The empty space that they left for 2 years and 3 months come to naught since “TONIGHT” not only rose to the top of the charts on the release day but the album also garnered more than 100,000 sales in a week.
Coupled with “The Big Bang Show” by SBS, their popularity has ascended to the top during this period. They are not only well received in South Korea but also in Japan. Before they made their comeback, Uniqlo, had also invited them as endorser and the clothes become hit-sellers both in Japan and Korea markets.
Their album is not only popular in Asia but they even captured 3rd spot on Billboard World Album Chart without any promotion done in America which also symbolizes the advancement of Hallyu star into the world market. Debuted for 5 years, they have gradually become top stars in showbiz which is dominated by the ‘idols’.
Not only that they belong to one of the biggest entertainment companies in Korea but their music is also very well-known among the public. Music critics love to evaluate their music too. The different activities that each member takes up have also formed a great contrast with other male idol groups. Now, we want to ask why we are so attracted by these 5 men- G-Dragon, T.O.P., Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri.
Their relationship is consolidated after 5 years
BIGBANG was the brainchild of YG Entertainment president, Yang Hyun Suk. Originally he wanted to create a band which could fill in the gap of the music industry. What he thought the showbiz was lacking were singers who can sing well and those who have strong individual colours.
The birth of Gummy and BIG MAMA have satiated public desire but there were still no particular bands that carried distinct individual colours, so he decided to create a band with ‘musician images’ for all of them. But they didn’t achieve success immediately subsequent to their debut.
Although they released 3 singles in 4 months, their Hip Hop and R&B style did not gain much support from the public since the showbiz was captured by idols who gave visionary pleasure. It was rare and distant for a boy band which put music production as priority to be popular at that period.
The turning point was marked after 1 year of their debut when they released their 1st mini album ‘Always’ (2007). The title song, ‘Lie’ captured the attention of the public at once and they had also been sweeping local music charts. Since then, the ‘BIGBANG wave’ has been rampant until now.
From ‘Last Farewell’, ‘Sunset Glow’, ‘Haru Haru’ until the newly released ‘Tonight’, all of the songs have been victorious throughout the time. Once they have decided to take this path, they have not given up easily. They have been working hard after their 1st success. Despite the fact that they already topped the showbiz, they are still doing the same things that they have been insisting on.
Normally, idol groups which have debuted for 5 years would possibly get into conflicts with the company or are forced to be disbanded for different reasons. However, they are different from other groups since the further they walk along, the more solid their relationship is.
Being the song writers… That is the decisive matter
BIGBANG has the will as well as the ability to become the musicians. In 2007, electronic music they produced has started the Electronica wave. They facilitated the rhythm created by Hip- Hop and also with the adoption of Electronica in their music which sparked new interest among the younger generation.
Although, Electronica has become popular in the showbiz, back in those days, only girl groups like SNSD, Wonder Girls and the top band SG Wannabe employed some Electronica music in their songs. It also explains the reason BIGBANG, the group that combines Electronica with new genres has garnered such a big amount of attention from the public.
The hardcore fans of Electronica are the base of BIGBANG’s popularity. Recently, in the debate of which singers have the best vocal power, idols are compared in terms of their outlooks as well as their vocal power and once again, local Korea showbiz and Billboard once again prove that Electronica genre is vogue.
Such kind of trend was set in the second half of 2000. On this basis, the various members of BIGBANG have showed us their ability to compose their own music, like their famous song ‘Lie’ which is composed by their leader G-Dragon. When he has been participating in song composing, he has been growing as well.
In the new album, he will be responsible for the production of all the songs and will also collaborate with other famous composers. That is why we are anticipating it. Whenever they promote new songs, they want to introduce something new and tell us new stories. It is the reason why they are different from other ‘idols’ in terms of both of their ‘clothing’ and ‘choreography’.
Why we call them BIGBANG is defined by the criteria given by the music critics. Most often, critics do not find any resemblance between BIGBANG and other idols. They put forth their criticism by evaluating BIGBANG's self-composed songs and how these can be compared with their own views on music. The most important factor that keeps the singers running on the path is the quality of their music and BIGBANG has not lost it.
The top fashionista
They initiated such a wave not only by their music which they have changed the perception of the public towards the concept of idols since it is abstract if we compare their achievement with other artists, their fashion is also ahead of others which is also their competitive edge.
Their attires have also become the public icon. BIGBANG has definitely set the trend of fashion. They did not only promote merely their songs but also paid great attention to their clothing during their famous songs promotions such as ‘Lie’ and ‘Last Farewell’. They have used brand-name products from time to time. Thus, they established their own fashion style.
If any shop claimed that they were selling ‘BIGBANG style’ clothes, their products would definitely sold out. However, the costumes which are worn by the artists of SM or JYP, etc are ready made by their own companies or by other assigned companies so it is hard to head the trend in such a fierce competition.
The difficulty lies in they cannot simply buy the clothes they wear on the stage without any deep consideration. In fact, what BIGBANG wear are chosen based on what can match the style of their music and they are very practical too. It is exactly what people producing Hip Hop insist on, to combine the trendiest items with street style.
It explains why BIGBANGs fashion looks different. They are not the ones called by the youngsters as ‘handsome guys’. This generation would follow the style of BIGBANG too which shows how closely they are connected with their idols. They do not feel embarrassed in doing so.
They have left no emptiness even when they were in hiatus
The principal reason that they have been keeping their great popularity in the local showbiz is their sustaining individual activities. Since the showbiz has transformed into a digital one, the popularity of an artist is defined by how well they score in various music charts.
It is not easy for the groups to keep their fame with the old songs but BIGBANG have conducted a variety of solo activities. Moreover, they have also come up with the idea of forming a duet. For the members who are talented in acting, just let them take part in filming and other members can also participate in TV dramas and variety shows.
All of these activities enable the fans to be able to see them throughout 365 days. It is how BIGBANG work it out. Although it has been 2 years and 3 months after all of them gather under the name of BIGBANG again but we don’t feel like they were away from the local showbiz for a long time since each of them has released solo songs or albums.
Daesung has taken part in variety shows and T.O.P has participated in films, even Seungri could be seen in a musical. Moreover, in order to pave way for their comeback, their company has started their promotion since last December by producing GD&T.O.P duet album and then produced Seungri’s solo album in January.
Hence, when we witness their comeback in February, we did not feel unfamiliar at all. Even after releasing of 3 singles, 4 mini album and 2 full-length albums, the popularity of BIGBANG is still high in Korea. Whenever they face difficulties, they would tackle them with good preparation and amazing speed.
They have showed us how music can conquer the showbiz, coupled with their advancement into the Japan market, we can anticipate more success for them. Although Electronica is not as popular in Korea as it was in the past, we can still trust that BIGBANG has the power to overcome it without a trace of fear.
Source: Chosun Weekly
Chinese Translation: top_angel @ bigbangchina via baidu
English Translation: Rice @ bigbangupdates
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