Pop Base: BIGBANG's G-Dragon Confirms Solo Comeback

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BIGBANG’s G-Dragon Confirms His Solo Comeback

First, 2NE1, and now G-Dragon have announced their comebacks and it seems like Mother Earth is healing.

First and foremost, it is common knowledge that K-pop labels often own the copyrights for their artists' trademark names. When BIGBANG's G-Dragon left his label YG Entertainment last year, the company retained the copyrights for the trademarks "G-Dragon" and "G-D." However, on August 1, 2024, YG Entertainment confirmed that they have transferred these trademark copyrights to G-Dragon.

On the same day, G-Dragon's new agency, Galaxy Corporation, confirmed a comeback from the K-pop star. They stated, "As previously announced, he will indeed release a new album before the year ends."

TWICE Is Now The First Ever Foreign Female Artist To Perform At Nissan Stadium, Japan!

TWICE's 5th world tour, "READY TO BE in JAPAN SPECIAL," ended with a bang. The 3rd generation JYP Entertainment girl group attracted over 1.5 million audience members in total for their 5th world tour, which started last year and ended at the Nissan Stadium in Japan, with an audience of 140,000 over two days.

This feat is remarkable, as TWICE became the first foreign female artist and the first K-pop girl group to perform in a stadium considered a dream location for most artists. The only other K-pop groups that have achieved this honor before are TVXQ and SEVENTEEN.

The More You Know:

• The recent Paris Olympics 2024 Argentina vs. Japan men's volleyball match gained immense hype among anime fans due to its reference to the famous sports anime Haikyu. However, the same match also caught K-Pop fans' attention as people noticed SEVENTEEN's "AJU NICE" playing during the game. Seriously, at this point, is anyone safe from "Aju Nice"?

  But that’s not it, there were a few more K-pop songs that fans noticed playing during the recent Olympic games, including but not limited to, IVE’s “After Like”, SEVENTEEN DK’s “GO”, Stray Kids’ “Maniac” & “S Class”, BIGBANG’s “Bang Bang Bang”, and BLACKPINK’s “Kill This Love”.

• Though the K-pop industry is notorious for making fans and idols insecure about their bodies by setting unachievable beauty standards, the idols themselves often encourage fans to see themselves through the lens of love.

  Recently, under one of SEVENTEEN Mingyu's Weverse posts, a fan asked the idol, "Should I try to lose weight? Some people make fun of me because of my body shape. :(" The pop star instantly replied, "Don't mind them, you're always pretty the way you are. It's the personal satisfaction that matters. Is there a need to look good for other people?"

  This answer feels genuine coming from Mingyu, who has talked about feeling insecure about his body years ago on multiple occasions.

• YouTuber Zev Does KDrama, aka Grandpa Uaena, unofficially gets the award for the most successful K-pop fan of the year. For those who don't know, Zev is an IU fan and an elderly YouTuber who does K-pop reactions. His K-pop journey changed in the best way possible when, about five months ago, his clip went viral on K-pop Twitter and somehow got IU's attention. The idol gifted Zev with free concert tickets. In his newest YouTube video, Zev talks about how last week he not only attended the promised IU concert but also got to meet the idol for 15 minutes and talked with her one-on-one.

• Le Sserafim's highly anticipated second documentary, "Make It Look Easy," is finally out on YouTube. In this 5-episode documentary series, the members show how much work goes on behind the scenes to make the idol career look easy on screen.

• Among all the exciting news, one announcement that hyped up K-pop fans but ended up being lackluster was Spotify Korea teasing a new BLACKPINK project. While most people hoped this project would be related to the girl group's comeback, it ended up being a 3-hour long "THIS IS BLACKPINK" Spotify playlist containing 55 songs including BLACKPINK songs as well as members’ solo tracks which would make listening to BLACKPINK easier and more accessible.

Our Favorite Songs From Last Week

Last week we did not have many K-pop comebacks, but somehow almost all of the music ended up being great.

First of all, 9001’s indie and ’90s-sounding 1st Mini Album, “Digital Hello,” is a sweet treat, which is no surprise given that this 4-piece band — Jo Gon (Vocal & Guitar), Ju Won (Bass), Ui Geon (Drum), and Won Woo (Keyboard) — likes to capture the essence of the ’90s and childhood nostalgia through their music. The best thing about the “Digital Hello” album is that no two songs sound alike; each is unique and beautiful in its own way. However, the ones that caught our attention the most were the pop-rock title track “Digital Hello” and the mellow, slow-paced song “Blinded Soldier.”

CORRECTION NOTICE: In our previous newsletter, we mistakenly referred to the 9001's latest album "Digital Hello" as "Digital Album". We apologize for the confusion.

Next up is “TANG TANG TANG” by BTOB’s sub-unit 90TAN. Since BTOB as a group has mostly focused on vocal-heavy ballads, we were expecting something similar from 90TAN. However, what we got was a funky, upbeat summer bop with almost a punk vibe.

Fun fact: not only the song but the entire 90TAN sub-unit was an improvisation. Before his recent WATERBOMB festival performance, Minhyuk was suggested by the festival organizers to perform an unreleased song. He chose to perform “TANG TANG TANG” with his groupmate Eunkwang, and the rest is history.

Celest1a’s 4-song collection “PANDA,” despite being a debut album, contains such power that it catches your attention instantly and ensures you will remember their name. The entire album is quite dramatic, featuring loud instrumentals and synths that satisfy your craving for unique sounds. Interestingly, the song we liked the most from the album is “Sudden Drop,” which is less about loud instrumentals and more about spotlighting the members’ vocals.

This Week's K-Pop Comeback Schedule

August 5, 2024

• Xdinary Heroes: Digital Single <Open ♭eta v6.3>

• Kim Myungsoo (INFINITE L): 1st Ep Album "24/7"

August 6, 2024

• YOON SAN-HA (ASTRO): 1st Mini Album "DUSK"

• UNIS: 1st Single "CURIOUS"

August 7, 2024

• xikers: Japan 1st Single "Tsuki (Lunatic)"

8 August, 2024

• BamBam (Got7): 3rd Mini Album "BAMSIS"

• BANG&JUNG&YOO&MOON: The EP Album "CURTAIN CALL"

— Javeria Yousuf

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