South China Morning Post
Advertisement
Advertisement
K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
K-pop group BigBang, now a four-piece, will release their first new music since 2018 in spring. Photo: YG Entertainment
K-PopBands

BigBang are back: K-pop group to end four-year hiatus in spring 2022 with the release of first single as a quartet without the disgraced Seungri

  • Taeyang, Daesung, G-Dragon and T.O.P will release BigBang’s first new music since 2018’s Flower Road, label YG Entertainment announces
  • The band have undergone changes since going on ice in 2018 so band members could do their South Korean military service, including scandal-hit Seungri leaving
K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop
Tamar Hermanin United States
Why you can trust SCMP

K-pop icons BigBang are set to return this spring with the release of their first song in four years, the band’s label, YG Entertainment, said on Monday.

It did not give a release date for the single, BigBang’s first since 2018’s Flower Road, but the song has reportedly been recorded already and a music video is in the works.

YG also revealed that BigBang member T. O. P (Choi Seung-hyun) would not be renewing his contract with the company but aimed to continue working with the band’s three other members while pursuing his own path.

BigBang (which YG stylises as BIGBANG) went on hiatus in 2018 as band members began fulfilling their mandatory service in South Korea’s armed forces. Since then the group have undergone changes, not least the departure of Seungri, who was arrested in 2019 over a sex-and-fraud scandal surrounding Seoul nightclub Burning Sun, and left the group. He is serving a jail term after confessing his guilt on nine criminal charges.
G-Dragon and Taeyang of BigBang share a light moment on stage. Photo: Twitter/@always_gd

The upcoming single will be the first BigBang release as a quartet featuring T. O. P, G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-young), Taeyang (Dong Yong-bae) and Daesung (Kang Dae-sung).

Active since 2006, BigBang were one of the most impactful K-pop acts for over a decade, putting out multiple hits including 2007’s Lies, 2008’s Haru Haru, 2012’s Fantastic Baby, and 2015’s Bang Bang Bang. Prior to Flower Road, they released a hit album, MADE, in 2016.

1