Dynamic Duo is reuniting with users of the global sports game through their song "AEAO."
Their agency, Amoeba Culture, announced on October 17 that Dynamic Duo's "AEAO" will be included as an original soundtrack in the latest installment of the American NBA basketball game, NBA 2K26.
The NBA 2K series is a basketball game that uses the license of the world's premier professional basketball league, the NBA. It releases a new season annually and is widely popular as the best-selling sports game in the United States. In particular, the soundtracks, consisting of music that can be enjoyed during gameplay, are released each season as the NBA 2K playlist, exerting a significant influence across culture.
"AEAO," the title track from Dynamic Duo's 2014 collaboration album with DJ Premier, was previously featured in NBA 2K16. Now, approximately 10 years later, the song will once again be included in the NBA 2K26 playlist. This marks the first time that a Korean artist's song with Korean lyrics has been inserted twice as an original soundtrack in the NBA 2K series.
Furthermore, the re-insertion of the same song is a rare worldwide occurrence, limited to only a few artists, including Dynamic Duo, Bad Bunny, Doja Cat, and Megan Thee Stallion, which highlights the extent of Dynamic Duo's influence.
The news of "AEAO" being included was officially announced today via the official NBA 2K social media channels, garnering a passionate response. Given that 'AEAO' was highly praised by international users as a "nostalgic song" and even topped the NBA 2K16 playlist at the time, there is heightened anticipation for its success in NBA 2K26.
Nine years after its release, "AEAO" experienced a chart resurgence in 2023, driven by a challenge craze on the global mobile short-form platform, TikTok. It ranked in the TikTok 2023 'Song of the Summer' TOP 10 and secured the number one spot on the popular weekly chart in Korea. Additionally, it topped the Daily Viral 50 Global and Korea charts—one of Spotify's main charts—as well as the Apple Music Daily TOP 100, the Hip Hop/Rap genre Top Track chart, and achieved its highest-ever result on Shazam, the world's largest music search platform.
In response to the enthusiastic fan reaction, Dynamic Duo opened their own TikTok channel and made a long-awaited appearance on music broadcasts. They also released "sped up" and "slowed" versions of 'AEAO' to offer a more diverse listening experience.
Amid these developments, "AEAO," which forecasts another upward trend through NBA 2K26, raises expectations for Dynamic Duo's global trajectory.
In the first half of this year, Dynamic Duo successfully released the new song "Take Care" with Gummy, and in March, they held a sold-out solo concert, See You Sometimes, in Japan. They followed this up by delivering energetic performances at various music festivals throughout the summer. Last month, they released the collaboration single 'Boss' with actors Jo Woo Jin, Jung Kyung Ho, Park Ji Hwan, and Lee Kyu Hyung, the stars of the movie 'Boss.'
Member Gaeko is currently appearing as a producer on Mnet's Korea-Japan joint global hip-hop girl group project, 'Unpretty Rapstar: Hip-Hop Princess,' which first aired on the 16th.
Dynamic Duo plans to continue their busy schedule with various performances and music activities in the second half of the year. Following the back-to-back sold-out year-end concerts in 2023 and 2024, there is keen anticipation for what new performance Dynamic Duo will return with this year.
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