BigBang Announce Comeback After 4-Year Hiatus: Here's Why T.O.P Won't Be Back Full Time

BIGBANG will return with new music for the first time in four years.

The band's record label Y.G. Entertainment shared a statement on Monday, February 7 confirming the news, as well as announcing that T.O.P had departed from the company.

Alongside T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun) BIGBANG consist of members G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong), Taeyang and Daesung. Former member Seungri left the group in 2019 after retiring from the entertainment industry in the wake of the Burning Sun nightclub scandal.

Seungri was accused of arranging sexual services for rich clients at the Burning Sun nightclub he owned in Seoul, South Korea.

In December 2021, he was sentenced to three years in prison on multiple charges including prostitution mediation, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, and he was also fined 1.15 billion won ($989,000), according to The Associated Press.

Here is everything you need to know about the K-pop group's comeback.

BIGBANG Announce Comeback After 4 Years

YG Entertainment shared a statement on Monday, February 7 about the group's comeback, confirming that they would be releasing a new song in the spring.

In a statement, per PinkVilla, the company said: "We have finished recording the new song and are currently about to shoot a music video."

The band's last song, "Flower Road," was released on March 13, 2018. It served as a farewell song while the members went into the army to complete their mandatory military service.

T.O.P enlisted for his two-year military service in 2017, and the remaining members followed suit in 2018 with G-Dragon entering in February, Taeyang in March, and Daesung entering the same month.

Following the completion of their military service it was announced that the group would perform at 2020's Coachella festival, and at the time it was confirmed the members had renewed their contracts and were preparing for a comeback.

However the COVID-19 pandemic caused Coachella, and countless events like it around the world, to be canceled, leading to BIGBANG's comeback being delayed until further notice.

During this delay, Taeyang and his wife Min Hyo-rin welcomed their first child together on December 6, 2021.

On Monday, April 4 BIGBANG released the music video for their comeback titled "Still Life" featuring all four members.

Why T.O.P will Not Be Returning Full Time

In their statement announcing BIGBANG's return, YG Entertainment also confirmed that T.O.P had left the company after his contract had ended.

They announced that the musician would be pursuing opportunities outside the group, saying: "T.O.P's exclusive contract with YG has ended, and he will be taking on a wide variety of new challenges as both an artist and an entrepreneur.

"We respected T.O.P's desire to broaden the scope of his individual activities aside from just his promotions with BIGBANG, and he successfully came to an agreement about this with the other members."

While it was confirmed T.O.P was exiting YG Entertainment, it was said that he would take part in the band's activities where and when he was able to do so.

They said: "As long as the conditions are right, [T.O.P] will always participate in BIGBANG's activities whenever he is able."

On January 19, T.O.P shared a picture of himself beside G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung in a promotional photo for the band with the hashtags "I love my band" and "I love my fans," which could well have been when he made his agreement about his departure from the company.

Update 04.04.2022 11.31 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include information on BIGBANG's comeback single "Still Life."