With the upcoming GD concerts in the UK, from London to Birmingham, what better yet to have GD feature as this week’s ‘Weekly Idol’!
G-Dragon known as one of the King’s of K-Pop has been in the industry since the age of 5 years old. When he was 13 he was known as the youngest Korean rapper in the industry, and has since then has become a world-wide phenomenon, not only as a member of BIGBANG but also as a solo artist. As well as his music, the artist as also been recognised as a fashion icon to the world. In 2016, Forbes named G-Dragon as the most influential person under 30 in Asia’s Entertainment and Sports.
The artist started developing his solo career from 2009, where he released his debut solo album ‘Heartbreaker’, winning the ‘Album of the Year’ award from Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards! For this album, he collaborated with several of his YG labelmates such as Teddy Park, Taeyang, CL and Dara (former members of 2NE1). Have you heard G-Dragon’s first solo track, ‘Heartbreaker’?
One of his most notable EPs is called ‘One of a Kind’. It was his first EP released, where he featured artists such as Tablo, Dok2, Lydia and even BLACKPINK’s Rosé who was originally noted as ‘? from YG New Girl Group’. Check out some of his MVs from his ‘One of the Kind’ album such as ‘That XX’ featuring BLACKPINK’s Jennie, as well as ‘Crayon’:
His recent EP, ‘Kwon Ji-Yong’ is a self-titled EP which uniquely was released on a USB drive format instead of the traditional CD format. ‘Kwon Ji-Yong’ is an EP which allowed him to express himself by not defining him by his stage persona ‘G-Dragon’ but as himself, ‘Kwon Ji-Yong’. He originally had intended to name his album ’30’ as a representation of his achievements in the past 30 years (Korean age) of his life.
“I approached [this record]a bit differently. There are so many things I don’t know about myself. So I spent time looking over my past albums and thinking about my life. I’ve turned 30 this year [Korean age] and am going through an important phase in life. Instead of trying to create a trendy new look and sound, I worked on this album as if it were my last.” – G-Dragon on how Kwon Ji Yong differs from his previous work*
For ‘Kwon Ji-Yong’, he released a music video for ‘Untitled, 2014’:
G-Dragon is an admirable idol with many talents from being the leader of BIGBANG, to rapping, singing as well as producing. As a producer, he has participated in working on many tracks for BIGBANG (as well as individual members’ solos) along with numerous YG artists (e.g. 2NE1, IKON, PSY etc.). To date, he has written 22 number one songs (such as BIGBANG’s Haru Haru)! He’s also had the opportunity to work with artists outside of YG such as IU’s recent album ‘Palette’ where he participated in the rap-making. Check out their collaboration below:
Did you know that this upcoming tour will be GD’s second world tour? G-Dragon has previously ventured across the world for a tour for ‘One of Kind’ back in 2013! The tour was held in 8 countries, visiting 13 cities with a total of 27 concerts! He was the second soloist to hold a world tour (following Rain). He returned to complete his second album ‘Coup d’Etat’ where he even filmed one of his music videos for the album in London! Do you recognise where he filmed ‘Crooked’ in London?
Will you be going to any of GD’s shows? If you still haven’t bought your tickets yet, there are still some available here!
