a timeline of BIGBANG’s career
Prior to the group’s debut, a few of the members were already exposed to the entertainment industry. G-Dragon and Taeyang were the first ones to receive training under YG Entertainment at the age of eleven. After G-Dragon was approached by YG Entertainment for possible candidates to start a boy group, G-Dragon contacted T.O.P, his childhood friend, leading to the latter to audition. At the time, T.O.P was an underground rapper under the stage name “Tempo.” One of his most popular tracks was “Buckwild” with NBK Gray. Seungri first appeared on the reality television series Let’s Cokeplay: Mnet Battle Shinhwa, a show in which idol group Shinhwa search for members to make up the “second-generation Shinhwa.”
Big Bang held their official debut on August 19, 2006 at the Gymnastics Arena in Seoul Olympic Park during the YG Family 10th Year Concert, which was broadcast the following month. Their first single "Bigbang," released shortly thereafter, contained the songs "We Belong Together," featuring label mate Park Bom; "A Fool's Only Tears" (Korean: 눈물뿐인 바보 Revised Romanization: Nunmulppunin Babo); and "This Love," an adaptation of the American rock band Maroon 5 song, rewritten and performed by G-Dragon. The single went on to sell nearly 40,000 copies.The second single, "BigBang Is V.I.P," was released in September, eventually topping 32,000 copies sold. Their last single, "Bigbang 03," followed, with final sales nearing 40,000 copies. The group held their first concert, The Real, that December, followed by their debut album, BigBang Vol. 1 – Since 2007. Debuting at no. 3, the album went on to sell over 110,000 copies.
On February 8, 2007, Big Bang released their live concert album, The First / Real Live Concert, which sold 30,000 copies by the end of the year. They also began the Want You Tour in support of Since 2007, visiting five cities: Incheon, Daegu, Changwon, Jeonju and Busan. Their first extended play, Always (2007), marked several changes for the group. Though members had previously involved themselves with writing and composing, the group took more creative control over their music, moving away from their hip-hop roots. G-Dragon composed and wrote most of the tracks, including the lead single "Lies". The EP also saw the introduction of electronic music for Big Bang. Receptions were fairly positive, most notably in regards to "Lies", which critics described as "through the roof". Released as the lead single, it became their first number one hit and the album sold over 120,000 copies. Topping music charts for six weeks, "Lies" went to become the first song to win the Song of the Month award from the Cyworld Digital Music Awards for two consecutive months, as well as gathering the highest monthly sales in Cyworld's history, with over 200,000 copies sold in September.
BIGBANG’s popularity skyrocketed with their breakthrough title track “Lies,” which achieved number one on the music charts in August of 2007. This coincided with the boys taking more direction over their music—more so than with their previous releases, which explains their musical shift from R&B to electronic, which was more popular in Asia in the mid to late 2000s. The track landed them awards for “Best Male Group” and “Song of the Year” at the 2007 Mnet Asian Music Awards, as well as “Artist of the Year” and “Digital Record of the Year” at the 17th Seoul Music Awards. “Lies” continues to withstand time, remaining one of the group’s most recognized songs.
As 2007 came to a close, Big Bang ventured overseas to Japan. Their first Japanese EP, For the World (2008), charted at number 10 on the Oricon chart with minimal promotion. The group also held a concert at the JCB Hall in Tokyo Dome City. Big Bang returned to South Korea after their promotions in Japan ended. Although group activities were delayed due to solo projects, their third Korean EP, Stand Up, was released. Featuring artists such as DJ Daishi Dance and the Korean rock-band No Brain, Stand Up exceeded the 200,000 mark in sales. "Day by Day," the lead single, topped several online charts and held the number one position for six consecutive weeks. It also became one of the most successful singles of all-time in South Korea, selling over 5.4 million digital downloads in South Korea alone. The EP also included the top-five song "Heaven," (Korean: 천국; Revised Romanization: Cheonguk) the top-ten "Oh My Friend," and the top-twenty "A Good Man" (Korean: 착한 사람; Revised Romanization: Chaghan Salam) and "Lady."
During the release of their Korean materials, Big Bang released the Japanese song, "Number 1", from their first Japanese studio album of the same name, performing the song on Japanese radio programs and TV shows; the album peaked at number three on the Japan's Oricon daily album chart. Their second Korean studio album, Remember (2008), yielded the number one single, "Sunset Glow", a remake of the song of the same name by Lee Moon-se, released in 1988. "Strong Baby", performed solely by Seungri, was released as the second single. The album went on to sell over 200,000 copies. Big Bang received their second Artist of the Year Award from the 2008 Mnet Asian Music Awards. At the end of 2008, it was reported that Big Bang earned a total of ₩36 billion ($34.5 million).
Their second Korean studio album, Remember (2008), yielded the number one single, "Sunset Glow" (Korean: 붉은노을; Revised Romanization: Byulkeun Noeul). "Strong Baby," performed solely by Seungri, was released as the second single. The album went on to sell over 200,000 copies. Big Bang received their second Artist of the Year Award from the 2008 Mnet Asian Music Awards. At the end of 2008, it was reported that Big Bang earned a total of ₩36 billion ($34.5 million).
After nearly two-year hiatus as a full group, Big Bang returned to South Korea with their 2011 Big Show concert, showcasing songs from the upcoming EP Tonight. The album had a pre-sale order of 10,000 copies in Cyworld, beating the record set by TVXQ's 6,500 copies back in 2008, and moved 100,000 units in a week.
Reception for the album was positive, with Choi Jun of Asiae complimenting the group's new direction in their music, acknowledging that during the two years hiatus, the group's "style and musical sensibility [had] deepened."Seven days after the album's release, it was reported that Big Bang had already earned ₩7 billion (USD$6.6 million). Its lead-single of the same name became a chart-topper on the Gaon Chart.After promotions for Tonight was finished, Big Bang released a special edition album with two new tracks: "Love Song" and "Stupid Liar." "Love Song"'s music video on YouTube gained 2 million views within just two days. The Love & Hope Tour was kicked off in May in support of the album.
At the 2011 MTV EMA, Big Bang won the Best Worldwide Act award as representatives of the Asia-Pacific region with over 58 million votes. "Love Song" also won Best Music Video at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Big Bang later celebrated YG Entertainment's 15th anniversary by participating in the 2011 YG Family Concert Tour. This was followed by a release of their third Greatest Hits album The Best of Big Bang on December 14, which contained a Japanese version of their number one hit "Day by Day." The album topped the Oricon Daily chart on its first day of release and went on to sell over 14,000 copies in the first week. It was reported that Big Bang earned ₩88 billion (USD$84.5 million) in 2011 even though they had just promoted for half a year. The earnings included Big Bang's revenue concert for SBS's Big Bang Show, their 2011 Big Show Concert and their Love and Hope Tour in Japan.
In January 2012, YG Entertainment began releasing teasers for Big Bang's fifth Korean EP Alive, which was released in both digital and physical formats in February. Preorders for Alive amounted to 260,000 copies in two weeks. The album was generally well received and praised for showcasing the group's "progress, musical variety, [and] non-conformity" while "still maintaining Big Bang's unique identity" by Mithun Divakaran. Its lead single, "Blue," was released a week prior to the album's release and reached the number one position on all major domestic charts. The EP was a commercial success, selling in excess of 200,000 copies after one month. Internationally, Big Bang obtained five spots out of the top-ten on Billboard K-pop's Hot 100 and charted at no. 150 on Billboard 200, making them the first Korean artist with a Korean album to do so. Their popularity also boosted them onto the Billboard Social 50, entering at number twenty-four. They later received recognition from notable sites such as Time magazine, and a photo of the group was featured on the Grammy Awards homepage.
In January 2012, YG Entertainment began releasing teasers for Big Bang's fifth Korean EP Alive, which was released in both digital and physical formats in February. Preorders for Alive amounted to 260,000 copies in two weeks. The album was generally well received and praised for showcasing the group's "progress, musical variety, [and] non-conformity" while "still maintaining Big Bang's unique identity" by Mithun Divakaran. Its lead single, "Blue," was released a week prior to the album's release and reached the number one position on all major domestic charts.
The Japanese version of Alive was released on March 28 both digitally and physically, with two additional Japanese tracks. Included with the physical copy of their album was a bonus Japanese version of their hit song "Day by Day." It sold over 23,000 copies on its first day of release and peaked at number two on the Oricon charts, eventually selling over 200,000 copies total and certified gold by the RIAJ. Japanese promotions began with a performance at 2012's Springroove Festival alongside top American and Japanese hip hop artists. Big Bang was the first Korean act to be invited along with label-mates 2NE1. Following the success of their comeback, Big Bang released a special edition album titled Still Alive on June 3. It featured four new tracks including two new Korean tracks of which their lead single was titled "Monster," as well as Korean remakes of the two additional tracks in the Japanese version of Alive. The album sold over 100,000 copies in its first month of release. A special Monster edition of their Japanese Alive album was also released on June 20, following its Korean counterpart.
Although they were continue touring within 2012, BIGBANG began focus on their solo activties. T.O.P began focusing onto acting, staring in the film Commitment (2012), for which he won the Rookie Award at the Asia Star Awards, held during the Buscan International Film Festival. Later in 2013, he released his digital single, "Doom Dada". In 2014, he starred in Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014). In 2015, he later debuted as a furniture designer, in collaboration with Vitra.
Taeyang began working on his second studio album. The single "Ringa Linga" was released in November 2013, preceding his second album Rise 2014. Rise became the third highest charting K-pop album, and also the highest charting K-pop album by a solo artist on the Billboardcharts, reaching 112 on the Billboard Hot 200 while topping the Billboard World Albums Chart and Heatseekers Albums Chart, selling 3,000 copies.In Japan, the album ranked at number two, with 48,000 units sold. Taeyang promoted the album with three singles: "Ringa Linga", "Eyes, Nose, Lips" and "1AM." Afterwards he embarked on the Rise World Tour which visited 9 countries and 16 cities. Later he collaborated with G-Dragon to release the song "Good Boy" for YG Entertainment's new hip hop project.
G-Dragon released the music video for his song "One of a Kind" from the album of the same name on August 24, 2012 on Youtube. The song earned him two "Best Hip Hop/Rap Song of the Year" awards from Korean Music Awards and Rhythmer Awards. He followed this up with the chart-topper "That XX" (Korean: 그 XX; Revised Romanization: Geu XX). His EP One of a Kind was released in digital and physical format several days apart in September. The album was received positively, placing first on the Billboard World Album Chart and entering the Billboard 200 Chart at 161 for the week.At of the end of 2012, the album netted in over 200,000 copies, making it the highest selling solo album in Korea since the release of his Heartbreaker in 2009. After touring extensively, G-Dragon went back into the studio. His second album, Coup D'etat was released September 13.
Big Bang held their official debut on August 19, 2006 at the Gymnastics Arena in Seoul Olympic Park during the YG Family 10th Year Concert, which was broadcast the following month. Their first single "Bigbang," released shortly thereafter, contained the songs "We Belong Together," featuring label mate Park Bom; "A Fool's Only Tears" (Korean: 눈물뿐인 바보; Revised Romanization: Nunmulppunin Babo); and "This Love," an adaptation of the American rock band Maroon 5 song, rewritten and performed by G-Dragon. The single went on to sell nearly 40,000 copies.The second single, "BigBang Is V.I.P," was released in September, eventually topping 32,000 copies sold. Their last single, "Bigbang 03," followed, with final sales nearing 40,000 copies. The group held their first concert, The Real, that December, followed by their debut album, BigBang Vol. 1 – Since 2007. Debuting at no. 3, the album went on to sell over 110,000 copies.
As 2007 came to a close, Big Bang ventured overseas to Japan. Their first Japanese EP, For the World (2008), charted at number 10 on the Oricon chart with minimal promotion. The group also held a concert at the JCB Hall in Tokyo Dome City. Big Bang returned to South Korea after their promotions in Japan ended. Although group activities were delayed due to solo projects, their third Korean EP, Stand Up, was released. Featuring artists sch as Daishi Dance and the Korean rock-band No Brain, Stand Up exceeded the 200,000 mark in sales. "Day by Day," the lead single, topped several online charts and held the number one position for six consecutive weeks. It also became one of the most successful singles of all-time in South Korea, selling over 5.4 million digital downloads in South Korea alone. The EP also included the top-five song "Heaven," (Korean: 천국; Revised Romanization: Cheonguk) the top-ten "Oh My Friend," and the top-twenty "A Good Man" (Korean: 착한 사람; Revised Romanization: Chaghan Salam) and "Lady."
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During the release of their Korean materials, Big Bang released the Japanese song, "Number 1," from their first Japanese studio album of the same name, performing the song on Japanese radio programs and TV shows; the album peaked at number three on the Japan's Oricon daily album chart.
In celebration of their 10 years anniversary, they decided to announce that they're having a concert. "BIGBANG10 The Concert 0.to.10 Final" Concert will be taking place at the Gocheok SkyDome in Seoul, South Korea in January 7-8, 2017. In addition to their concert, the group will be holding an exhibition entitled "BIGBANG 10 THE EXHIBITION: A TO Z" starting August 5 until October 30, 2016. the exhibition will be held at S-Factory in Sungsu-dong, Seongdong-gu in Seoul. As the name suggest, the concept of the exhibitiion is based on BIGBANG's past, present, and future.
Also in display will be content that is emblematic of the group, including BIGBANG albums, photos, outfits, videos, interviews, music video sets, and concerts, that have been specially prepared for the exhibition.
At the end of December, the band finally released their third studio album, MADE. Which was a combination of their single albums "M", "A", "D", "E" as well as 3 additional songs.
To help promote their album, BIGBANG and YG decided to go on multiple variety shows, to show their apperciation to their fans, as well because of the lack of time together as they all are soon have to do their mandatory military service. They were confirmed that they'll be appearing on, MBC "INFINTE CHALLENGE", "RADIO STAR" and "WEEKLY IDOL".
After a year of delay, Made was issued to both digital and physical formats in December 2016. Two singles preceded its release: "Fxxk It," (Korean: 에라 모르겠다; Revised Romanization: Era Moreugedda) and "Last Dance." The two title tracks, along with "Girlfriend", took the three top places on the Gaon Chart, selling over 1 million digital copies combined in five days. The same songs peaked at number 2, 3 and 4 on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, selling 13,000 copies combined. The digital version of Made sold a total of 1,113,494 digital copies on QQ Music, Kugou, and Kuwo, China's three major music platforms. The album debuted at No. 172 on the United States Billboard 200 with 6,000 equivalent album units, 4,000 of which were in traditional album sales, earning the band their second entry on the chart. They also debuted at no. 1 on the World Albums chart and the Heatseekers Albums chart. In their home country, South Korea, the limited edition physical version of the album was released on December 23, and topped the Gaon Albums chart. Two special encore concerts, titled Big Bang The Concert: 0.To.10 Final In Seoul, were held at the Gocheok Sky Dome from January 7—8, 2017 to wrap up their 10th anniversary tour and Made's promotional activities.
As per South Korea's mandatory military service requirement, T.O.P. will enlist for his two-year service on February 9, 2017 as a conscripted policeman.
On January 2017, YG Entertainment announced that G-Dragon was working on a new solo album to be released in 2017, along with a new concert tour. G-Dragon featured on Zion.T's album OO (2017), which was released on the 1st of February, for the song "Complex", that charted second on the Gaon Digital Chart.
On December 2, 2016, YGEX announced that Daesung would be holding his first solo dome tour in Japan, titled the D-lite Japan Dome Tour 2017. Kicking off the tour at the Seibu Prince Dome on April 15 and 16, Daesung will also perform at the Kyocera Dome on April 22 and 23. The tour is set to attract approximately 200,000 fans to the two cities.
His first japanese mini-album, named D-Day, is set to be released on April 12, 2017.
In 2016, he started his personal fashion brand called PEACEMINUSONE as an online store, with a collection that includes tees, caps and jewellery. Later, the line was launched as a physical store at the Dover Street Market in London.