Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon and the youngest member Seung-ri.
They were very different in how they grew up. One went through an ‘elite’ course while the other has gone from rags to riches. G-Dragon started appearing on TV in his childhood while Seung-ri danced in Gwangju. They trained as a rapper and a dancer. One was at the center of the team, while the other barely joined the team. G-Dragon kept a little distance while Seung-ri came close to fans. G-Dragon was a songwriter while Seung-ri was a life of the party. The two may look like complete opposites of each other.
In their early days, they frequently squabbled, which gave them the nicknames ‘Tom and Jerry’. The secret behind Big Bang’s success of being on the top among Korea’s boy bands is the flexibility where each member emphasized their personality when needed and got together when needed. G-Dragon’s charisma and Seung-ri’s amiability. Seven years have passed since their debut and the gap between the two is narrowing. At the same time the presence of Big Bang is growing as well.
Leader G-Dragon shows brighter rainbow colors through ‘convergence’
G-Dragon has come back with his second official album ‘COUP D’ETAT’. He has recently finished the world tour that moved across 13 cities around eight countries. He met about 570,000 audience members on this tour. Before the world tour kicked off, to the question on the difference between Big Bang and G-Dragon, he said, “I work on music both for Big Bang and for myself. Setting them apart is my homework to solve. I believe that this world tour will answer the question.” As shown by his answer, he has a strong sense of identity in music. How much did his sense of identity grow in his new album?
G-Dragon rapped in the song called ‘G-Dragon’ at the age of 13 for the hip-hop compilation album ‘2001 Korea Hip Hop Flex'. He was a rapper to the bone. It is not very difficult to imagine G-Dragon of today after listening to the kid rapper’s rapping, “I am 13 years old. They say I am too young for this world. Will you fall in love with my rhymes?” He already had a note for rap writing when he was in elementary school. G-Dragon sang the song again in his solo concert ‘Shine a Light’ held a decade later.
G-Dragon will be recorded as almost the first member of a boy band who writes and produces music both for his team. He reflects his personality into his team. He composed Big Bang’s hit song ‘Lies’. His first solo album ‘Heartbreaker’ created the year’s biggest issues from the sex performance on stage to the plagiarism controversy. He was young, but he knew how to incorporate sex appeal into music. Being the target of a controversy demonstrates that he joined the ranking of top stars.
His second EP ‘One Of A Kind’ received a comment that he set his musical identity and was acclaimed by cold critics. G-Dragon appeared on ‘Infinite Challenge’ to show his sense of humor. By writing a song with Park Myung-soo and competing with Jung Hyung-don for fashion, he promoted his name widely to the general public (Such flexibility is the virtue of a singer who wants to survive the Korean music market). YG Family never outpaced SM’s H.O.T. or JYP’s god in terms of ‘popularity’. Big Bang, however, was different. Big Bang proved that YG (Yang Hyun-suk) succeeded to let the team seek their own music while enjoying the highest popularity. And YG gave birth to an ‘idol artist’ of ‘class’, the G-Dragon.
G-Dragon announced ‘COUP D’ETAT’ through his second official album. Following his previous work ‘One Of A Kind’, the new album is in the same vein of the ‘hip-hop world interpreted by G-Dragon’. His previous work was a portfolio revealing G-Dragon’s style while this album shows how G-Dragon’s music can create a chemistry in collaboration with other artists. The scale of arrangement grew bigger. He is quickly reflecting the contemporary trend through collaboration with overseas artists. The first track ‘COUP D’ETAT’ reveals his ambition through its lyrics and arrangement.
The top DJ Diplo who worked with G-Dragon before and Bauuer of ‘Harlem Shake’ that hit YouTube hard blend well in with G-Dragon’s rapping. ‘NILIRIA’ featured by America’s hip-hop queen Missy Elliott revealed his boldness of sampling Korea’s folk song. It is a brilliant idea that Missy Elliott’s powerful rapping is followed by the familiary melody of the Korean folk song.
That is how he naturally avoided a cliché seen in the existing combination of ‘Korean classical music and hip hop’. R.O.D. participated by Lydia Paek as a vocal makes one think of Eminem and Rihanna. Just a little bit of waiting will allow us to listen to all tracks of his new album. What new standard will he present through this album? His aura on stage got stronger but he is still like a boy when he says, “I feel warm when I see the Big Bang cheering sticks.”
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The youngest member Seung-ri the late bloomer becomes a cheerful man.
The youngest member of Big Bang turned 24 years old this year. Seung-ri has recently released his second solo EP ‘Let’s Talk About Love’. He now removed the image of the youngest one and is giving off masculine vibes. In fact, Seung-ri did not have a big presence in the team, but he is currently promoting his solo album actively next to G-Dragon. To the reporters who asked him to define ‘Seung-riness’ that sets him apart from the other Big Bang members, he confidently said, “I am the only member who is whimsical, witty, amiable, and sociable.” His great ambition may allow him to run for a politician or something.
He is from Gwangju’s famous dance crew ‘Ilhwa’. He barely joined the team on ‘Real Docu Big Bang’, the TV program that covered the process of Big Bang’s debut. Maybe because of that, he sometimes goes overboard while showing his sense of humor on TV. Seung-ri’s excessive effort is not annoying since he sincerely does his best. YG singers have the image of being reluctant to appear on TV, but Seung-ri is determined to give joy to fans through variety shows. He acted in drama series or musicals and served as a host of a show. Seung-ri, who has the image of a cheerful man gives franks answers in an interview unlike any idol singers.
His first solo album ‘V.V.I.P’ overturned the expectation and topped the music chart. His comment “I am thankful for myself” became a hot issue. The music of Big Bang’s other members is based on black music such as hip hop and R&B while Seung-ri pursues pop music. His album is characterized by strong melodies and real instrumental sounds. Seung-ri calls himself a ‘melody maker’. His performance had a feel of Justin Timberlake. He is like a white and vacant drawing paper where a variety of styles can be tried. He is the member who allows fans to feel proud while seeing how he grows up over time.
His fluent Japanese helped him with his promotion in Japan. He appeared on Japanese drama series and variety shows alone. About four years ago when he had a Japanese interview in a morning show to promote an album, he heard a member saying, “Be quiet because you are not good at speaking Japanese. I am ashamed of you,” he decided to study Japanese hard. Now his Japanese is so good that he can appear on TV together with Japan’s famous host Akashiya Sanma and Downtown (comedian duo).
His latest second solo EP ‘Let’s Talk About Love’ is the result of Seung-ri the late bloomer setting himself apart from the other Big Bang members. The teaser video put up for evaluation for R-rate by YG Entertainment had the most sexual content in the history of idol groups. There was unexpectedly no controversy over the video. Rather, other rival agencies responded that they should have release such concept earlier than YG. The R-rated video strongly reflected Seung-ri’s own ideas. The video provided an opportunity to enable Seung-ri to give off sex appeal. He seemed to be prepared to boldly talk about sex now.
Source : bigbangupdates[dot]com
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