They’re one of the biggest boy bands in the world. Their concerts make One Direction’s look poorly attended.
They’re BIGBANG, and you’ve probably never heard of them.
BIGBANG is a South Korean boy band formed by YG Entertainment. With members Ji-yong“G-Dragon” Kwon, Seung-hyun“T.O.P” Choi，Young-bae “Taeyang” Dong, Dae-sung “Daesung” Kang and Seung-hyun “ Seungri” Lee. They are often cited as one of the most influential acts to shape the K-pop industry, helping to spread the Korean Wave internationally and dubbed the “Kings of K-pop” by the media. Although their music has fallen into the genre ‘K-pop’, some of the members have different ideas. “I don’t know why they call Korean music ‘K-pop’,” said Seungri during an interview. “Good music is good music, so if you are going to be making good music, then they are going to be listening to our music.” “It’s like this,” added T.O.P. “You don’t divide pop music by who’s doing it. We don’t say, for instance, ‘white pop’ when white people make music,” G-Dragon chimed in. “We are Korean, so obviously they call our music K-pop.”
This style of music became popular in Japan and then, in the 2000s, across Asia, as part of the “Korean wave” of popular culture that also included dramas, movies and fashion.
The M.A.D.E. tour ended on Mar.6th. 2016 in Seoul and has been huge. BIGBANG sold 910,000 tickets for 18 concerts in Japan alone. By comparison, One Direction sold 2.4 million on their tours last year – but it took them 83 and 85 shows. BIGBANG’s tour has included stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New Jersey, as well as Mexico and Canada.
“We were amazed that people knew our songs in countries that we haven’t even been to, such as in Mexico,” said Taeyang. “They’d never seen us other than on the Internet.”
From their origins in the K-pop machine, the band has matured to lead a new generation of boy bands who are also involved in writing, composing and producing.
So, what happens next? The band members are concerned about the future. “I believe in destiny, and I’m going to let it flow and see how it goes,” said T.O.P.
But for now, they’re not talking about splitting up. As G-Dragon puts it, “Carpe diem, you know.”
