Following a two-year hiatus where members explored and experimented with different sounds, Big Bang returned to South Korea with their 2011 Big Show concert,[2] showcasing songs from the then-unreleased EP.[3] Though the group's previous extended plays contained songs that were heavily influenced by electronic music, they opted to concentrate more on "warm rock music" for new materials.[4] Released as the lead single, "Tonight" contained a "sophisticated electronic sound" paired with acoustic guitar.[5] The song is "clearly grounded in dance-pop" a genre the quintet is known for.[6] The track is build over "fist-pumping beats and applause", features "heavily autotuned vocals" and concludes "with sudden silence and then picking up again as if returning for an encore."[7]
Reception
Billboard noted how "Tonight" was "more nuanced and sophisticated than many of [Big Bang's] previous club anthems," and hailed it "four-minute sonic journey" to one of the group's concerts. The magazine ranked it number ten on their list of Big Bang's must-listen songs.[7]KpopStarz choose it as one of Big Bang's definite songs,[6] while Sun-Times named it one of the group's ten best songs, calling the single a "slick party anthem".[8]
"Tonight" debuted at number two on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, at number one on the Download Chart and five on the Streaming Chart.[9] On its second week, the single rose to a peak position atop the Digital[10] and the Streaming charts, while remaining at number one on the Download Chart.[11] Additionally, the single topped the Gaon BGM Chart upon release.[12] By the end of 2011, "Tonight" was the eighth best-performing single of the year in South Korea,[13] with over 2.3 million downloads sold.[14] With over 23 million streams, the song was the tenth most streamed of 2011.[15]
^ ab"Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
