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2005—2006: Formation
"Before Big Bang's major debut, each member had his own degree of success and popularity in the entertainment industry. Leader G-Dragon and lead vocalist Tae Yang had already been with YG Entertainment since they were both twelve years old, known as GD and YB back then. Member T.O.P was well known as T.E.M.P.O. when he was the well-known rapper working underground. Big Bang made their official debut at the YG Family concert, held on August 19, 2006 at the Gymnastics Arena in Seoul Olympic Park.
Prior to the release of their first album, the group had a unique release schedule, with three EPs released within a span of a few months. Their first EP was The First Single Album, which spawned the top-ten[citation needed] hit single "This Love", a remake of the American boy band Maroon 5's own single. The single debuted with over 17,000 copies sold in the month of August and later went on to sell approximately nearly 40,000 copies. The second EP Big Bang is V.I.P. was released a month later, selling 21,000 copies in that month. It finally netted sales of 32,000 copies. Their third and last EP, B I G B A N G 0 3, followed the success of their previous EPs with final sales nearing 30,000 copies.
Later in the year, Big Bang's own official fan club was created, calling themselves the "V.I.P." (in reflection of their second single "Big Bang is V.I.P." wink . Unlike other fan clubs, Big Bang's fans do not have a balloon color for showing support at concerts; instead, fans wave black and white BB (standing for Big Bang) handkerchiefs/bandannas until the First Season. After selection of Second Season V.I.P., their support items became a crown-shaped stick. At the end of December 2006, Big Bang held their very first concert titled The Real. The following month, their first debut album Since 2007, which was essentially a compilation of songs from their previous singles, was released; it sold 48,009 copies by the end of February 2007."
2009–present: Solo activities and comeback
With the group on break in early 2009, the members pursued solo activities. They later reunited to collaborate with their label's new girl group 2NE1, who had been dubbed "The Female Big Bang",for the song "Lollipop". A music video was also filmed for promotion. Initially used to promote a cell phone, "Lollipop" reached the #1 spot on various online charts.Their first self-titled full-length Japanese album was released under Universal Music in August 2009 and was promoted with two singles: "My Heaven" and "Gara Gara Go!!" (ガラガラ GO!!?). "My Heaven", a Japanese translation of their Korean single, "Heaven", (Korean: 천국; Revised Romanization: Cheonguk) from Stand Up, was composed by Japanese composer Daishi Dance,and debuted at #3 on the Oricon Chart."Gara Gara Go!" charted at #5.The album itself peaked at #3.After their return to Korea, the members went back to their solo activities. On August 18, G-Dragon released his debut album, Heartbreaker, promoting it with the album's title track.Taeyang released two digital singles, "Where U At?" and "Wedding Dress", to promote his second album released in 2010.T.O.P joined the cast of the Korean thriller drama Iris, playing the assassin Vick. They later reunited to record the song "Koe o Kikasete" (声をきかせて, Let Me Hear Your Voice?) for the Japanese drama Ohitorisama ( おひとりさま, One Person?). The song was later released as a single, peaking at #4.
For several days in January 2010, Big Bang performed their 2010 Big Bang Concert Big Show in the Seoul Olympic Stadium.The following month, they embarked on their Electric Love tour in Japan.Although no official albums were recorded, 2010 saw the release of several singles for the group with promotional ties. The release of "Lollipop Part 2" in February, the follow-up to their single, "Lollipop", with 2NE1, was used to coincide with promotions for LG Cyon's Lollipop phone. and also reached number one on digital charts. Their next single, "Tell Me Goodbye" was recorded for the Japanese re-release of Korean drama Iris.The song proved to be popular gaining favorable reviews winning the Best Song Award at the 52nd Japan Record Awards. Additionally, tying in with the 2010 World Cup, the group released the song "Shout of the Reds" featuring the Korean rock band, Transfixion and ice skater Kim Yu-na.
For most of the year, the members individually promoted their own solo works and solo activities, including the release of the GD & T.O.P. unit with their collaboration album and the release of Seungri's first mini album titled "VVIP." Big Bang also won several notable awards, including the Best 5 New Artists award from the 24th Japan Gold Disc Award as well as the Best New Artist.Near the end of May, the group received the awards for 'Best Pop Video' and 'Best New Artist" from the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2010.They released their latest Japanese single "Beautiful Hangover" on August 25, 2010.
After nearly two year hiatus as a full group, Big Bang returned to South Korea with their 2011 Big Show concert.They also showcased songs from their latest EP Tonight,which went on to become a chart-topper upon its release on many Korean music chart. The album also became the first K-pop album to reach the top 10 on US iTunes chart and is the only non-English language album in the top 100.The album had a pre-sale order of 10,000 copies in Cyworld, beating the record set by TVXQ's 6,500 copies back in 2008. Overall reception for the EP has been positive, with Choi Jun of Asiae complimenting the group's new direction in their music, acknowledging that during the two years hiatus, the group's "style and musical sensibility [had] deepened." Seven days after the album's release, it was reported that Big Bang had already earn ₩7 billion (USD$6.2 million). In a week, 100,000 album copies were sold. Its lead-single of the name became a chart-topper on the Gaon Chart. The second single, "Love Song", also proved to be favorable; the music video on YouTube gained 2 million views within two days.
