Big Bang impresses with "Tonight" after 2 years

From left to right: Seungri, TOP, Daesung, G-Dragon, and Taeyang

The wait is finally over as Big Bang is finally making a comeback after their 2 years and 37 day hiatus. Even though 2011 has just begun, news of this 5-member group performing together as one has been the most anticipated event of the whole year. Over the past 2 years, Big Bang had been focusing on their breakthrough into the Japanese music market and side projects of each member but now, they are back as one performing on the Korean stage.

GD&TOP

For those of you who aren't familiar with Big Bang, they are a 5-member South Korean hip hop/pop group that debuted back in 2006 with YG Entertainment. The members consist of TOP (oldest and main rapper), G-Dragon (leader and rapper), Taeyang (lead vocalist and main dancer), Daesung (vocalist), and Seungri (youngest, vocalist and dancer). In their previous years, Big Bang had famous hits like "Lies", "Day by Day", and "Sunset Glow". Starting from around 2008, some of the members started with solo albums that were really successful. In 2010, Taeyang released his Solar album with hits like "I'll Be There" and "I Need A Girl". Leader G-Dragon released his Heartbreaker album in 2009 and earlier this year, he teamed up with member TOP to release their "High High" album. In addition, youngest member Seungri impressed his fans with "VVIP" near the end of January 2011. Not only do they sing but a few of the members have started their careers as actors in movies and dramas. Rapper TOP stared in the hit drama "IRIS" and the Korean war movie "71: Into the Fire" while Seungri and Daesung stared in dramas with minor roles. The members of Big Bang each excel in different areas like dancing, composing, acting, beat-boxing, rapping and singing.

From left to right: TOP, Daesung, Seungri, Taeyang, G-Dragon

This time Big Bang is coming back with a new mini album titled "Tonight" with six new songs. The song that they will mainly be promoting is called "Tonight". The music video of this song was filmed in Las Vegas near the end of January and the filming took a couple of days before they flew back to Korea. Although Big Bang is a hip hop group, they managed to combine techno with hip hop in their songs. Unlike the current trend in Korea, which is coming up with an addicting tune or beat right from the beginning, "Tonight" does not have the addicting tune at the start. Instead, the opening builds up right before a verse of rap comes in and then the chorus is introduced. The chorus is melodious with small amounts of techno. Throughout the whole song, clapping and cheering can be heard in the background. Near the end of the song, there is a short, quiet guitar solo to prepare the audience for the ending climax. In the live performances of the song, a guitar is smashed and broken after the guitar solo and the song ends with a kiss. In "Tonight", the dance moves are really interesting as it includes mike stands as part of the choreography. Even though the choreography is not really difficult, it is enough to keep the balance of the song and the dance.

Picture of Big Bang's live performance of Tonight

Big Bang aren't the only ones working hard. Their fan club, "V.I.P's" have been supporting them full on by buying their albums and photo books. Within a few days of Big Bang's album release, they reached #3 on the Billboard World Music Chart and #1 on all of the Korean music portal sites. It's truly amazing how a fan base can get their favourite artists on such high positions in music charts.
Below is the music video for Big Bang's Tonight:

Credits to:
BIGBANG's channel on youtube for the video
men-photo.blogbus.com (first picture)
dkpopnews.net (picture of GD&TOP)
effpoo4our.blogspot.com (picture of Taeyang)
aazncamgurl.glogster.com (second Big Bang picture)
asianuniverse.net (picture of live performance of Big Bang)