ALL ABOUT BIGBANG

   Big Bang (Korean: 빅뱅) is a South Korean boy band formed by YG  Entertainment. Consisting of members G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, 
Daesung, and  Seungri, the group officially debuted on August 19, 2006. Predominantly a hip  hop group, their debut was a moderate success, 
with their first self-titled  Korean album selling 48,000 copies. Their breakthrough came with the release of  their first extended play, 
Always (2007), which included the number one song  "Lies" (Korean: 거짓말; Revised Romanization: Geojitmal). The song went on to top major 
Korean music charts for a record-breaking seven  consecutive weeks, and won the group the Song of the Year award at the 9th Mnet 
Korean Music Festival.

  Big Bang’s followed-up releases furthered their success and  popularity: Hot Issue (2007) spawned the chart-topping song "Last  Farewell," 
(Korean: 마지막 인사;  Revised Romanization: Majimak Insa), while Stand Up (2008) produced "Day By  Day" (Korean: 하루하루; Revised Romanization: Haru Haru).  
After receiving the Artist of the Year award from the 2008 Mnet Korean Music  Festival, the group expanded their endeavors to Japan, 
releasing both their  second Korean studio-album Remember and their first Japanese album, Number 1,  in the same year, 
and consequently winning three awards at the 9th MTV Video  Music Awards Japan. They would go on to release three more Japanese studio  
albums: Big Bang (2009), Big Bang 2 (2011), and the Japanese studio album Alive  (2012). Amidst their Japanese promotions, 
the members branched out to do solo  activities: Taeyang and G-Dragon released solo albums, G-Dragon and T.O.P  formed a sub-unit, 
Seungri and Daesung acted in musicals and hosted variety  shows, and T.O.P went on to star in various films and television shows.

  After a two-year hiatus in South Korea, Big Bang reunited in  2011 with their EP Tonight (2011). Promotions were cut short when multiple  
members encountered legal issues. By the end of the year, Big Bang emerged as  the inaugural Best Worldwide Act winner at the 2011 MTV 
Europe Music  Awards.Three months after their win in Europe, Big Bang released their most  successful physical album, the Korean EP Alive 
(2012), which won them their  second Artist of the Year Award at the 14th Mnet Asian Music Award. Alive  became the first Korean album 
to chart on Billboard 200, with the group  embarking on their first ever world tour that concluded in early 2013. In 2015,  after a
three-year hiatus, Big Bang made their highly anticipated comeback to  their native country with the release of four singles, 
"M," "A," "D," and "E," to precede their third Korean  studio album Made. Their singles were met with critical and commercial success, 
netting in sales of over 13.3 million copies throughout Asia and winning the  group their third Artist of the Year Award at the 17th 
Mnet Asian Music Awards.

  Labeled as the "Kings of K-pop" and "Nation's  Boy Band," the members’ involvement in composing and producing their own  music, 
most notably G-Dragon, has earned the group respect and praise from the  music industry.Since the release of the Gaon Chart, Big Bang, 
including their solo releases, has sold over 79 million  records. With the previous releases including sales from Music Industry  
Association of Korea (MIAK) and The Korea Music Content Industry Association  (KMCIA), they have sold over 100 million records, 
with over 94 million digital  singles, selling an average of 4.3 million downloads per title track and 1.5  million downloads per 
non-title track, and over 6 million albums in Korea,  Japan, and the rest of the Asian continent. They have won numerous awards and  
set several records, including the all-time best-selling artist in Cyworld and  most Artist of the Year Award wins at the Mnet Asian 
Music Awards. Citing their  global popularity and contribution to K-pop, the Hollywood Reporter have  described them as "the biggest 
boy band in the world."