BIGBANG has been a staple in K-pop to many fans, they've continued to show their versatility as artists, both individually and as a group. The YGE group have released catchy party songs as well as providing emotional, raw ballads.
Although this is a temporary farewell, BIGBANG will surely be remembered for their contribution of their music, and one day will reunite together in their collective dream to share their music with fans once more.
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The time has finally come for BIGBANG fans, aka VIPS, to bask in the full album from the veteran YGE group BIGBANG. Over the years, they have received an abundance of achievements, more recently this year they won ‘Best Artist’ at the MTV Italy Awards 2016!
They recently made their comeback on December 12, coincidently on the maknae Seungri’s birthday and released three extra tracks which include ‘Fxxt It’, ‘Last Dance’ and ‘Girlfriend’. Though, there’s a certain bittersweet sentiment with T.O.P enlisting next month with the other members slowly following on.
You can buy the album on iTunes or alternatively stream it on Spotify.
1. Fxxk It
“No I don’t wanna go too fast
Cuz nothing really lasts.”
Opening up the album, we have the comeback title track ‘Fxxk it’. This song, alongside the other two tracks were instant hits upon release. There’s a mellow vibe with this, with the addictive beat in the chorus keeping the good vibes high as you listen to the rest of the album. The lyrics goes into what seems to about getting drunk and meeting girls, the opening sentence almost ties in with the impending time when BIGBANG will no longer have the full members. In light of the album theme, it’s almost the start or creates the context for the album in which it introduces the beginning of the relationship, just living within the moment and not worrying over the little things.
2. Last Dance
“A love I thought would be eternal drew to a close
And even all the many friends I had are leaving me
I’ve gotten older so I guess I become an adult.”
The mood drops in the second track as we listen to this ballad styled song. It’s an emotional addition to the album, which can have different meanings depending on how you look at it. The title ‘Last Dance’ could symbolise the end of a relationship or even an era in this case. It delves into a more serious topic, of the process of getting older and the kind of expectations that we have of how life will be when we’re younger are sometimes never truly met. The people who you think you will be friends with for years slowly disappear from your life and that’s just something that happens because nothing really ever pans out how we imagine it to turn out.
3. Girlfriend
“How can you be so pretty
Will you believe me if I tell you I’ve got more butterflies than the first time I met you
Every single day I worry if I will lose you.”
The mood is raised with this next song with its chilled tempo, it looks like the lyrics describes the early stages of a relationship or even the ‘honeymoon’ stage about just being generally loved up and relishing in the notion of being happy. It’s that kind of boastful song which just shows off her partner without a care in the world. It touches on the days when they feel low, their girlfriend would always be there to cheer them up. This song would be relatable to anyone currently in a relationship or even had their own experiences of love by the warmth that it can bring.
4. Let’s Not Fall In Love
“Let’s not fall in love, we don’t know each other very well yet
Actually, I’m a little scared, I’m sorry
Let’s not make promises, you never know when tomorrow comes
But I really mean it when I say I like you.”
The saccharine tone used in the last song slowly diminishes in this next track, which reveals the hidden fear of not wanting to get close to their loved one. Though, the music video instead highlights the happy memories of the relationship as each of the members are seen to be enjoying their time with the girl in the MV despite the meaning of the contradictory lyrics. If anything, this music video seems to fit the general mood of the past track ‘Girlfriend’ with the countless sprinkles of cute moments from the encounters between the members and their girls. However, that doesn’t mean to say that there was the absence of love in this song, there was just more of an emphasis on the emotion of being scared and feeling vulnerable by letting someone in with the potential risk of going through heartache.
5. Loser
“Loser, loner
A coward who pretends to be tough
A mean delinquent
In the mirror, you’re
Just a loser.”
For most groups, singing about being a ‘loser’ isn’t something you’re going to hear about, particularly from rookie groups who boast about themselves and how they are different from others. In this track, we hear about a more vulnerable side to BIGBANG which is further emphasised in the MV. It goes into the hidden layers of BIGBANG, their insecurities, their haunting pasts, the emotions that they would not confidently confide to others. It’s full of raw emotion, the kind that’s only expressed during the darkest of days in which you may feel truly at rock bottom. Each of the members shares their own stories, their experiences which blends together as they walk together side by side.
6. Bae Bae
“You’re a natural beauty, so unique, so unique
My perfect dear
Be my muse.”
Next up in the album is ‘Bae Bae’, which seems to be an alternative way of saying ‘baby’. Overall, it’s a catchy song with smooth transitions as each member has their own segments in the track. This was released alongside their other track ‘Loser’, which is arguably the most daring MV they’ve released as a group with the music video itself having won ‘Best Music Video’ at MAMA last year. With the fact that they’ve been in the music industry officially for around 10 years, it’s no surprise that they’re not going to sugarcoat this topic. Rather, they’re fully embracing the explicit nature of what the song entails with the accompanying MV and its suggestive imagery.
7. Bang Bang Bang
“I awake with the black night
Everyone come in, who’s turn is it next?”
Since their hit song ‘Fantastic Baby’, there was much anticipation on what BIGBANG would follow on with. Though, from the title of the song itself there’s no doubt that this was going to be the dedicated party song from the YGE group. In terms of the music, the start built up as a anteem for the group until there’s a shift with the beat drop in the chorus. Then towards the later part of the song, we’re graced with a sudden transition again which adds to the climax of the track. The production looks like all the stops were pulled for the music video with a guest appearance from choreographer Parris Goebel who also featured in CL’s MV ‘Hello Bitches’.
8. Sober
“It’s hard for me to be sober
I can’t do anything
I hate being sober
I can’t fall asleep without you.”
The transition of the next track is a different sound in contrast to the others in the album. The lyrics goes into using an analogy of having an addiction to their past lover and they are struggling to cope with their absence, or in this case, be ‘sober’ without them around. In the music video, GD is seen to be isolated and in various scenes goes crazy, Seungri on the other hand attempts to catch something that isn’t there or rather someone who slipped through his fingers. Taeyang is showed to be trapped in one scene, Daesung is restless and thus unable to get work done with T.O.P just generally being loony. There was a bonus moment past the half point, during Seungri’s part which was used during their 2013 MAMA performance!
9. If You
“She is leaving
And I can’t do anything
Love is leaving
Like a fool, I’m blankly standing here.”
Like with Girlfriend, this was the only track to not have an accompanying MV. It was the only ballad song last year during the consistent releases from the group. The songs talks of a broken relationship, perhaps suggesting that they were too stunned or even paralyzed to do anything as they helplessly watched their loved one slip away. In the song, there’s a part with GD talking about how he wished he had treated his loved one better, so it could be a odd sense of ‘karma’ in which he didn’t fully appreciate what he had and as a result, someone else took his place. It pairs well with the aftermath of ‘Sober’, being faced with the harsh reality of a relationship that failed to grow. Perhaps the other song in the album like ‘Let’s Not Fall in Love’ was foreshadowing the expectations relationship to crumble. The former elated feelings are nowhere to be seen here, only pain and heartache.
10. Zutter
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do
All you little kids, go back to your mama’s arms
When you see this ground, you’ll realize your reality.”
The transition takes a swift change as we hear from the sub-unit GD & T.O.P since their last collaboration back in 2010. It’s been a long time, but the hip-hop duo finally returned to release a song for this album. Each of the songs featured in this album are all contrasting, there isn’t one that’s similar to others, however this does stand out just for the reason of its style of music. And with the rated MV which accompanies this song, it’s not short of moments that just baffles you with its odd plot, however the duo still make it work in their own unique way.
11. We Like 2 Party
“You don’t back out, you’re going with me to heaven
Being sober is against the rules.”
And lastly, the album is completed by this lighthearted track. An kind of song that’s fitted to sing around a campfire. It’s easy-going and the message of meeting up with friends and having a good time which is echoed through the MV. This is a good example of a fanservice version of a music video, rather than focusing on being ‘cool’, they freely interact with each other and behave like real derps with comical results. The album certainly ends on a happy note, with all the members basking in the memories they share together and how far they have come as BIGBANG.
And that is all the songs from their album! It’s certainly a bittersweet time, while we take the time to enjoy the album released by BIGBANG, it will be a considerable amount of years before we’ll get to see them all together as 5 once again.
However, it can be said that these men who all shared a dream to make good music may not have fully expected the extent of how far their music has travelled and had an impact on many people.
Overall, the album told a story of the toils of life with all the songs complementing each other nicely. What did you think of their completed album?
