[BIGBANG Through Numbers] BIGBANG held 100 Concerts Abroad from 2013 to 2016, and G-DRAGON has 10 Million Followers

Youtube views of “FANTASTIC BABY” stands at 240 million.

BIGBANG’s earnings for the past year is 50.6 billion won.

BIGBANG’s 10th anniversary exhibition titled “A.to.Z” is being held at S Factory in Sungsu-dong. Since its opening on August 5, an average of 1,000 people has attended the exhibition. The exhibition will be held until October 30.

BIGBANG poses for the camera at a press conference before the opening of the exhibition on August 4.

[서울경제=연승 기자] BIGBANG (G-DRAGON, TAEYANG, T.O.P, DAESUNG, and SEUNGRI) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its debut this year. The group debuted in 2006 with a single album titled “BIGBANG”. Since then, it has become an iconic boy group representing K-Pop and Korea’s mass culture. BIGBANG has set, and is still setting, a number of new records and opened up a new chapter in the history of K-Pop. BIGBANG is not just an idol group but artists. Let’s see BIGBANG through numbers.

◇100=According to Billboards, BIGBANG held a total of 100 concerts abroad from 2013 to 2016, the biggest number among K-Pop artists. A total of 1,456 K-Pop concerts were held abroad during the same period. The tickets to BIGBANG’s concerts were all sold out, demonstrating BIGBANG’s ticket power. During their first world tour, “ALIVE TOUR”, BIGBANG held concerts in 12 countries and drew 800,000 people. In their “MADE” tour, which started in 2015 and ended in March this year, BIGBANG held 66 concerts in 13 countries and drew 1.5 million people as audience. If you look by countries, BIGBANG held 18 concerts in four cities in Japan and drew 911,000 people as audience, and in China, drew 250,000 people by holding concerts in 13 cities.

◇10 million= BIGBANG’s leader, G-DRAGON, is the first Asian celebrity to have surpassed the 10 million mark in the number of SNS followers. This shows that G-DRAGON is indeed the hottest star in Asia. G-DRAGON not only makes and writes songs for BIGBANG but also receives much spotlight for his unique and trendy fashion style. Thanks to his great fashion sense, he has recently been chosen as the model of 8 Seconds and is participating in designing too. Last year, together with Kwon Oh-sang, G-DRAGON held a contemporary arts exhibition titled “PEACEMINUSONE: Beyond the Stage”.

◇242 million= The music video of BIGBANG’s “FANTASITC BABY” posted 242,168,000 views on Youtube. This is the first time that a Korean artist’s music video surpassed the two hundred million mark. In addition, four of BIGBANG’s music videos surpassed the one hundred million mark, the first among K-Pop groups.

◇50.6 billion= According to Forbes, BIGBANG ranked 54th among its list of 100 top-earning celebrities. From June 2015, BIGBANG earned a whopping 50.6 billion won (44 million dollars), which is more than what Maroon 5 earned, which stands at 33.5 million dollars. It is the first time that a Korean artist was included in the list. Thanks to BIGBANG’s success, YG Entertainment’s sales grew 10-fold compared with 2008 and reached 193 billion won.

What will the future be like for BIGBANG, a group that has set countless numbers of new records? At a press conference held earlier this month, G-DRAGON said, “We think a lot about our next step and about our next ten years. If we can inspire people, we want to contribute to enhancing the culture, and right now, we’re trying to draw the big picture for that.”

Meanwhile, to celebrate BIGBANG’s 10thanniversary, a number of events are taking place. On August 20, ”BIGBANG10 THE CONCERT: 0.TO.10” will be held at the World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong, and a total of 60,000 people is expected to attend the concert. For those who weren’t able to get the tickets, additional tickets to “restricted view” seats were also open for sale. BIGBANG’s exhibition featuring various records of the past 10 years of BIGBANG is being held at S Factory until October 30. In June, BIGBANG’s documentary “BIGBANG MADE” hit the box office.

Source: YG Entertainment(sedaily)