Taeyang mentions his hard time due to Seungri’s scandal, “I was isolated from the outside world in the army and thought I couldn’t do music anymore”

Singer Taeyang guested on episode 191 of tvN’s entertainment program “You Quiz on the Block” aired on April 26th and told various stories.

Taeyang revealed that he decided to start doing music and enter the entertainment industry to help his parents overcome the IMF crisis and expressed his affection for G-Dragon (GD), the best friend who spent the long and hard trainee days with him. He also told the story of how his activity name used to be YB Taekwon before he officially debuted as Taeyang, saying “I was supposed to debut as a duo with GD. I was looking for something that matches ‘Dragon’ and naturally came up with ‘Taekwon’. I even carried out activities with that name for a short time.”

Later, Taeyang debuted as a member of Big Bang under the stage name Taeyang he created himself. When asked about the changes after the group released the hit song “Lie”, he said, “We used to live in an old commercial building. The condition was bad and there were even rats. After ‘Lie’ came out, we moved into an apartment. From then on, we were able to eat what we wanted. We even went to Gwangyang bulgogi”. Regarding the question about his flexing after the success, Taeyang said, “Chrome Hearts is the brand I’ve loved since I was young. My favorite rock and hip-hop artists always wore their accessories. I always thought that if I succeeded, I would buy a lot of clothes from that brand. When things went well, I went to Hawaii. I heard clothes in the Hawaii store were particularly cheap so I remember buying a hoodie.”

In addition, Taeyang also talked about the six-year hiatus after his album release in 2017. Recalling the past, he confessed, “That’s how it turned out. Interestingly, that six-year period is the same as that of my trainee days. It was really difficult. It was a series of bad situations, so I thought, ‘Maybe this is how far I can go. Maybe I can’t do music anymore’. Since I was isolated from the outside world in the military, it made me feel very frustrated.”

Revealing how he cleared up his mind at that time, Taeyang said, “The only way that I could do to relieve my frustration was running endlessly in the training field during my personal time after work. One day, while I was running, a beautiful sunset appeared right in front of my eyes. As I looked at it, I suddenly had this thought: Isn’t what we face after the sunset just the repetition of darkness, rather than a new morning? Yet the sunset silently fulfills its role, coloring the world and welcoming the night. Similarly, even though I might be facing difficult times right now, I should try to overcome them in the most beautiful way I can. If I want to do music and be a singer again, I should start with a fresh mind. Otherwise, I might not have another chance.”

He added, “I’m really grateful to the fans who waited for me in the same place during my hiatus when I was not sure about how I should approach music. I think fans were the driving force that push me to start over”, expressing his gratitude to fans.

Taeyang also said, “After repeatedly preparing for the albums, I think I naturally got the feeling that I would be releasing an album and standing on stage at some point”. He added, “After going through times like this, I realize that nothing is to be taken for granted. Making music, releasing an album, and standing on stage are all precious things to me”.

Meanwhile, Taeyang debuted with Big Bang in 2006. T.O.P joined the military as a duty police officer in February 2017 but was later sentenced to 10 months in prison with 2 years of probation after being found to have smoked cannabis in 2016. Seungri left the group in 2019 due to the Burning Sun Scandal that erupted in 2018 and was imprisoned for one and a half years. He was recently released in February.

Source: Daum