Even BIG BANG members themselves didn’t expect the group to experience so many changes 5 years ago.
“Many people complained that they might not be able to see BIGBANG as a whole group for the next 5 years, BIG BANG is not a team that won’t do anything for the next 5 years. Even if people around tell me not to carry out activities, I will just do my solo activities and try to show you various sides as long as my time allows. I’m also greedy for that”.
That was what BIGBANG’s G-Dragon said at the end of an interview for the full album “MADE” conducted at YG’s office building in Hapjeong-dong, Seoul in 2016. It happened just before the eldest member T.O.P enlisted in the army and long before Seungri left the group due to the Burning Sun Case. Even at that time, no one could imagine the five-member system of BIG BANG would be broken. Fans all believed that the military period, which is applied to any boy group, would be the only thing that can separate BIG BANG members for a while.
Time went by so fast. Many things happened. Everything was so unexpected that it was enough to double the shock. The activities of the five members were really as different as their personalities.
G-Dragon excited fans who had waited for “the King’s return” by safely completing his active duty service (although there were some controversies over his military life), but he did not make any solo comeback. He carried out activities in the fields that showed his own swag, such as being an influencer, doing collaborations with fashion brands, such as Nike, and even having a romantic relationship with BLACKPINK’s Jennie. Meanwhile, Taeyang has already become a father. His marriage with actress Min Hyo-rin, whom he met while filming the music video for his solo song “1 AM”, and childbirth were the latest updates related to Taeyang. He also had no new song promotions. T.O.P was caught up in an unprecedented marijuana scandal. Instead of doing national defense duty, T.O.P fell into a coma at a hospital and completed his military period as a social service worker in Yongsan after waking up. He recently announced his breakup with YG, hinting at his plan of standing alone in the industry. Daesung was also embroiled in suspicions although they were not big. He stopped offline activities and has been carrying out activities as Youtuber (?), raising fans’ curiosity.
BIGBANG fans consider Seungri‘s Burning Sun controversy a shame. This is because he is now an eliminated member of BIG BANG. In particular, Seungri was handed over to trials after police investigations, followed by more than 20 military trials after enlisting. He was charged with 9 charges, sentenced to prison after the first trial, and given a reduced sentence in the second trial.
In fact, BIGBANG‘s comeback could have taken place earlier. In April 2020, the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, America’s largest music festival, was supposed to mark the end of BIGBANG’s hiatus. However, the pandemic started in January 2020 and spread around the world. Thus, although BIGBANG had carefully planned their return as a whole through an overseas schedule rather than domestic, they ended up having their much-anticipated comeback performance canceled.
In 2022, BIGBANG officially confirmed their comeback in Korea. On March 16th, YG Entertainment revealed, “The filming for BIGBANG’s music video for the new song has been completed.” The official release date is still unannounced, but it is expected to be unveiled soon. The hint is, “the spring when flowers bloom”.
As G-Dragon said, it’s not a comeback after 5 years, but as a consequence, it’s a comeback that’s a year late, with 4 members, after going through several lawsuits. Nevertheless, it needs to be emphasized that ‘The Return of the King‘ is still going to be a comeback of a K-pop legend.
