AKMU surprise release grim music video for 'Battleground'

South Korean sibling duo AKMU have surprised fans with the sudden release of a music video for the new song ‘Battleground’.

The black-and-white clip, which features a group of children as soldier in a war-infested neighbourhood, is the first visual from the pair’s forthcoming album ‘Next Episode’. Their label YG Entertainment had previously announced plans for the duo to release music videos for all seven tracks on the upcoming project.

“Hey kid, close your eyes / Even if it gets frustrating, be patient for a while / Here on the battleground / You’ll hear screams after the ringing sound in your ears ends,” the duo harmonise on the chorus of ‘Battleground’.

‘Next Episode’ is due out July 26 and will include features from IU, South Korean R&B singer Zion.T, singer-songwriter Sam Kim, rapper Beenzino and more. The album will mark the duo’s first release in eight months, since their 2020 single ‘Happening’.

The sibling duo previously took a two-year hiatus from late 2017 to mid-2019, while Lee Chan-Hyuk enlisted in the military. In the meantime, Lee Su-Hyun was featured on the OSTs for several hit television drama and also made her solo debut in 2020 with the song ‘Alien’.

In other K-pop news, John Mayer recently sent Rosé of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK a pink electric guitar as thanks for covering one of his songs. The Korean-Australian singer later took to Instagram to share a few images of her brand-new guitar, which was accompanied by a hand-written note from Mayer.