VIPs — as Big Bang fans call themselves — all over the world are rejoicing at the release of the group’s first single in three years and the single’s two tracks “Loser” and “Bae Bae” are kicking up a storm on the charts, with no signs of slowing. The two songs took the top slots in all of Korea’s major music charts, while “Loser” took the top spot on iTunes in 10 countries and rose to No. 37 on the U.S. iTunes chart.
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According to the group, the new album was all about coming back to basics, a raw level and connecting with fans’ imaginations.
“What we talked about from the very beginning of this album was that we wanted to keep it minimal,” said leader G-Dragon during a conversation with reporters at the Conrad Hotel in Yeondeungpo-gu, Seoul on Monday.
“Instead of focusing on how each member could shine in their part, we talked about how we could blend together better as a team. We didn’t get technical with our singing, because we wanted it to be about the emotion. Instead of taking the lyrics into the booth during recording, we memorized the lyrics, and turned off all the lights in the booth to make it more heartfelt,” he said.
“We wanted people to hear the song and have an emotional reaction right away.”
The two songs released on the single “M” on May 1 are evocative. “Loser,” a song about feeling alone and in despair, was written to show Big Bang’s fans the members’ insecurities and loneliness.
“It actually started out as a love song,” G-Dragon said. “But since it was our first album in three years, we wanted it to be something that connected more with the public, so we changed the theme.”
“When we go somewhere like Tokyo, we might give these awesome performances and meet 50,000 fans, but at the end of the day we’re alone in our hotel room,” he added. “It might sound ungrateful, but we definitely understand that strange, empty feeling.”
Meanwhile, the lyrics and music video for the flirty “Bae Bae” was designed to be fun and enjoyed on a simple level.
When asked about the sexually charged atmosphere of the video that had fans and media buzzing, rapper T.O.P said, “It‘s not blatantly sexual. We weren’t trying to make it sexual or dirty, but aiming for something humorous and avant-garde.”
Singer Daesung added, “We wanted something crazy.”
“If you just listen to the lyrics, it’s just a love song,” G-Dragon chimed in. “We wanted to see how we could add a good visual experience through the video, something that would stimulate the imagination and be something wacky. We paid attention to every detail in every scene.”
“We’ve been around for 10 years, and we thought a lot about how we could bring something fresh to the table,” T.O.P said.
“We created each scene with our own ideas, because we knew what we wanted,” said Taeyang. “The video has a lot of our style of wit.”
In the end, the members emphasized that coming back together and performing was all about enjoying the music and providing enjoyment to their fans.
“We talk about how we perform because we love it. If we performed because we had to, even if we didn’t like the music, I don’t think there would be anything we would hate more,” said Taeyang.
“If we can, we want to perform until we’re 70, 80 years old,” said T.O.P. “But we all told each other that we’d stop if we lost energy or started getting too old for the stage. We’ll be around just as long as our fans tell us that they like what they see.”
“M” is one of four single albums that will be released on the first of each month until August 1, with a studio album coming on Sept. 1. Meanwhile, Big Bang will take off for a world tour, hitting 15 countries for 70 concerts, lasting through to 2016.
By Won Ho-jung(hjwon@heraldcorp.com)
