Who is Big Bang?
As Big Bang launches its first world tour in nine years, the K-pop icon’s two-decade story spans genre-defining hits, scandals, hiatuses and a three-member comeback.
K-pop boy band Big Bang performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 11.
SCREEN CAPTURE
Big Bang debuted in August 2006 as a five-member boy band under YG Entertainment, with G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri. The group debuted with a then-unorthodox hip-hop concept it kept throughout its career, its earlier tracks such as “La La La” (2006), “V.I.P” (2006) and “Dirty Cash” (2006) leaning to dead-on hip-hop, while switching between emotional R&B and upbeat dance that won the band popularity from audiences of diverse backgrounds
The group’s turn to the sentimental, melodic sound with such as “Lies” (2007), “Last Farewell” (2007) and “Haru Haru” (2008), led to a surge in its popularity across Asia.
Its 2008 remake of Lee Moon-sae’s famed folk track "Sunset Glow" (1988) into a trendy dance number expanded its audience range to older generations, setting it apart from boy bands that targeted only teenage and young adult women, while later songs including “Tonight” (2011), “Fantastic Baby” (2012), “Loser” (2015) and “Bang Bang Bang” (2015) cemented the group’s position as one of K-pop’s defining acts.
The group’s career was also marked by controversy and long pauses, its ordeals beginning in 2011 when leader G-Dragon faced charges for smoking marijuana, though his indictment was suspended. Earlier that year, member Daesung was involved in a car accident that resulted in a fatality, though he was found not guilty by prosecutors. In 2017, T.O.P was convicted for marijuana use.
The biggest blow came in 2019 when former member Seungri left the band due to the so-called Burning Sun scandal that spread like wildfire to the entire entertainment industry involving illicit drugs, sex and bribery.
After years of military service and a hiatus, Big Bang returned as a four-member act in April 2022 with “Still Life,” its first group release in about four years. T.O.P confirmed he had left the group in 2023, leaving Big Bang with three members: G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung.
The three reunited onstage at the 2024 MAMA Awards during G-Dragon’s performance, performing “Home Sweet Home” (2024), “Bang Bang Bang” and “Fantastic Baby.” In 2026, Big Bang performed at Coachella as a three-member act.
Big Bang is now marking its 20th anniversary with a new world tour. The group is set to launch “Big Bang 2026 World Tour” at Goyang Stadium from Aug. 21 to 23, its first world tour in nine years.
BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]
