Big Bang (band)

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Big Bang
Background information
Origin	South Korea
Genre(s)	K-pop, R&B
Years active	2006–present
Label(s)	YG Entertainment (South Korea) Universal Music Japan (Japan)
Website	www.ygbigbang.com
Members
G-Dragon Taeyang T.O.P Daesung Seungri
Former members
SO-1

Big Bang (Korean: 빅뱅) is a Korean musical group made up of five korean men. When they first debuted, they were considered to be the new face of the YG Family, a pet name for their management company YG Entertainment.^[1] Although their debut was somewhat successful, it was not until the release of "거짓말" ("Lies") that the group gained mainstream success.^[2] Big Bang have been noted for their music as well as their fashionable clothing, becoming famous throughout the country in the process.^[3]

[edit] History

[edit] 2005—2006: Formation

Before Big Bang's major debut, each member had his own degree of success and popularity in the entertainment industry. Leader G-Dragon and lead vocalist Taeyang had already been with YG Entertainment since they were both twelve years old, known as GD and YB back then (Taeyang's real name is Young Bae).^[4] Member T.O.P was well known as an underground hip-hop rapper while Seung Ri was first introduced to the entertainment industry through the show Let's Cokeplay Battle Shinhwa.^[4]

After the lineups for the group was finally made, the television network MTV Korea released a ten-episode documentary that showed the members in training before their debut as an official group (an eleventh episode was added after final members were decided). The first six episodes detailed each individual member's background and motivation for becoming a singer. The documentary portrayed the arduous process of training by showing their dancing and singing practice sessions. Beyond being just a behind-the-scenes reality show, the series also eliminated various candidates unfit for Big Bang. Two members, SO-1 and Seung Ri (Lee Seung Hyun) were considered for elimination, but they were given second chances to showcase their abilities in singing, dancing, and performing. However, this eventually resulted in Yang Hyun Suk (the CEO of YG Entertainment) dropping SO-1 because he lacked stage presence and was "too shy"^[4]. On the other hand, Seung Ri was able to successfully impress Yang with his dancing and singing skills, thus making the group. This documentary helped gain recognition for the group.

Before deciding on an official name for the group, the members had suggested several names, such as "Apex", "Stump," and "Diamond". Finally it was decided on "Big Bang" as producer and founder of YG Entertainment Yang Hyun Suk thought the other names were too childish.^[4] Big Bang made their official debut at the YG Family concert, held on August 19, 2006 at the Gymnastics Arena in Seoul Olympic Park.

Prior to the release of their first album, the group had a unique release schedule, with three EPs released within a span of a few months. Their first EP was The First Single Album, which spawned the top-ten^{[citation needed]} hit single "This Love", a remake of the American boy band Maroon 5's own single.^[1] The single debuted with over 17,000 copies sold in the month of August^[5] and later went on to sell approximately nearly 40,000 copies^[6]. The second EP Big Bang is V.I.P. was released a month later, selling 21,000 copies in that month.^[7] It finally netted sales of 32,000 copies.^[6] Their third and last EP, B I G B A N G 0 3, followed the success of their previous EPs with final sales nearing 30,000 copies.^[6]

Later in the year, Big Bang's own official fan club was created, calling themselves the "V.I.P." (in reflection of their second single "Big Bang is V.I.P."). Unlike other fan clubs, Big Bang's fans do not have a balloon color for showing support at concerts; instead, fans wave black and white BB (obviously standing for Big Bang) handkerchiefs/bandannas. At the end of December 2006, Big Bang held their very first concert titled The Real. The following month, their first debut album Since 2007, which was essentially a compilation of songs from their previous singles, was released; it sold 48,009 copies by the end of February 2007.^[6]

[edit] 2007—2008: Breakthrough success

On February 8, 2007, Big Bang released their live concert album entitled The First / Real Live Concert, which sold almost 30,000 copies by the end of 2007.^[8] From May to July 2007, the group also held their first national tour concert in Korea, with the headline Want You, touring a total of five cities: Incheon, Daegu, Changwon, Jeonju and Busan.

In August, the group released what would become one of their first mini albums Always, with the group holding a Showcase/Fanmeeting for promotional activities. Taking control over their music, group-leader G-Dragon began producing and writing some of the songs on the album. The mini-album was released to positive reviews from fans and critics alike, especially the song "거짓말" ("Lies").^[9] "Lies" became the group's first song to be a breakout hit, reaching number-one on SBS Hit Songs, their first to do so, followed by MBC's Music Core, KBS Music Bank and Mnet's Countdown and numerous online and offline charts for many consecutive weeks.

The mini-album was successful enough for Big Bang to collect numerous awards by the end of 2007, including "Best Male Group" and "Song Of The Year" from the 2007 M.NET/KM Music Festival.^[10] Later in 2008, Big Bang also collected the prestigious "Daesang" from the 17th Seoul Music Awards.^[11]

Their second mini album, Hot Issue, was released a few months after Always and yielded another strong single for the group, "Last Farewell" ("마지막 인사"). It mirrored the success of "Lies," topping various music charts, and winning "Song of the Month Digital Music Award" from Cyworld , beating strong competitors such as the Wonder Girls and F.T. Island. It also topped Juke-On's chart for eight consecutive weeks.^[12] The group then held their second round of concerts from December 28 to 30, 2008, with the headline Big Bang Is Great, where tickets were reportedly sold out in 10 minutes.^[13] Despite this, various members were hospitalized due to sickness and injuries from over performing and exhaustion,^[14] thus halting and limiting their promotional activities. A representative for YG Entertainment then addressed the issue by stating that though the group would perform at the MBC Music Festival on the 31st, they would cancel everything else on their schedule for the first week of next year. It was later reported in the year that Big Bang's albums and singles had been in high demand, causing the record company to reprint and repackage it for re-releases.^[15]

After the success in South Korea, Big Bang ventured out overseas towards Japan. Kicking off 2008, their first Japanese album For the World was released, with previous Korean singles appearing on the album, in addition to a Japan-only song, "How Gee" (a new remix version from "How Gee" by the Japanese group Black Machine). For The World debuted at #14 on the Oricon chart and eventually crawled its way to #10, despite lack of promotions.^[16] On the 28th and 29th of March, Big Bang held a concert in JCB Hall in Tokyo Dome City. Additionally, the group also released a Japanese mini-album in late May titled With U, with a corresponding single of the same name.

The group returned to Korea mid-2008 after their activities in Japan ended. Despite their activities being delayed several time due to solo activities, Big Bang eventually released their third mini-album Stand Up — which featured collaborations with the group Daishi Dance, and the Korean rock-band No Brain with their latest punk rock single Oh My Friend. The band's first release was "Day By Day" ("하루하루"). Like previous albums, leader G-Dragon was heavily involved with the production of the album, having composed and written a majority of the songs with the exception of "A Good Man", which was composed by fellow group member T.O.P. The mini-album went on to exceed the 100,000 mark in sales and also yielded some of the group's strongest singles, with the lead single "Day By Day" topping several online charts and staying at the number-one spot for 6 consecutive weeks.^[17] In addition, several of their songs also made it to the Top 20 of the charts, with "Heaven" at the number-two spot, "Oh My Friend" being ninth, "A Good Man" at twelfth and "Lady" being sixteenth — a total of five songs in the Top 20 for the group.^{[citation needed]}

At the same time, Big Bang released the Japanese song "Number 1" from their album of the same name and introduced the song through Japanese radio programs and TV shows; the album peaked at #3 on the Japan's Oricon daily album chart.^{[citation needed]} Towards the end of 2008, Big Bang released their Korean follow-up album, Remember, yielding the single "붉은노을 ("Sunset Glow"), which peaked at number-one on various charts in Korea. At the end of 2008, Big Bang collected their second "Artist of the Year" from the 2008 M.NET KM Music Festival award ceremony.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2009: Branching out

The group went on a break in early 2009, with all of them pursuing solo activities. During this time, they collaborated with 2NE1, a new girl group from their entertainment company, for the song "Lollipop"; they also filmed a music video for it as well. Although it was a song used to promote a cell phone, it has since hit #1 on various online charts.^[18]

After their recent success with "Lollipop", the group released a new Japanese single named "My Heaven" in May 2009, their Japanese version of the song is the first official to be released with a music video while sung in Japanese. The song is a Japanese translation of their song "Heaven" from the EP Stand Up.^{[citation needed]}

They are currently working on their Japanese debut under label company Universal Music Japan for their Japanese debut single "My Heaven" which released on June 24 2009 as a digital single.^{[citation needed]}

They also released a new Japanese single titled "Gara Gara Go!" on July 8, 2009 which reached number 3 on online charts. "Gara Gara Go!" is the heading single while "Top of the World" "So Beautiful" and "Stylish" also are included in the two-disc single. "Gara Gara Go!" was featured on PerezHilton.com in July, joining acts such as 2NE1 and Wonder Girls as K-Pop posts.

The group is also working on a Korean Volume 3 album entitled "Memories". It will have a Korean version of "Gara Gara Go" in the new album.

They are also endorsing famous Korean Online FPS "Sudden Attack". All 5 members will have their own characters with special dialogue and sound effects.

[edit] Artistry and influences

[edit] Musical styles

Big Bang's music style can be classified for the most part as hip pop music (as seen with the songs "La, La, La" and "Goodbye Baby"), with a little vibe of R&B (as seen with the songs "We Belong Together" and "Forever With You"), dance ("Shake It") and mainstream ("This Love") music. Rock with "Oh My Friend". Finally, becoming the greatest hit songs of 2007, (as seen with the songs "Lies", "Last Farewell", and "Haru Haru (Day By Day)") electronica is seemingly becoming the new music trend in Korea.^[19] However, the members have branched out into different genres in their solo work, including singing ballads and mainstream pop music. Big Bang even once mentioned in an interview that if they want to, they might do trot someday.^[20] Daesung's first digital single, "Look at Me, GwiSun" ("날 봐, 귀순"), was a trot song, which had been somewhat controversial considering Big Bang's primary focus on hip-hop.

The members of Big Bang often contribute to writing lyrics for their own music as well as composing^[21] despite only debuting in 2006. The most notable from the group to compose and write is leader G-Dragon, as he has composed and written numerous songs for the group, including "Lies", "Last Farewell", which would later become the group's gateway to stardom.^{[citation needed]} Aside from G-Dragon, the others members have contributed to writing lyrics as well. T.O.P has also written a song for their third mini album Stand up, called "Good Man". On a whole, Big Bang has received praises from critics, fans, and other singers alike for contributions to their own materials.^[22]

[edit] Dance style

Big Bang often rely on free style and street dancing (as evidenced in their music video for "Good Bye Baby"). They are choreographed by world-class choreographer Shaun Evaristo, (as seen in "Number 1" and "With U" music videos) who also choreographs their concerts and Taeyang's solo projects. They also do break dancing as well. Like the popular boy band [Shinhwa], Big Bang's own unique style of dancing is credited to a member of theirs, SeungRi. Seung-Ri has choreographed some of Big Bang's moves (such as jump rope dance from "Last Farewell") and has been noted for this.^[23]

[edit] Image and cultural impact

Big Bang adopted the "hip hop" image concept, with some of the members slanting their caps in many promotional photos, live performances, music videos, and even having cornrows (most notably Taeyang) during the early days of their career. The group continued this image concept for the rest of 2006 and into 2007 until the release of their mini-album Always, which showcased the group in a more preppy-ish punk style, sporting modern day fashion (such as the skinny jeans with Converse or high-top sneakers as seen within the music video of their song "Lies"). Moving further away from the "gangster" look, Taeyang also cut off his cornrows into a faux hawk. Additionally, Big Bang has been noted for being a fashionable group,^[3] inspiring teenagers with street-originated flamboyant style.

Big Bang's unique and urban hip-up sense of style has quickly become popular in Korea as a result, known as the "Big Bang fashion". Usually, the group prefers brands such as Bape, 10 deep, Louis Vuitton, Phenomenon, and others and are often seen in customized printed hoodies. The group has been noted as well to have brought back the old school fashion, high-top shoes, such as the Nike and Reebok high-top shoes.^[24]

Leader G-Dragon is consider by many to be the most fashionable one of the group,^[25] where he tends to wear triangular scarves (shemagh/keffiyeh) around his neck, known as "Big Bang scarves" or "Jeong Ryeo-won scarves", when the actress of the same name began to sport them as well. Additionally, member T.O.P. is also seen sporting sunglass, most notably shutter shades, which are worn by American rapper Kanye West. Big Bang's fashion trends are well known throughout the internet fashion portals,^[26] thus making them one of the most sought after artists for endorsement products.^[27] The group's unique imagery and fashion has led them to release their own fragrance, entitled "BB Bud's My First Fragrance (나의 첫번째 향기)" in early 2007.^[4]

[edit] Members

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[edit] T.O.P

• Real Name: Choi, Seung-Hyun (최승현)
• Date of Birth: November 4, 1987 (age 22)

Before joining Big Bang, he received recognition by winning KBS's "Rap Battle" in 2003. T.O.P. acted in the Korean television drama I Am Sam. He is currently filming in the planned drama Iris alongside actors Kim Tae Hee and Lee Byung Hun. He is also filming a teenage suspense drama 19 alongside fellow member Seung Ri. Aside from his role in Big Bang, he has collaborated with various artists, including Red Roc's "Hello," singer Gummy's "Mianhaeyo" ("미안해요", "I'm Sorry"), and Uhm Jung-hwa for "D.I.S.C.O." He is the oldest in the group. He also is currently working on A New Drama, "IRIS" or Akita. It has been seen on various websites, that he is the "bad guy" type for this show. It is said to release sometime in September.

[edit] G-Dragon

• Real Name: Kwon, Ji-Yong (권지용)
• Date of Birth: August 18, 1988 (age 21)

G-Dragon is the leader of Big Bang. He has been trained by YG Entertainment since the age of twelve, often at the side of fellow member Tae Yang. He often composes and produces the group's material. His first mini-album is scheduled to be released in August, 2009.

[edit] Taeyang (SoL)

• Real Name: Dong, Young-Bae (동영배)
• Date of Birth: May 18, 1988 (age 21)

Taeyang's first appearance, along with G-Dragon, was made in one of 1TYM's music video. Taeyang started out as a rapper, but is now the main vocalist of Big Bang. He was the first one to release a solo album called HOT during the summer of 2008 and had his first solo concert. On 2008-8-7 he opened a concert for Alicia Keys in South Korea, where he performed his 2 singles: 기도 (Prayer) and 나만 바라봐 (Only look at me). Taeyang is also known for his free style dancing ability, which has become more prominent since the band's debut. According to Naver, Tae Yang's next album was expected to be a full album, but YG later annouced the change and it is now expected to be another mini; it is scheduled to be released in either August or September. It will be produced by YG Entertainment's rising producer and 1Tym Member Teddy. Currently, Teddy is busy working on 2NE1's album but he'll immediately shift his full focus over to Taeyang once the work on 2NE1's album is complete.

[edit] Daesung (D-Lite)

• Real Name: Kang, Dae-Sung (강대성)
• Date of Birth: April 26, 1989 (1989-04-26) (age 20)

Daesung is the second Big Bang member to star in a musical, the Korean adaptation of Cats. Daesung is starring in another musical "Shouting", with fellow member Seungri. He is a permanent fixture of a variety show that is part of SBS's Good Sunday line-up,Family Outing, starring Yu Jae-seok, Lee Hyori, Kim Jong Kook , etc. He also released two trot singles one in 2008 and the other in early 2009. Daesung will release his first mini-album sometime in December 2009. It will not consist of trot. Daesung's father was against Daesung becoming a singer, but now he accepts his profession. He has an older sister.

[edit] Seungri (Victory/V.I.)

• Real Name: Lee, Seung-Hyun (이승현)
• Date of Birth: December 12, 1990 (1990-12-12) (age 18)

Seungri initially joined Battle Shinhwa, a reality show aiming to find the next Shinhwa; he was rejected after the 13th episode. He later tried out for Big Bang and was successful. Seung Ri is the "little brother", also called the "maknae", of Big Bang. He provides dance and choreographing skills to the band's performances. Seungri was the first member to be in a musical, starring in Sonagi. Seungri was the second member of the group to participate in solo activities, promoting his solo single "Strong Baby" which was included in the group's second album. Seungri is also the second member to debut as an actor. He stars in the film Oorijibae Wae Watni (우리집에 왜 왔니, "Why Did You Come To Our House") which was released in April 2009. He is also filming a teenage suspense drama 19 alongside fellow member T.O.P. Seungri is also doing a music, "Shouting" with fellow member Daesung. He is the oldest child to his parents, but he is the youngest in the Big Bang family.

[edit] Former

[edit] SO-1

• Real Name: Jang Hyun Seung (장현승)
• Date of Birth: September 3, 1989 (1989-09-03) (age 19)

SO-1 was eliminated from Big Bang in the ninth episode of their documentary because he lacked stage presence and was too shy. In August of 2006, YG Entertainment stated (via their homepage) that Hyun Seung remained with YG to be given more training and eventually debut. Since then, he has performed several times as a backup dancer for YG artists. Though he has yet to debut as a singer, no word has surfaced to say he won't^[28].

[edit] Awards

[edit] Discography

[edit] Korean Albums

• Volume 1: Since 2007 (December 21, 2006)
• Volume 2: Remember (November 5, 2008)
• Volume 3: Memories (Q4 2009)

[edit] Japanese Albums

• Mini Album 1: For The World: (January 4, 2008)
• Volume 1: Number 1 (October 22, 2008)
• Mini Album 2: With You
• Volume 2: BIGBANG (August 19, 2009)
• Mini Album 2: ガラガラ GO!!( July 8, 2009 )

[edit] Korean Singles

• 1st: The First Single Album (August 28, 2006)
• 2nd: Big Bang is V.I.P. (September 28, 2006)
• 3rd: B I G B A N G 0 3 (November 21, 2006)

[edit] Japanese Singles

• 1st: MY HEAVEN (June 24, 2009)
• 2nd: ガラガラ GO!! (July 8, 2009)

[edit] Solo Singles/Albums

• 1st: Taeyang - Hot (May 22, 2008) Mini Album
• 2nd: Dae Sung - 날 봐 귀순 (June 19, 2008) Digital Single
• 3rd: G-Dragon - 나만 바라봐 Part 2 (June 30, 2008) Digital Single
• 4th: Dae Sung - Big Hit!! (대박이야!!) (January 29, 2009) Digital Single
• 5th: Seung Ri - Strong Baby
• 6th: T.O.P & Taeyang - 친구 (June 25, 2009)Digital Single
• 7th: G-Dragon - TBA (August 18, 2009) Mini Album
• 8th: Taeyang - TBA (September-October 2009) Mini Album
• 9th: Dae Sung - TBA (December 2009) Mini Album

[edit] Korean EP(s)

• Mini Album 1: Always (August 16, 2007)
• Mini Album 2: Hot Issue (November 22, 2007)
• Mini Album 3: Stand Up (August 8, 2008)

[edit] Concerts

• The Real Concert December 2006
• Want You (Tour Concert) May 2007
• Big Bang is G.R.E.A.T. December 2007
• Global Warning (Tour Concert) June 2008
• Stand Up (Tour Concert) November 2008
• Big Show January 2009

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Big Bang (band)

• Official Site
• YG Entertainment
• Big Bang Japan Official Site