About Taeyang

Dong Young-bae (Korean: ???; born 18 May 1988), better known by his stage name Taeyang (Hangul: ??, Hanja: ??, meaning Sun) or Sol, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter, lyricist, recording artist, model and actor. After appearing in Jinusean's music video "A-yo", Taeyang began training under YG Entertainment at the age of 12 alongside fellow member and leader G-Dragon. After six years of vocal and dance training, he made his debut in 2006 as a member of popular Korean boy band, BIGBANG,as main vocalist and main dancer of the same group.

His second studio album Rise peaked at #112 on the US Billboard 200 Chart, becoming the highest ranking album by a Korean soloist to enter the chart.[1][2] The album's title track "Eyes, Nose, Lips" peaked at #1 on Billboard K-pop Hot 100 Chart, giving him his first solo number one single on the chart.[1][2]
 

Background information
Native name	??
Birth name	Dong Young-bae (???)
Also known as	Taeyang, Sol, YB , Taekwon
Born	18 May 1988 Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Genres	K-pop, hip hop, R&B, EDM, pop
Occupations	Singer, Dancer, Songwriter, Rapper, Lyricist, Model, Composer, (childhood) actor, Choreographer
Instruments	Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Drums
Years active	2001–present
Labels	YG Entertainment (South Korea) YGEX (Japan)
Associated acts	BIGBANG,G-Dragon, Teddy Park, Tablo, Se7en M-Flo

 

2000—2008: Early beginnings and debut with BIGBANG

Taeyang's first appearance in the entertainment industry was with Maddie in the hip-hop group Jinusean's music video "A-yo".[3] The collaboration eventually lead him to successfully auditioning into the group's record label YG Entertainment, where he met fellow trainee G-Dragon and former trainee (now a member of 2PM) Jun. K. G-dragon and him were later coined as GDYB.[4] In 2003, Taeyang provided the rap verse in singer Wheesung's single "Player" on the latter's second album.[5]

the plan was scrapped by their record label. Instead, they were joined by four other trainees (T.O.P., Daesung, Seungri, and Hyun Seung) to form the group BIGBANG. The group's formation was documented on television as a documentary.[6] Before their official debut, however, Hyun Seung was dropped and their final lineup consisted of five members. Choosing the stage-name Taeyang (Korean: ??, meaning sun), Taeyang abandoned the idea of rapping to focus on singing.[7] Their first album, Since 2007, was a fair success,[8] and included Taeyang's first solo song "Ma Girl." The group achieved mainstream success with the release of the song "Lies" (Korean: ???; Revised Romanization: Geojitmal) from their 2007 mini-album Always, which topped several charts upon its release. The singles, "Last Farewell" (Korean: ??? ??; Revised Romanization: Majimak Insa) from the mini-album Hot Issue and "Day by Day" (Korean: ????; Revised Romanization: Haru Haru) from Stand Up, became chart-toppers as well.[9][10]

He later flew to Japan to promote the group's Japanese albums. After BIGBANG's activities have ended, he went back to the studio to prepare for his next solo activities. Taeyang released his first digital single "Where U At",[11] followed by another digital single, "Wedding Dress". Promotional videos were filmed for both "Where U At" and "Wedding Dress." "Wedding Dress" was voted No. 3 on an online poll for a Dutch radio station.[12]

Taeyang's first full-length album Solar was released on 1 July 2010. Two versions of this album – the "Regular Edition" and the "Deluxe Edition" – was released. The regular edition contained 11 songs, while the deluxe edition limited to 30,000 copies had 12 songs, including "Only Look at Me" and "Prayer" from Hot. On the first day Taeyang's solo album "Solar" released, 1 July, deluxe edition of the album had sold out its 30,000 circulated copies.[13] (All Sales: 120.000) The album was later released on iTunes,[14] charting at the number-two spot on the iTunes' Top R&B-Soul albums chart in the United States and number-one in Canada's, making him the first Asian musician to do so.[15] Two singles were released for promotions: "I Need A Girl" featuring bandmate G-Dragon, and "I'll Be There." At the end of 2010, I Need A Girl (4 Weeks) I'll Be There (1 Weeks) Only Look at Me (3 Weeks) Korean Song Music Chart's Win. Taeyang won the "Best Male Artist" award at the 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards at the end of the year and the Seoul Music Awards Best Male Artist award.
 

2013 - present

Taeyang's new single "Ringa Linga" was released on 9 November 2013. Taeyang ranked #33 in The Critic's List of "100 Most Handsome Faces of 2013".

On the May 17th 2014, YG announced that Taeyang's new album will be released on June 2 with the possible title, 'Rise'.[16] After 'Rise' was released on June 2, it achieved an "All-Kill" in Korea (#1 on all charts) and was #1 on the iTunes Album Chart in 10 countries (top 50 in 21 countries). At its peak, 'Rise' was #1 on iTunes R&B/SOUL Album Chart in 19 countries to include USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Russia, Hong Kong, and Denmark (top 50 in 25 countries). Rise became the third highest charting K-pop album, and also the highest charting K-pop album by a solo artist, on Billboard by debuting at #112 on Billboard Hot 200, #1 on Billboard World Albums Chart, and #1 on Heatseekers Albums Chart.[17]

August 2014 saw Taeyang embarked on his Japanese RISE tour 2014 with extra dates being added due to huge demand. The concerts wrapped on Sept 3rd, 2014 in Osaka with a guest appearance by G-Dragon for "Stay with Me".

On August 13th Taeyang's first Japanese album was released: RISE including the previous Korean albums SOLAR and HOT. It charted #2 on the Japanese ORION Charts.

On October 11th and 12th Taeyang will be performing his RISE solo concerts in Seoul, Korea.

A deluxe version for RISE is currently in the making. However a release date has not been confirmed yet. On September 9th, 2014 YG and Samsung's joint fashion brand NONA9ON will be launched with CL and Taeyang as models.

As per summer 2014 Taeyang is currently endorsing Calvin Klein's CK One and NIKE. The CK One spot including Taeyang and other artists is running worldwide.
 

Discography

Albums

• Solar (2010)
• RISE (2014)

Mini Albums

• Hot (2008)

Japanese Albums

• RISE (2014)

Singles

• Ma Girl (2006)
• Only Look At Me (2008)
• Where U At (2009)
• Wedding Dress (2009)
• I'll Be There (2010)
• Ringa Linga (2013)
• Eyes Nose Lips (2014)

Live albums

• Hot Live Concert Tour DVD (2008)
• Solar Live Concert Tour DVD (2010)

Other

• GDYB (G-Dragon and Taeyang) Paris Photobook (2014)

Solo Concert Tour

• Hot Concert Tour (2008)
• Solar Concert Tour (2010)
• Rise Busan mini Concert (2014)
• Rise Japan Tour (2014)
• Rise Korea Seoul Concerts (2014) 

 

Charted Songs

Single

Year	Single	Peak position	Album
		[18]
2006	"My Girl" (Taeyang solo)	12	Since 2007
2008	"Prayer" (feat. Teddy) ("??" Gido)	3	Hot
	"Only Look at Me" ("?? ???" Naman barabwa)	1
	"Ma Girl" (Japanese version) (Taeyang solo)	14	With U
2009	"Where U At"	3	Solar
	"Wedding Dress" ("?????" Wedingdeureseu)	1
2010	"I Need a Girl" (feat. G-Dragon of BIGBANG)	1
	"I'll Be There"	1	Solar International
2013	"Ringa Linga"	1	RISE
2014	"Eyes, Nose, Lips" ("?, ?, ?" Nun, Ko, Ib)	1

 
 

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2008	6th Korean Music Awards	Best R&B / Soul Song	?? ??? (Only Look at Me)	Won
		Best R&B / Soul Album	Hot	Won
	Naver Music Awards	Song of the Year	?? ??? (Only Look at Me)	Won
2010	12th Mnet Asian Music Awards	Album of the Year	Solar	Nominated
		Best Male Artist[19]	"I'll Be There"	Won
		Best Dance Performance - Solo	I'll Be There	Nominated
	allkpop Awards	Best Male Solo Artist	Taeyang	Won
	Korean Popular Culture & Art Awards	Minister Commendation for Culture and Tourism		Won
2011	8th Korean Music Awards	Male Musician of the Year		Won
2013	Soompi Awards	Best Choreography	Ringa Linga	Won
	allkpop Awards	Best Male Solo	Taeyang	Nominated
2014	So-loved Awards	Best Solo Artist Male		Pending
		Best Album	RISE	Pending

 

Music Chart Wins

KBS's Music Bank

Year	Date	Song
2008	7 July	"Only Look at Me"
	14 July
	21 July
2010	16 July	"I Need A Girl"
2014	20 June	"Eyes, Nose, Lips"

 

SBS's Inkigayo

Year	Date	Song
2008	6 July	"Only Look at Me"
	13 July
	20 July
2010	18 July	"I Need A Girl" ft. G-Dragon
	25 July
2013	24 November	"Ringa Linga"
2014	15 June	"Eyes, Nose, Lips"
	22 June
	6 July

MNet's M! Countdown

Year	Date	Song
2008	19 June	"Only Look at Me"
	26 June
	3 July
2010	8 July	"I Need A Girl" ft. G-Dragon
	15 July
	2 September	"I'll Be There"
2014	12 June	"Eyes, Nose, Lips"
	19 June
	3 July

 

MBC's Show! Music Core

Year	Date	Song
2014	14 June	"Eyes, Nose, Lips"

 

Featured & Collaboration singles

Year	Title	Peak positions	Peak positions	Album
		KOR [20]	JPN [21]
2002	"Unfold at a Higher Place" (GDYB)	—	—	YG Family 2nd Album (Why Be Normal?)
2002	"Everybody Get Down" (SWI.T Ft. Taeyang)	—	—
2003	"Player" (Wheesung Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	It's Real
2006	"Run" (Se7en Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	24/7
2006	"Give Me Permission" (Se7en Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Se7olution
2007	"Get Up" (Lexy Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Rush
	"Rush" (Lexy Ft. Taeyang)	—	—
	"Super Fly" (Lexy Ft. Taeyang, G-Dragon, and T.O.P.)	—	—
2007	"Should Have Loved You Less" (Kim Johan Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Soul Family with Jo Han
2008	"Real Talk" (YMGA Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Made in ROK
2009	"Friend" (T.O.P and Taeyang)	—	—	Friend, Our Legend OST
2009	"Korean Dream" (G-Dragon Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Heartbreaker
2009	"Hallelujah" (T.O.P., G-Dragon, and Taeyang)	—	—	IRIS OST
2010	"Fall in Love" (Thelma Aoyama Ft. Taeyang)	—	4	Love! 2 – Thelma Best Collection
2011	"By Instinct Remix" (Swings Ft. Taeyang and Yoon Jong Shin)	—	—
2011	"Tomorrow" (Tablo Ft. Taeyang)	2	—	Fever's End Part 2
2013	"Let's Talk About Love" (Seungri Ft. G-Dragon and Taeyang)	—	—	Let's Talk About Love
2014	"Go Crazy" (M-Flo Ft. Taeyang)	—	3	Future Is WOW

 

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role
2001	Besame Mucho	Beaten up kid.

 

Music Videos

Year	Title	Official MV on YouTube	Note
2001	Jinusean – "AYO"	YGEntertainment	Younger version of Sean.
2002	YG Family – "YMCA ???"	YGEntertainment	Cameo
2003	1TYM – "Hot ??"	YGEntertainment	Cameo
2006	"MA GIRL"	YGEntertainment
2008	"PRAYER (??)"	BIGBANG
	"ONLY LOOK AT ME (?? ???)"	BIGBANG
2009	"Where U At"	BIGBANG
	"Wedding Dress"	YGEntertainment
2010	Thelma Aoyama – "Fall in Love"
	"I Need a Girl"	YGEntertainment
	"I'll Be There"	YGTAEYANG
	GD & TOP – "High High"		Cameo
2011	Tablo – "Tomorrow"	ygtablo
2012	G-Dragon – "One of a Kind"	BIGBANG	Cameo
2013	G-Dragon – "MichiGO"	BIGBANG	Cameo
2013	CL – "The Baddest Female"	2NE1	Cameo
2013	"Ringa Linga"	BIGBANG
2014	"?,?,? (EYES, NOSE, LIPS)"	BIGBANG
	???? (1AM)	BIGBANG

 

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Band Members

Read more about BIGBANG ??: BIGBANG 빅뱅 Biography
 

Stage name			Birth name		Date of birth
Romanized	Hangul	Japanese	Romanized	Hangul
T.O.P	?	T.O.P	Choi Seung-hyun	???	November 4, 1987
G-Dragon	????	G-Dragon	Kwon Ji-yong	???	August 18, 1988
Taeyang	??	SOL	Dong Young-bae	???	May 18, 1988
Seungri	??	V.I.	Lee Seung-hyun	???	December 12, 1990
Daesung	??	D-Lite	Kang Dae-sung	???	April 26, 1989

 

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Source: 

Taken from Wikipedia, amended and updated by BIGBANG 빅뱅 music.

Taeyang. (2014, September 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:33, September 9, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taeyang&oldid=624570028

Reference Notes, click here. 


 

About YG Entertainment

YG Entertainment (Korean: YG ??????) is a record label and talent agency founded by Yang Hyun-suk based in Seoul, South Korea. YG is an abbreviation for "Yang Goon", a nickname given to the Executive Director/Founder Yang Hyun-suk.[2]

Once the home of hip-hop groups Jinusean and 1TYM, its current roster of recording artists are known to be some of the biggest K-pop acts internationally, especially BIGBANG, 2NE1, Epik High, Lee Hi, Akdong Musician, Winner and PSY. In terms of revenue contribution, BIGBANG is the company's biggest act.[3]

Today, YG Entertainment is known as one of the "Big Three" record companies in South Korea, along with SM Entertainment and FNC Entertainment, for their large market share.[2] Official contents by YG Entertainment and its artists have cumulatively garnered more than 5 billion views and are subscribed by more than 12 million users on YouTube, making them the most viewed and most subscribed artists and entertainment agency in Asia-Pacific.[citation needed]

The company officially became a publicly traded company on November 23, 2011. In 2012, YG Entertainment's share prices saw a year-over-year increase of more than 60% due to the increase in publicity following the achievements of multiple artists on the label.[4]

Y.G. Entertainment Inc. YG ??????

Type	Public
Traded as	KRX: 122870
Industry	Music Entertainment Fashion
Genre	Hip-hop R&B Electronic Dance Pop
Founded	February 24, 1996
Founders	Yang Hyun-suk
Headquarters	Seoul, South Korea
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Yang Hyun-suk (CEO) Yang Min-suk (CEO)
Products	Albums Concerts
Services	Publishing records, Entertainment agency
Revenue	US$150 million (2012)[1]
Operating income	US$28 million (2012)
Net income	US$37.5 million (2012)
Owners	Yang Hyun-suk (28.80%) Yang Min-suk (5.21%) National Pension Service(4.32%) Samsung Asset Management(3.41%)
Employees	254
Subsidiaries	YGEX
Website	Official Website Official Ebay Store Official Youtube

History

Hip-hop roots

On March 1996, Yang Hyun-suk, a former member of legendary Korean band Seo Taiji and Boys, founded YG Entertainment along with his younger brother Yang Min-suk. During their early years, the company put out groups such as Keep Six, Jinusean, and most notably 1TYM (pronounced "One Time"), who was credited with bringing hip hop to the Korean mainstream. In 1999, the company's artists released their first collaboration album under the name "YG Family".

The label followed with releases from Perry, Swi.T, Big Mama, Lexy, Gummy and Wheesung,[2] with Wheesung eventually becoming Korea's highest selling artist of 2003. The YG Underground label was also created to contain 45RPM and Stony Skunk. In 2001, a second YG Family album was released, on it featured a 13 year old G-Dragon.[5]

The company grew with signing its first idol singer Seven, who found success in both Korea and Japan and was dubbed Rain's rival at the peak of his career. However, a dating scandal in 2004 with then labelmate model/actress Park Han-byul caused his career to plummet, which led to his 4 year hiatus in Korea and ultimately his US debut without much success. It was revealed many years later that YG Entertainment had many secret relationships amongst its artists. In addition to Se7en and Park Han-byul, CEO Yang Hyun Suk eventually married Swi.T member Lee Eun Joo after secretly dating for nine years. Jinusean's Sean and YG actress Jung Hye Young also tied the knot. Teddy Park of 1TYM and Lexy; as well as Wheesung and Gummy, all dated for a prolonged period of time when they were under the label.
 

Mainstream success

According to Korea JoongAng Daily, Bigbang is the band that made "the 400 billion won company what it is today".[2]

The company then turned its focus on creating its first idol group BIGBANG. Trainee G-Dragon and Taeyang had been with the company since they were just thirteen years old.[2] However, Wheesung felt neglected and left the company in 2006. 1TYM and Seven were both inactive. BIGBANG debuted as the youngest group at the time (average age of 17) with lukewarm reception. YG's future looked to be bleak, until BIGBANG skyrocketed in popularity during 2007 and 2008 with G-Dragon's self composed songs such as "Lies" and "Haru Haru", which stayed at #1 on the charts for eight consecutive weeks, the longest since, ironically, Seo Taiji and Boys. Girl group 2NE1 debuted in 2009 and quickly set out to break boundaries and become one of the industry's leaders.

BIGBANG branched out into Japan during this time while still focusing on solo activities whether be it film, television, and/or theatre. Taeyang was the best selling solo artist of 2008. G-Dragon had the highest selling album of 2009, beating out groups with 10+ members and industry veterans. All members of BIGBANG have now released one or multiple albums as a soloist and/or duo, and the group completed their first full fledged world tour with over 800,000 attendees in early 2013.

In 2010, YG made a highly publicized move into a new building, while the old building became a training facility. YG first applied to the stock exchange in mid 2010 but was rejected. It is suspected that the reason was because YG Entertainment had too few active music groups and an unstable cash flow, despite increasing earnings in Korea and Japan in 2009. To put things in perspective, every year since BIGBANG's debut (2007), they have attributed to more than 60% of the company's revenue.

Business expansion

The label expanded by signing already established acts such as Psy, a renowned rap artist; and Tablo, a lyrical savant from the group Epik High. In Korea, both were known to be rebellious independent acts and dealt with large controversies. YG, a personal friend of Psy, offered to help when Psy struggled financially. However, Psy was hesitant to sign unto the label due to its extravagant image and young roster. It took convincing from his wife to revitalize his career and ultimately create the phenomenon known as the "Gangnam Style". Tablo at the time was suffering from depression, as over 200,000 Korean netizens in an online community called Tajinyo accused him of forging his identity and Stanford academic degree. His first meeting with YG representative was set up by his wife, then YG actress Kang Hye-jung.

CEO Yang Hyun Suk made his television comeback after ten years as a judge on the reality singing competition K-Pop Star in 2012, and signed the runner up of the show, Lee Hi, to her own record deal. She released her first solo album in 2013, at age sixteen. CEO Yang Hyun Suk has also participated in the second season of K-pop Star 2, and have signed an exclusive contract with the winner and runner up of the show, sibling duo Akdong Musician and Bang Yedam respectively. Akdong Musician debuted in April 2014. Yang Hyun Suk has participated in the third season of K-pop Star 3.

In an attempt to expand their actor roster in 2014, YG Entertainment acquired T Entertainment's staff and actors such as Cha Seung-won, Im Ye-jin, and Jang Hyun-sung.[6]

YG Entertainment eventually passed the Stock Exchange Commission’s screening to go public on the KOSDAQ on November 23, 2011. The stock price opened at double the anticipated value. The company filed its first annual report in 2012 with a net gross of over 50%. They Became one of the top three or big three entertainment agency in South Korea.
 

Partnership 

During YG Entertainment's early years, the company often collaborated with other Entertainment companies to introduce new artists. They have had partnerships with M-Boat Entertainment, EunGun Entertainment, Yamazone Music, and Booda Sound. Big Mama and Soul Star were collaboration projects with EunGun Entertainment and M-Boat Entertainment. When the artists' contract terminated, their respective Entertainment partners ended their activities with YG Entertainment as well. Today, YG Entertainment has become a top agency in Korea for their abundant resources and financial backing.

Distribution 

YG Entertainment's records are distributed by the following:

KT Music in Korea, WMG in the rest of Asia (excluding Thailand), BEC-TERO Music (Thailand), and
Japan operations are managed by YGEX, a collaboration label with AVEX.

YGEX 

YG first expanded into the foreign market with Se7en, in a partnership with Nexstar Records, a Nippon Columbia label that managed Japanese releases for Se7en.[7] In 2008, BIGBANG signed a 3-year exclusive contract with Universal Music for the promotion and distribution of their Japanese Releases.[8]

On April 12, 2011, YGEX was established as a partnership between AVEX and YG Entertainment for the promotion and release of all YG Entertainment's material in Japan. Current artists under YGEX include all active YG Entertainment artists.[9] YGEX operates as a joint-label venture between the two companies. Since the partnership, YGEX has already released Japanese material for: GD & TOP, BIGBANG, 2NE1, Se7en, and Daesung. There was also a noticeable increase in promotional activities in Japan. Seungri and Daesung were also given the opportunity to host their own Japanese programs.

KMP Holdings 

KMP Holdings (acronym for "Korean Music Power") (Hangul: KMP???) was established on March 2010 via a joint venture between YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, Star Empire Entertainment, Medialine, CAN Entertainment, and Music Factory. KMP Holdings encompasses many fields including: music service, digital music distribution, and TV program production. It is a service platform that works to provide a more reasonable digital music system.[10] Many believe this is held to challenge the duopoly on music distribution by Mnet Media and LOEN Entertainment. KT Music acquired KMP in November 2012.[11]
 

United Asia Management 

SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, KeyEast, AMENT and Star J Entertainment are under a joint management agency named "United Asia Management". Established on April 2011, this joint corporate was created in an effort to push Korean and Asian music using a database system that manages intellectual property rights. UAM also acts as a global agency for artists' advancing or promoting overseas. There is a theory that UAM was created to allow less leverage for trainees under these companies.[12]
 

Live Nation 

YG Entertainment first teamed up with Live Nation in 2012 to produce BIGBANG Alive Galaxy Tour 2012. Plans for a world tour were in place in 2011 until several members of BIGBANG faced problems with the law, causing it to be postponed until the following year. This marks the first time Live Nation has worked with an Asian artist. Their goal is to stage a production, in which the performance is not the only important piece, and set a new standard in the global industry.

Subsequently, Live Nation also directed "2NE1 New Evolution World Tour 2012", and G-Dragon 2013 1st World Tour: One of a Kind. Live Nation first approached YG Entertainment with the idea as they have seen the confirmed the growth potential of K-Pop. Mats Brandt, General Manager of Live Nation Asia, said in an interview: "...of all the artists we have decided to focus on the talents of BIGBANG. BIGBANG has the talent, thus they have the best chance at becoming a global artist."[13]
 

Cheil Industries(Everland) 

YG Entertainment and Samsung’s Cheil Industries announced a partnership on June 28, 2012, with the two companies looking to launch a new global young fashion business. According to the two group’s plans, they will work to create new products that combines cultures, music, and design. YG Entertainment is known for their luxurious and bombast fashion, and G-Dragon and CL are both highly regarded fashionistas in Korea. The launching of the new brand is targeted for the spring season of 2013, and it is assume that YG artists will be personally involved.[14] YG will launch its new brand Natural9 with Samsung Cheil Industries, expected this 2014. The company is expected to launch this brand with the creation of a new profit model through its partnership with K PLUS, a group of fashion model professionals.

On April 9, 2014. After hinting at a new project coming up with a mysterious image last week, YG Entertainment is back to reveal what they have up their sleeves with a teaser and an official announcement. As mentioned previously, the new project is called NONA9ON (pronounced 'nonagon'), and we were given two dates - April 9 and April 11. It seems April 9 was indicating this teaser release which shows us a group of men performing some kind of tribal dance and acrobatics with various props, complete with face and body painting. The only other piece of info it offers are the words '1st Invasion' and the date September 9, 2014.

On Sept 9th, 2014 the "third invasion" trailer for NONA9ON with Taeyang x CL has been released:  

eBay

YG Entertainment became the first company from Korea to open its own store on eBay on July, 2012. BIGBANG became the first Asian artists to have their exclusive store on eBay. The company worked with eBay Korea to create a new way for international fans to buy musical albums and official merchandise of YG artists. On its first day of opening, the store sold over US$70,000 worth of goods and broke eBay Korea's record for highest sales in a 24 hour span.[15]
 

Asiana Airlines 

As one of two of Korea’s major airlines, Asiana Airlines signed a deal with YG Entertainment on January 2013 to provide transportation to its artists to and from domestic and international destinations at no cost. In return, YG Entertainment will be placing the airline’s logo throughout their international concerts and tours.[16]
 

K-Plus

K-Plus (Korean: ?????) is a model management company established by fashion model-turned-CEO Go Eun Kyung.

K-Plus, a major model agency, signed a "strategic partnership and shared investment" with YG Entertainment announced on February 18, 2014 by co-CEO Yang Min Suk. Yang Min Suk stated, "Korean models have been coming under the global spotlight as much as K-pop and Korean Wave TV dramas have, so we expect a bigger growth potential and promising future in this field. We will secure a pool of manpower in the fashion model field through the strategic partnership with and share investment in K PLUS, thereby implementing a win-win strategy for the diversification and a bigger synergy of our business”. With this deal in place, YG Entertainment expects to 'help the company upgrade its efforts to evolve into a global total entertainment agency.' K-plus Model Agency houses over 170 models including Jang Ki Yong (appeared in the mv of IU’s “The Red Shoes”), Choi Sora (final winner of “Korea’s Next Top Model Season 3”),Stephanie Lee (“Neutrogena”’s CF), as well as Park Hyung Sup and Lee Sung-kyung.[17]

K-Plus was established in 2008 by Ko Eun Kyung, fashion model-turned-CEO, who has nurtured hundreds of top models including Cha Seung-won and Park Dool Sun for the past 20 years. She is also famous as a planner for events at New York Carnegie Hall and in Pyeongyang, as well as for Seoul Fashion Week. K-Plus is Korea’s leading model agency that has been doing planning for professional fashion shows, model arrangement for TV, magazine, and advertisement, model management including models’ entrance into overseas markets, and nurturing of professional fashion models. The company now manages 170 models including Jang Ki Yong who appeared in the music video of IU’s “The Red Shoes”, Choi Sora who is the final winner of cable channel OnStyle’s “Korea’s Next Top Model Season 3” show, Stephanie Lee who has drawn attention with her appearance in “Neutrogena”’s CF, as well as Park Hyung Sup and Lee Sung Kyung.[1]

On February 2014, K-Plus has signed a contract for strategic partnership and share investment with talent agency YG Entertainment and finalized the merger with a new name called "YG KPLUS" in September.[2] YG actor Cha Seung-won will be training K-Plus models to become future actors.[3]

On September 2014, Top model Kang Seung-hyun signed a contract with YGKPlus.[4]
(Reference link: here)

Philanthropy

Headed by Sean of Jinusean and wife/YG actress Jung Hye Young, YG Entertainment is heavily involved in their community service campaign WITH. The company pledged donate 100 won for every album sold, 1% of all merchandise sales, and 1,000 won for every concert ticket, to charities. In 2009, they raised US$141,000, only to surpass it the following year with US$160,000. Of the total, US$87,000 went towards a scholarship for Holt Children’s Services while US$69,000 went towards children with rare diseases. YG Family have also directly delivered US$4,400 worth of charcoal to families in need during the winter time.[18] The company has also announced that it would be donating around US$500,000 for disaster relief to Japan after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.[19]

All YG artists have been known to ask their fans to donate money to charity instead of buying them gifts, and they would match the amount fans have donated. As a company, they have jointly participated in many charity auctions. For K Auction's ‘Love Sharing Auction’, Psy‘s famous sunglasses, tickets to his Seoul concert, BIGBANG‘s T.O.P, G-Dragon, and 2NE1‘s CL‘s stage outfits, were all available to the highest bidders. For Sean and the Purme Foundation's "The 10,000 won Miracle Project" that asked people to donate 10,000 won a day for 365 days (approx US$3,370), many artists donated 20,00 won a day, or even 100,000 won a day in order to raise US$33.7 million to help build the hospital.

A portion of the profits from BIGBANG’s Alive World Tour, 2NE1's New Evolution World Tour, and G-Dragon's One of a Kind World Tour, were all donated to the Korean Committee for UNICEF to fund for vital vaccinations for around 600,000 children..

In 2013, founder and CEO Yang Hyun Suk, made headlines when he donated all of the dividends he received as a shareholder of YG Entertainment to help young children needing surgery. His dividends totals to around 1 Billion Won, or approximately $1 Million USD.

G-Dragon donated 31.8 Million WON to the Charity on his birthday in 2014.
 

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Source: 

The above selection was taken from Wikipedia where the whole article can be viewed. The version above has been amended and updated by BIGBANG 빅뱅 music.
 
Reference Notes, click here. 


 

About Daesung

Kang Dae-sung (Hangul: ???; born April 26, 1989) is a South Korean singer, variety host and occasional actor, best known as being the lead vocalist of popular Korean group BIGBANG. Since his debut, he has released a solo album, several singles, performed in musicals, acted in a drama What's Up, became a fixed member of reality-variety television series Family Outing and talk show Night After Night. He was well known for his witty persona on television.

Background information
Birth name	Kang Dae-sung
Also known as	D-Lite
Born	April 26, 1989  Incheon, South Korea
Origin	Itaewon, South Korea
Genres	Hip hop, K-pop, R&B, rock, trot,Jazz
Occupations	Singer, MC, actor, model
Instruments	Vocals, drums, piano, guitar
Years active	2006-present
Labels	YG Entertainment YGEX (Japan)
Associated acts	BIGBANG

Early life and career

Daesung was born in Itaewon and attended high school at KyeongIn High School, but dropped out after a year to focus on his activities with BIGBANG. Eventually, he passed his college entrance exams in 2008 and got admitted into Kyunghee University in Seoul.
 

2006–07: Debut with BIGBANG and early works

Although his parents were strongly against the idea of him becoming a singer, Daesung pursued a singing career and was eventually recruited by YG Entertainment after auditioning. He later appeared on a reality show which documented the formation of BIGBANG with five other trainees: G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Seungri and So-1(Hyunseung). Hyunseung was eventually dropped and BIGBANG debuted in 2006 with five members.

Their first appearance as a group was on August 19, 2006 at YG Family's 10th Anniversary concert. On September 23, 2006, they had their debut performance on television broadcast. Daesung's first solo single is "Useo Bonda" (Korean: "????", "Try Smiling"), which included in BIGBANG 03 single and the group's first album Since 2007, released at the end of 2006. The album was a fair success, but the group only achieved mainstream success with the release of the song "Lies" (Korean: ???; Revised Romanization: Geojitmal) from their 2007 mini-album Always, which topped several charts upon its release. The singles, "Last Farewell" (Korean: ??? ??; Revised Romanization: Majimak Insa) from the mini-album Hot Issue and "Day by Day" (Korean: ????; Revised Romanization: Haru Haru) from Stand Up, became chart-toppers as well.[1][2]

Shortly after the debut of BIGBANG, Daesung was diagnosed with voice chord nodules. For nearly a year, he desperately struggled with his voice and developed sociophobia and stage fright. However, he was able to recover with the help of fellow singer and label mate Gummy, who had been diagnosed with the illness previously as well, and the two became close because of this situation. Before the release of BIGBANG's second album, Daesung's condition improved drastically.
 

2008–09: Trot solos, Family Outing, Cats, and car accident

In between various albums and EPs as a group, the members were able to pursue solo activities. Daesung released his debut trot single "Nal Bwa Gwisoon" (Korean: "? ?, ??", "Look at Me, Gwisun") in 2008.[3] He stated that although he was worried about dampening the group's image, he wanted to try something different.[4] He was admitted into the post-modern music department at Kyung Hee University in 2008.[5] The singer also joined the reality-variety show Family Outing as a permanent cast member. He also joined the Korean production of Cats, playing the role of Rum Tum Tugger.[6] Daesung started his hosting activities by acting as a host for MBC's music program Show! Music Core, alongside fellow member Seungri.

In the midst of BIGBANG's break in early 2009, Daesung released his second trot single in early 2009, titled "Daebakiya" ("????", "Big Hit").[4] He was also scheduled to join bandmate Seungri in the autobiographical musical Shouting.[7] However, he was in a car accident in August before the musical's run.[8][9] The accident happened on his way back home from the site of the filming location of Family Outing. The 20-year-old singer was returning to Seoul after shooting SBS television program Family Outing when the accident happened at the Pyeongtaek Express highway, Gyeonggi Province. The van hit the guardrail as it skidded in the pouring rain, according to YG Entertainment, the group's agency. Dae-sung, who was in the passenger seat, broke his nose. He also injured his back & had minor bruises on his face and arm. Dae-sung's manager injured his arm, and his stylist hurt her leg, which required surgery. Daesung eventually made his return in October 2009, joining his group for the Dream Concert.[10]
 

2010: Additional solo work, What's Up, Night After Night

According to his agency, YG Entertainment, he was supposed to release his solo album during 2010 along with bandmate T.O.P, however, neither released an album that year.

Daesung's new song, "Cotton Candy", was released at the end of January 2010.[11] It was composed by Jung Ji Chen, though Daesung personally wrote the lyrics to the song.[12] However, no accompanying album was released. In the beginning of 2011, YG Entertainment suggested that Daesung and Seungri would promote it during the year, but no actions have been made on Daesung's part yet. Seungri, however, did release a mini album in January 2011.

In 2010, Daesung began his shoot for MBC's pre-production drama What's Up, written by the famous scriptwriter Song Ji-na. The shooting of the drama finished in Feb 2011. He has also been one of the hosts for the variety-talk show Night After Night since November 2010. That same year, Daesung featured in Lee Hyori's new album H-Logic and recorded a duet titled "How Did We Get" with the female singer.

2011-2013: BIGBANG comeback and D'scover

In April 2011, Daesung released a solo song, "Baby Don't Cry", which was included in BIGBANG's 4th mini album special edition. The song was first performed in Big Show 2011 concert in February and charted on various Korean music charts together with the title tracks in the album.

On May 31, Daesung was involved in a car accident in which a motorcyclist died.[13] Investigation cleared the singer of charges,[14] but he had to suspend his public activities with BIGBANG for a period of time.[15] During this time, Daesung spent his days working and volunteering at the church he often frequents.

Daesung had his first public appearance after the incident on November 6, 2011 when he attended the MTV EMA awards in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In December 2011 and January 2012, he also performed for YG Family concerts which took in South Korea and Japan.[16][17]

The musical drama "What's Up" started airing on MBN channel on December 3, 2011. "Lunatic", a track sang by Daesung for the drama's OST, was also released online on the same day.[18]

Daesung made a comeback with the rest of the BIGBANG members in March 2012 with their new mini-album "Alive". The album includes a solo track sung by Daesung titled, "Wings". The lyrics of the song are written by Daesung himself.

Daesung released his first solo album, D'scover, on February 27, 2013. The solo album is in Japanese and has a total of 12 tracks with mostly remakes of Japanese originals. It also includes Daesung's solo tracks, "Wings" and "Baby Don't Cry." It was confirmed that Daesung would be holding solo concerts in Japan, starting with Kobe World Memorial Hall on March 23 and 24 and followed by Tokyo Nippon Budokan Centre on March 30 and 31. [19]

 

D'scover Tour 2013 in Japan

Initially, it was announced that Daesung would hold a total of four concerts at Kobe and Tokyo to promote the album. However, on February 28, it was announced that due to high demand, Daesung would be holding an additional 21 concerts over 17 cities, bringing the total to 25 concerts over 18 cities. The concert tour kicked off on March 23 at Kobe's World Memorial Hall and ended on June 18 at Kanagawa's Yokohama Arena.[20]

2014 - present

In February 2014, YGEX has announced that Daesung will hold solo Arena Tour in Japan (DLITE DLive 2014 in Japan) in June and July (12 concerts in 7 major cities). On 17 February 2014, YGEX has announced that continuing the success of Daesung’s solo album D’scover in 2013, he will be releasing a new Japanese solo album on 16 July 2014. On 29 March 2014, YGEX announced that Daesung will add another date for his DLITE DLive 2014 in Japan tour, to be held at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on 18 July. On 15 April 2014, YGEX announced that Daesung will add 2 more dates for his DLITE DLive 2014 in Japan tour, which is going to be held at Osaka Jo Hall in Osaka on 26 and 27 July 2014, which makes a total of 15 concerts in 8 cities. On 7 May, it was revealed that the title of Daesung’s Arena Tour will be called [ DLITE DLive 2014 in Japan ~D’slove~ ].

Daesung released mini digital album “RAINYRAINY” containing 4 songs on June 11 in celebration of his solo arena “D-LITE DLive Tour 2014 in Japan” which swept across ranking #1 to #4 on Japanese major real-time charts including iTunes and mu-no. [21]

Daesung's first Japanese original solo album D'slove was released on 16 July and ranked #1 on Oricon Daily Album Chart on the day of release with total of 30,090 copies sold. [22] D'slove was ranked #2 on Oricon Weekly Album Chart.

Daesung's Arena Tour in Japan [D-LITE DLive Tour 2014 in Japan - D'slove] has been successfully completed on 27 July at Osaka Jo Hall. He went through 8 cities and 15 shows and performed in front of more than 170,000 fans, becoming the first-ever Korean solo artist who attracted more than 100,000 people to Japan tour for two years in a row. [23] [24] [25]

 

Discography & filmography

Album

Title	Album details	Peak positions		Sales and Certifications
		KOR	JPN
Japanese
D'scover	Released: 27 February 2013 Label: YGEX Format: CD, DVD	—	2	JPN: 55,000+
D'slove	Released: 16 July 2014 Label: YGEX Format: CD, CD+DVD, CD+DVD+Goods, Playbutton, Music Card	—	1	JPN: 30,000+ (1st day)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions		Album
		KOR	JPN
2006	"Try Smiling" (Daesung solo)	99	—	Since 2007
2008	"Look at Me, Gwisoon"	41	—	non-album release
2009	"Big Hit"	54	—	non-album release
2010	"???" (Cotton Candy)	1	—	non-album release
2011	"Baby Don't Cry"	3	—	Tonight
	"Lunatic"	-	—	non-album release
2012	"Wings"	8	—	Alive
2013	"I Love You (Yutaka Ozaki cover)"	—	4	I Love You - Single

Featured & Collaboration singles

Year	Title	Peak positions	Album
		KOR [26]
2007	"Now We" (Nemo Ft. Daesung)	—
2008	"Family Day" (with Family Outing cast)	—	non-album release
2010	"How Did We Get" (Lee Hyori Ft. Daesung)	—	H-Logic
2013	" ????? (To You My Beloved) "(GUMMY Ft. D-LITE)	—	Fate(s)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Drama

Year	Title	Role	Note
2011	What's Up	Ha Do Sung	Main Actor

Variety shows

Year	Channel	Title	Role	Other
2007-2008	SBS	Miraculous Victory And Defeat (Ep 8-12)	Guest	with G-Dragon
2008	SBS	Intimate Note (Ep 1-2)	Guest	with BIGBANG
2008-2009	MBC	Show! Music Core	Co-Host	with Seungri
2009	MBC	Kara Idol Show Season 4 Episode 2	Guest	with Kara Band Members
2008-2010	SBS	Family Outing Season 1	Co-Host	with Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Hyo-ri, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Chun-hee, Park Ye-jin, Yoon Jong-shin, Kim Su-ro etc.
2010	SBS	Strong Heart New Year Special	Guest	with Taeyang
2010	SBS	Haha Mong Show (Ep 1)	Guest	with Seungri
2010	KBS	1 Night 2 Days	Guest	with BIGBANG
2010-2011	SBS	Night After Night	Co-Host	with Jung Yong-Hwa, UEE etc.
2011	MBC	Infinite Challenge Episode 248-249	Guest	with BIGBANG
2011	Mnet	Beatles Code	Guest	with Seungri
2011	SBS	Running Man (Ep 35-36)	Guest	with Jung Yong-Hwa
2012	SBS	Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy (Ep 31)	Guest	with BIGBANG
2012	SBS	Running Man (Ep 84-85)	Guest	with BIGBANG
2012	SBS	Go Show (Ep 3)	Guest	with BIGBANG
2012-2013	Space Shower	Space Shower Area Japan	Guest	with Seungri
2013	SBS	Incarnation/Hwasin	Guest	with G-Dragon
2013		Smartphone Police Japan	Guest
2013	TBS	Power Purin Japan	Guest	with Shinji Saito
2013	SBS	Running Man (Ep 163)	Guest	with G-Dragon, Seungri
2013	MTV Japan	D'splay Japan	Co-Host	with VJ Boo
2013	MTV Japan	D'splay Returns Japan	Co-Host	with VJ Boo
2013	MBC	Infinite Challenge Episode 361-362	Guest

Musical

Year	Title
2008	Cats (Korean version)

Movie

Year	Title	Character	Note	Other
2010	A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures	Sammy	Korean Dubbing	with Sulli

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Band Members

Read more about BIGBANG ??: BIGBANG 빅뱅 Biography
 

Stage name			Birth name		Date of birth
Romanized	Hangul	Japanese	Romanized	Hangul
T.O.P	?	T.O.P	Choi Seung-hyun	???	November 4, 1987
G-Dragon	????	G-Dragon	Kwon Ji-yong	???	August 18, 1988
Taeyang	??	SOL	Dong Young-bae	???	May 18, 1988
Seungri	??	V.I.	Lee Seung-hyun	???	December 12, 1990
Daesung	??	D-Lite	Kang Dae-sung	???	April 26, 1989

 

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Source: 

Taken from Wikipedia, amended and updated by BIGBANG 빅뱅 music.

Daesung. (2014, August 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 08:42, September 10, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daesung&oldid=623090110

Reference Notes, click here.