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Universal Records is the NUMBER ONE independent record label in the Philippines. Bringing you quality music for the past 30 years, we are home to artists like: Jose Mari Chan, Gary Valenciano, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez, Lani Misalucha, Jed Madela, Christian Bautista, Jay R, Billy Crawford, Kris Aquino, Edu Manzano, Marian Rivera, Mark Herras, Nina, Ronnie Liang, Gail Blanco, Sam Concepcion. Our band roster includes: Parokya Ni Edgar, Kamikazee, Sponge Cola, Imago, Silent Sanctuary, Kenyo, Paraluman. We are equally committed to bring you exciting international releases covering various genres like pop, jazz, new age, classical, alternative, indie pop, rock, electronica, dance, r&b, and hip-hop. Name it, we definitely have it!

March 22, 2011

Ultimate Bang: The Story of Big Bang, part 1 - The Beginning (2006-2007)



Big Bang, a South Korean boyband composed of members G-Dragon (leader), T.O.P., TaeYang, DaeSung and SeungRi, is one of the biggest and most successful groups in Asia today.

Big Bang started in 2006 when YG Entertainment released the Big Bang documentary to select the new group of at least four persons that will debut under YG Entertainment. The documentary was on air from July 15th to Aug 13th on Gom TV, which exposed the six trainees to the public. Before their debut, the members already garnered good response from the viewers. Unfortunately, only five of them debuted as Big Bang. Jang Hyunseung, with the stage name of SO-1, was not picked as a member of the new group and stayed as a YG trainee for another year. In 2010, Hyunseung successfully debuted under Cube Entertainment’s six-member male group, BEAST.

The boys made their debut in Korean airwaves on August 19, 2006 with their performance at 2006 YG Family Concert at the Olympic Park Stadium in Seoul. On September 15, 2006 Big Bang had their first showcase entitled “Big Bang is VIP” and was broadcasted on September 26. Their first official performance was on September 23 on MBC’s Music Core. Since then, Big Bang continued to conquer the hearts of fans across Asia and around the globe with their charms, wits and good music.

In 2006, the group released 3 singles in Korea, followed by a full album in December, with “Dirty Cash” as their title track. “Vol. 1 – Since 2007” carried a solo song of each member and sold an estimate of 110,000 copies. Big Bang held a very successful first major concert, The Real, to cap off the year with 10,000 tickets being sold in 1 minute. After the concert, the official fanclub of Big Bang called VIP, was launched having all the attendees of the concert as the first batch of members to access the exclusive site.

YG Entertainment released the Concert DVD of Big Bang’s “The Real” concert on February 7, 2007 and it had an estimate of 30,000 sold copies. In the same year, the group launched their “Want You” concerts wherein Big Bang toured 5 cities in Korea: Incheon, Daegu, Changwon, Busan and Jeonju. A year after their debut, the group launched their first EP, “Always”, with the title track "Lies" (Geojitmal) topping the music charts, marking their breakthrough success in the Korean music industry and garnering them numerous awards in 2007. Just three months after the release of their 1st mini album, Big Bang once again graced the stage with their 2nd mini album, “Hot Issue”, garnering an estimate of 123,000 sales. “Last Farewell” (Majimak Insa), the title track of “Hot Issue”, instantly became a hit and was loved by the fans. Big Bang continuously became a Korean sensation. In December 2007, Bigbang went to Thailand for a fansigning event which was well received and attended by 3,000 fans. On the 26th to 28th of December, Big Bang had their second major concert, “The Great”, which had the tickets sold in 10 minutes. On the last day of the concert, they showed the music video of “How Gee”, which also marked the start of their venture in the Japanese market.

Big Bang ended 2007 bagging awards from M.Net/KM Music Festival as the “Best Male Group” and “Song Of The Year” for their chart-topping song, “Lies”. They also won the Daesang (grand prize) at the 17th High Seoul Pop Music Awards by the Sports Seoul newspaper.

Next: Ultimate Bang: The Story of Big Bang Part 2 - Beyond Korea

Many thanks to Big Bang Philippines Fan Club for this informative and inspiring piece!

Check out their Big Bang Philippines Fanclub Facebook Fanpage http://www.facebook.com/bigbangph2

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