re-signed with the label for five more years, citing the reliable support and creative freedom as reasons.

Described as a "collaboration album",[75] it comprises seven songs, each featuring different artists including Lee Sun-hee, Beenzino, Crush, Sam Kim, Zion.T, and Choi Jung-hoon of indie rock band Jannabi,[75] and served as an extension of Summer Episode (2017), exhibiting themes of freedom.

[97] The EP was praised for its exploration of the universal emotion of love, conveyed through their distinct sensibility and language, and was met with widespread acclaim, securing high positions on Korean music charts.

[117] Through YG Entertainment's collaboration with Woori Bank, the duo created a song with the credit card company to raise awareness of the Korean language, as part of celebrations for Hangul Day.

[135] AKMU have further engaged themselves in volunteering activities,[136] and have donated their talent through performances at the Hope for Lou Gehrig's Disease Concert in 2013,[137] the YG X UNICEF Walking Festival in 2017, where all participation fees were donated to UNICEF Korea to treat children and adolescents of malnutrition,[138] a charity event hosted by Compassion Korea in 2019,[139] and a concert organized by the duo for pediatric patients at Seoul National University Hospital in 2023, where they distributed gifts and personally visited the patients unable to leave their rooms.

[140] The duo had also donated their talent to create the song "Happy World", a rendition of their self-composed single "Don't Cross Your Legs", exploring themes of youth issues such as school violence, gaming and cellphone addiction, and friendship, for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in 2014.

[125] AKMU's entry into the market showcased the future cultivation of "hallyu", the Korean culture wave; where their win in the audition program indicated the music consumers' level and point of view had improved and varied.

[141] In their career, artists that have cited the duo's work as an influence and as a role model include singer-songwriter Kang Ji-eum,[143] Tomorrow X Together's Huening Kai,[144] Itzy's Ryujin,[145] and BabyMonster's Rami.