BIGBANG is now the world’s “most powerful Twelvie”. In the music video of their new song “BAE BAE” released after three years of absence, literally “two rice cakes” (“Chapsal-teok” in the lyrics of the song, which is a Korean expression that refers to a match made in Heaven) bump against each other in the space, and BIGBANG members do “Ganggangsullae” dance (Korean circle dance play) with foreign women on a planet. In the music video of “LOSER”, BIGBANG gets hurt, smashes things, and falls down on the street. The man in “LOSER” is asking a girl to notice his pain from the life of “repeated mistakes with women, love for a night and get bored next morning”, and “BAE BAE” is filled with passionate love and sexual jokes for the lover “whose body perfectly fits”. Meaningless images or just pretention, may somebody think of it. However, it is BIGBANG’s space, which is the only one in the whole world.
In the world of idol groups, an extreme expression of love or a man with internal pain is a concept for fantasy. It is just as BIGBANG’s expression “this society where get-rich-quick fever and child’s play are prevalent” in “DIRTY CASH” was not for overthrowing of capitalism. However, BIGBANG has expressed idol’s fantasy in some “outside” way. G-DRAGON wrote the story between the two for a trap beat, in “Going to Try” with comedian Jung Hyung-don, and visualized every word in the lyrics of “COUP D’ETAT” in surreal images, in the music video of the song. Those expressions are in the same context with the “BAE BAE”’s lyrics that feel like wordplay, and visualization of word “angel” used to refer to the lover in a large statue of angel. Wandering on the street in a stylish look in the music video of “LOSER” is also something that was presented for a woman in “BAD BOY” and in “LIES”. BIGBANG has always showed unrealistically cool idol in combination with contemporary foreign trend.
An idol group who uses the image of a broken cross and falls down on the street in designer outfit, in “LOSER”. They may look like Twelvies, but became one of the most sought-after models for fashion magazines just because of that. BIGBANG’s visual in “LOSER” is in the same context with the images in a variety of photography shown in different magazines. The lyrics and music video of “BAE BAE” may look like out of mind, but filled with sexual metaphors that have never been well-expressed by a Korean overground musician. T.O.P’s behavior in the music video of “BAE BAE”, like showing a jewelry deer for the lyrics “deer”, is an obvious sex comedy, and he even acts a sexual tension with a woman in underwear. BIGBANG shows the virtual concept and character of an idol singer in a way outside of the idol band business, while successfully dealing with that genre’s flagship features of being more stylish, sexy, and unique. When that is combined with the enormous capital of BIGBANG’s label YG Entertainment, all those styles become a mega event. In other words, BIGBANG is the only team who can make such a scene of two rice cakes bumping into each other in the space, by investing such a big amount of resources.
In the previous album “ALIVE”, BIGBANG integrated their complicated world with music and music video of a sophisticated style. “BAD BOY” that played the game only with the sophisticated style without any specific plot was the front line of BIGBANG who does a trendy music, “FANTASTIC BABY” that combined Korea’s traditional folk game and SF codes in the music video was a shock, and the music video of “MONSTER” in which each member had their own extreme character showed how far they can go as an idol group. On contrary, each of “LOSER” and “BAE BAE” has a clear-cut direction but shows all the things in one song. The melody of “LOSER” written by TAEYANG and TEDDY repeats a simple melody like a children’s song. However, the expression of that part in a sentimental feel and the rap-vocal development before the melody are similar to the general composition of K-POP songs. On contrary, “BAE BAE” squanders hip-hop beat, wordplay, and sexual metaphors, but turns into a tender and clear vocal in SEUNGRI’s bridge part, making listeners once again realize the fact that BIGBANG is an idol group. Among those out-of-mind trials, elements of an idol singer’s song stand out clearly, without any additional dressing. The five members walking on the street and their faces closed up in the ending of the music video, regardless of the previous context, may not be a coincidence. They do all things idol singers cannot do during the entire song, then highlight the fact that they are an idol singer, at the finish.
So, “LOSER” and “BAE BAE” are like a coordinate that shows where BIGBANG is standing now. When it comes only to the quality of music, “ALIVE” is still their best. However, the two new songs have proven that BIGBANG is now the one and only idol group in the world. They do not belong to anywhere, and do all the things cool and crazy. At the same time, “LOSER” is equipped with popular elements and “BAE BAE” is in an area strange but unique, where both idol groups and hip-hop musicians cannot enter. Whether some may like it or not, BIGBANG is now like a new planet created through “big bang” between characteristics of Korean idol groups and foreign genres. If there is any reason why people around the world go to see the world tour of BIGBANG who earns 100 billion won of revenue once begun, that is the reason.
Source: YG Entertainment(ize)
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