Big Bang is a Korean musical group made up of five Korean men. When they first debuted, they were considered to be the new face of the YG Family, a pet name for their management company YG Entertainment. Although their debut was somewhat successful, it was not until the release of "거짓말" ("Lies") that the group gained mainstream success. Big Bang have been noted for their music as well as their fashionable clothing, becoming famous throughout the country in the process.
Before Big Bang’s major debut, each member had his own degree of success and popularity in the entertainment industry. Leader G-Dragon and lead vocalist Taeyang had already been with YG Entertainment since they were both twelve years old, known as GD and YB back then. Member T.O.P was well known as an underground hip-hop rapper while Seung Ri was first introduced to the entertainment industry through the show Let’s Cokeplay Battle Shinhwa.
After the lineups for the group was finally made, the television network MTV Korea released a ten-episode documentary that showed the members in training before their debut as an official group (an eleventh episode was added after final members were decided). The first six episodes detailed each individual member’s background and motivation for becoming a singer. The documentary portrayed the arduous process of training by showing their dancing and singing practice sessions. Beyond being just a behind-the-scenes reality show, the series also eliminated various candidates unfit for Big Bang. Two members, SO-1 and Seungri (Lee Seung Hyun) were considered for elimination, but they were given second chances to showcase their abilities in singing, dancing, and performing. However, this eventually resulted in Yang Hyun Suk (the CEO of YG Entertainment) dropping SO-1 because he lacked stage presence and was "too shy". On the other hand, Seung Ri was able to successfully impress Yang with his dancing and singing skills, thus making the group. This documentary helped gain recognition for the group.
Before deciding on an official name for the group, the members had suggested several names, such as "Apex", "Stump," and "Diamond". Finally it was decided on "Big Bang" as producer and founder of YG Entertainment Yang Hyun Suk thought the other names were too childish. Big Bang made their official debut at the YG Family concert, held on August 19, 2006 at the Gymnastics Arena in Seoul Olympic Park.
Prior to the release of their first album, the group had a unique release schedule, with three EPs released within a span of a few months. Their first EP was The First Single Album, which spawned the top-ten hit single "This Love", a remake of the American boy band Maroon 5′s own single. The single debuted with over 17,000 copies sold in the month of August and later went on to sell approximately nearly 40,000 copies. The second EP Big Bang is V.I.P. was released a month later, selling 21,000 copies in that month. It finally netted sales of 32,000 copies. Their third and last EP, B I G B A N G 0 3, followed the success of their previous EPs with final sales nearing 30,000 copies.
Later in the year, Big Bang’s own official fan club was created, calling themselves the "V.I.P." (in reflection of their second single "Big Bang is V.I.P."). Unlike other fan clubs, Big Bang’s fans do not have a balloon color for showing support at concerts; instead, fans wave black and white BB (obviously standing for Big Bang) handkerchiefs/bandannas. At the end of December 2006, Big Bang held their very first concert titled The Real. The following month, their first debut album Since 2007, which was essentially a compilation of songs from their previous singles, was released; it sold 48,009 copies by the end of February 2007.
Members
G-Dragon (Bong)
- Real Name: Kwon, Ji-Yong (권지용, 權志龍)
- Date of Birth: August 18, 1988 (Age: 20)
G-Dragon is the leader of Big Bang. He has been trained by YG Entertainment since the age of thirteen, often at the side of fellow member Taeyang. He often composes and produces the group’s material. He is now working quite closely with producing the music of one of the newest girl groups from YG Entertainment, 2NE1. His first mini-album is scheduled to be released in August 2009, on his birthday.
T.O.P (Tempo)
- Real Name: Choi, Seung-Hyun (최승현, 崔勝鉉)
- Date of Birth: November 4, 1987 (Age: 21)
Before joining Big Bang, he received recognition by winning KBS’s "Rap Battle" in 2003. T.O.P. acted in the Korean television drama I Am Sam. He is currently filming in the planned drama Iris alongside actors Kim Tae Hee and Lee Byung Hun. He is also filming a teenage suspense drama 19 alongside fellow member Seung Ri. Aside from his role in Big Bang, he has collaborated with various artists, including Red Roc’s "Hello," singer Gummy’s "Mianhaeyo" ("미안해요", "I’m Sorry"), and Uhm Jung-hwa for "D.I.S.C.O." He is the oldest in the group. He also is currently working on A New Drama, "IRIS" or Akita. It has been seen on various websites, that he is the "bad guy" type for this show. It is said to release sometime in September.
Tae Yang (SoL)
- Real Name: Dong, Young-Bae (동영배, 東永裴)
- Date of Birth: May 18, 1988 (Age: 21)
Taeyang’s first appearance, along with G-Dragon, was made in one of 1TYM’s music video. Taeyang started out as a rapper, but is now the main vocalist of Big Bang. He was the first one to release a solo album called HOT during the summer of 2008 and had his first solo concert. On 2008-8-7 he opened a concert for Alicia Keys in South Korea, where he performed his 2 singles: 기도 (Prayer) and 나만 바라봐 (Look Only At Me). Taeyang is also known for his free style dancing ability, which has become more prominent since the band’s debut. According to Naver, Taeyang’s next album was expected to be a full album, but YG later announced the change and it is now expected to be another mini; it is scheduled to be released in either August or September. It will be produced by YG Entertainment’s rising producer and 1Tym Member Teddy. Currently, Teddy is busy working on 2NE1′s album but he’ll immediately shift his full focus over to Taeyang once the work on 2NE1′s album is complete.
Dae Sung (D-Lite)
- Real Name: Kang, Dae-Sung (강대성, 姜大成)
- Date of Birth:April 26,1989 (Age: 20)
Daesung was recruited in an audition, and even though he was jokingly known as "unpretty boy" among the staff, he turned out to be the most popular member. During training, he got to do vocal training with Wheesung, who’s one of his favorite artists. Wheesung had also help other members from Big Bang. While training, he was diagnosed with vocal cord nodules (a mass of tissue that grows on the vocal cords causing human speech to be difficult), which are common among singers and caused by strains on the vocal cords. He was the first to ever be a permanent-member of a variety show. He now shows up on Family Outing, a famous-variety show where a group of people, the "Family" goes to rural parts of korea and do quiz and work. He is seen close to Yoo Jae Seok, Lee Hyori, and Kim Jong Kook. Daesung was also the first member of Big Bang to try out for a musical. He debuted in a musical titled Cat, which members from the variety show Family Outing came to support Dae Seung. In April 2007, Daesung decided to quit high school to be able to focus full time on Big Bang, but expressed a desire to pass his college entrance exams sometime in the future.
Seung Ri (V.I./Victory)
- Real Name: Lee, Seung Hyun (이승현, 李勝賢)
- Date of Birth:December 12, 1990 (Age: 18)
Seungri is from Kwangjoo, the sixth major city in Korea. Before Big Bang, he was a member of Ilhwan, a Kwangjoo dance team. In summer 2005, Seungri appeared on an episode of "Let’s Cokeplay: M.net Battle Shinhwa", a TV show to find the second Shinhwa through auditions. The band Battle is the result of that TV show. In the thirteenth episode, he was cut because his singing wasn’t impressive enough, even though his dancing was. He now participates in musicals and is featured in the upcoming drama "My 19" with fellow member, T.O.P.
Links
Incoming search terms:
- big bang asian
- big bang debut
- bigbang debut
- debut de bigbang
- big bang asia
- yg entertainment audition
- big bang Korean boy band
- big bang korean band
- big ban asian
- list of famous asian musicians
Reign of Assassins
Biutiful
Leeteuk