Seoul, South Korea · k-pop · hip hop

BigBang

1 festival played →

The group that made K-pop a global proposition — swaggering, hip-hop-rooted, and largely self-written, which was not the norm when they started.

BigBang debuted in Seoul in 2006 under YG Entertainment, and became one of the defining acts of K-pop's second generation, sometimes billed as the "Kings of K-pop" for their role in spreading Korean music abroad. The original line-up numbered five: G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri. Seungri left the entertainment industry in 2019 and T.O.P departed the group in 2023, leaving three members active today.

Unlike many of their contemporaries, members were closely involved in writing and producing their own material, with G-Dragon in particular taking a central creative role. Their debut album met a lukewarm response, but the singles that followed, including "Lies", which held the top of Korean charts for six consecutive weeks, changed that, along with "Haru Haru" and "Sunset Glow".

Their sound draws heavily on hip hop and R&B while incorporating electronic dance production, and the group's rap-and-vocal split gave them a looser, less uniform character than most idol groups of the era. They also built a substantial following in Japan, releasing four Japanese studio albums, all certified gold there.

After a two-year hiatus, BigBang returned with the EP Tonight, which won the first Best Worldwide Act award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Their following EP, Alive, became the first Korean release to chart on the US Billboard 200, and the album Made and its accompanying tour drew some 1.5 million attendees, a record for a Korean act at the time.

They were among the first Korean acts to tour arenas across Asia at scale, and have sold more than 140 million records worldwide. Members have sustained prominent solo careers alongside the group's output.

Read more

k-pophip hop