Is this the return of the Kings? YG is criticized as being “shameless” for insisting on the comeback of “criminal-dol” BIGBANG
Despite numerous incidents and controversies, BIGBANG (G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P, Daesung) are still making their comeback.
According to YG Entertainment on March 16th, Big Bang recently finished recording a new song and filming the music video. YG announced in an official press release earlier in the day that “BIGBANG announced the return of the Kings in their earnest.”
This is BIGBANG’s first comeback in 4 long years. G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P, and Daesung have not been officially active as BIGBANG since their digital single “Flower Road” which was released in March 2018.
BIGBANG’s past four years have been more of a “self-reflection” period than a hiatus. It is true that the members served in the military one after another for two years and nine months, starting with the enlistment of T.O.P in February 2017 to the discharge of Taeyang and Daesung in November 2019. However, contrary to YG’s explanation that went “the BIGBANG members had had a long hiatus of four years, starting with T.O.P’s enlistment in 2017, followed by G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung. The expectations and responses from global fans are expected to be explosive,” the public’s rejection against their comeback was strong.
BIG BANG was a group that had been criticized as “Criminal-dol (Criminal + Idol)”. Except for Taeyang, all four members committed various crimes, from the drug (marijuana) and smoking scandals of leader G-Dragon and T.O.P, to the controversy over illegal prostitution entertainment in Daesung’s building to the so-called “Burning Sun Case” of former member Seungri, who left the group in 2019, which gave the ex-idol 9 charges on prostitution, prostitution arrangement, sexual violence, violation of act on the aggravated punishment etc. of specific economic crime (embezzlement), business embezzlement, violation of food sanitation act, habitual gambling, violation of the foreign exchange transaction act, special assault).
However, YG’s behavior is so shameless. YG officially announced BIG BANG’s comeback after a 4-year hiatus in February and praised the group as “a group of true artists”, “the leader of KPOP”. In addition to the news of their music video filming, the company put forward the modifier “the return of the King”. There is no way that they don’t know the public’s repulsion and critical gaze towards BIG BANG, but since there are still fans who would support and want to buy BIG BANG’s stuff, it seems like YG are trying to increase sales by fully supporting the comeback.
Meanwhile, T.O.P’s exclusive contract with YG has been terminated along with his comeback with BIGBANG. Although the male singer will put an end to his relationship with YG, he said he would leave the door open for joining BIGBANG’s promotional activities in the future. In a recent interview with the magazine Prestige Hong Kong, T.O.P described his marijuana controversy as his life’s “worst moment”.
Regarding BIGBANG’s comeback, he confessed, “Being super honest with the fans, I really don’t want to say this is my last. But even more frankly, it might be a long while until I come back as T.O.P of BIGBANG. Over those 5 years, our music tastes and activities probably differed a lot, and now Big Bang’s music and T.O.P’s music are quite different. My first album will come out soon, and it will be my very first journey of sharing who I really am.”
