In March 2025, IU starred in screenwriter Lim Sang-choon's television series When Life Gives You Tangerines opposite Park Bo-gum. A domestic and international hit, IU and Park's performances received widespread audience and critical acclaim, and they were both nominated at the 61st Baeksang Arts Awards. On April 21, NetEase Cloud Music named IU as the most streamed Korean artist in the platform's 12-year history with more than 3.9 billion streams. On May 27, IU returned as a singer, releasing her third cover album A Flower Bookmark 3, with actor Heo Nam-jun and singer-actor Cha Eun-woo making special appearances in the music videos for the album tracks "Never Ending Story" and "A Beautiful Person" respectively. On July 18, IU was nominated for Best Actress and Popular Star Award at the 4th Blue Dragon Series Awards.