GD&TOP is the debut album of South Korean hip-hop duo GD & TOP, members of Big Bang. Released on December 24, 2010, the album marks the first official collaboration between the two artists. The duo promoted the album extensively, including a worldwide premiere showcase and numerous performances. Three singles were released for promotion: "High High", "Oh Yeah", and "Knockout".[1] While "High High" went on to become a chart-topper,[2] the latter two singles peaked at number 2 and 3 respectively.[3][4]
The album is listed by Gaon Album Chart as the fifth best-selling album of 2010 in South Korea, with 130,000 copies sold.[5]
Background
While working on materials with their bandmates for their upcoming album, G-Dragon and T.O.P began to experiment with different styles.[6] According to G-Dragon, the members were trying new "combination[s]" with their music, in which the vocalists — Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri — were to record their own music as a trio while G-Dragon and T.O.P were to branch off as a duo since they "hadn't been with [their] fans for the past two years."[6] Although the division of the group was initially for Big Bang's materials only, G-Dragon and T.O.P saw a positive response to their materials from the fans and went to Yang Hyun-suk, the executive of YG Entertainment, to allow the duo to release an album.[6] After receiving Yang's approval, news of their collaboration was announced in November 2010.[7]
G-Dragon and T.O.P co-wrote the majority of the lyrics to the album, noting that as "rappers [...] we'd like to tell more stories for our fans to listen."[6] In an attempt to create their own style separate from their band, the duo opted for a more hip-hop sound to contrast the group's current genre of electronic music, though G-Dragon acknowledged the influence of R&B, acoustic, and electronic music on the album. The two admitted to becoming "much more diverse [in their] attempts" to create their own style, as well as "how the music develops and the images that the melody and rap portray[s]." They later went on to say that "the reason we mixed such a variety of genres is because we wanted to bring out more of our character that we don't get to show when we're Big Bang."[6] When recordings were done, 11 tracks were recorded, including a collaboration with labelmate Park Bom.[7] The duo later mentioned that after recording the album, they became "attached" to all of their songs as they "worked on each and every one of the songs in...[the]...album by staying up many nights."[6] T.O.P's solo song "Turn It Up" was also included on the album as a bonus track.
Promotion and release
Preceding the release of the album, the duo held a worldwide premiere showcase for their album at Times Square in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul,[8] which was broadcast live on YouTube.[6] While hosting it, the duo sampled parts of their tracks to their fans and explained its lyrical contents and background.[6] The duo also showcased a change in their physical appearances. Their constant use of the "peace sign" for their promotional activities (such as the cover design for their album) also gained attention, with the duo explaining that since the mark is similar to the Playboy logo, their attractive, sexy, and fun sides have come out while promoting the album.[6] The peace sign was later retracted after YG Entertainment was asked by Playboy to remove the image for its similarities to its own logo. It was replaced by a typographic image of a heart composed of GD&TOP. This also led to the action of removing all of the music videos on the official Bigbang YouTube channel except for "Baby Goodnight".
In support of their album, the duo released three singles: "High High", "Oh Yeah", and "Knock Out".[1] All three singles preceded the release of the album and were commercial successes: "High High" was a chartopper[2] while "Oh Yeah" and "Knock Out" peaked at number 2 and 3 respectively.[3][4] They also performed at a Christmas party hosted at a club in Gangnam, Seoul for SK Telecom's "Christmas T Social Party"[9] in addition to the SBS music show Inkigayo.[10] Pictures of the two on the set of their music videos were also released online ahead of the album release.[11] The album was released on Christmas Eve, and debuted at number one with pre-orders of 200,000 copies.[12][13]
Accolades
G-Dragon and TOP during music video shoot of "High High"
^"2010년 가온차트 부문별 Top 100위" [Gaon Chart 2010 Top 100 Charts]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
