Kpop Herald has put together some past and present photos, as well as some interesting facts, about each member of Big Bang, a Korean boy band group that debuted in 2006. The photos on the left are their pre-debut images, and the photos on the right are post-debut images.
G-Dragon
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| (left: online community, right: Wikimedia) |
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| GD when he was little (online community) |
G-Dragon said in a 2010 interview with Asia E, a local newspaper, that he was initially hesitant about debuting as a member of Big Bang.
“I had entered YG Entertainment and received training for six years, thinking that I would either be a solo artist or would be assigned as a duo with Taeyang. At the time, I had preconceptions about ‘idol groups.’ I don‘t anymore, but at the time, I did. And I dreaded wearing the same clothes and dancing the same dances as other members. I seriously considered moving to another agency at the time,” said G-Dragon.
T.O.P.
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| (left: online community, right: Wikimedia) |
T.O.P. was initially rejected by the YG Entertainment when he auditioned because he was considered “too chubby” to fit an idol group. He exercised very hard, lost a lot of weight, and auditioned again six months later. When Yang Hyun-suk, CEO of YG Entertainment, said to T.O.P, “Wow, you lost a lot of weight,” T.O.P. responded, “I exercised hard because I really want to enter this agency.” T.O.P. was accepted after his second audition for the agency.
Seungri
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(left: online community, right: Wikimedia)
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Seungri owns a dance academy franchise, with five of them operating in separate locations. Some of the past students of the academy include high-profile K-pop celebrities such as 2NE1’s Minzy, Kara‘s Goo Hara, TVXQ’s Yunho, and B.A.P.‘s Zelo.
Seungri’s path to success was not without obstacles. Prior to his debut as a Big Bang member, he auditioned in “Let‘s Coke Play! Battle Shinhwa,” a reality TV series. After he failed in the audition and went back to Gwangju, he said it was hard to withstand others talking about him. “My classmates were talking about me, saying that I was bad at singing. Even my homeroom teacher told me that I am probably not meant to be a singer and that I should seek another path. She was a very good-looking woman, but when she said that, I was hurt and she thus seemed very ugly. And I was motivated to work harder, because I couldn’t stand people saying that I cannot become a celebrity.”
Taeyang
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| (left: online community, right: YouTube) |
Taeyang said in an interview with Asia E in 2010 that he initially attended acting classes. “I attended the classes more because my cousins were, not because I was into acting. After attending the classes for a while, I decided that acting is not what I really want to do.” However, it was through his acting classes that Taeyang was able to become a singer. Through his acting classes, Taeyang was able to audition to feature as Little Sean in the music video of Jinusean, a Korean hip hop duo. This in turn let him meet Yang Hyun Suk, the CEO of YG Entertainment, the agency of Big Bang. Taeyang told Yang that he wanted to join the YG Entertainment. “Mr. Yang told me that I am more than welcome to, and he told me that he will give me a call.” However, Taeyang received no call from Yang after months of waiting. On his 12th birthday, Taeyang called Yang and said, “Why did you not give me a call?” He said Yang‘s response was, “I forgot. You can come to the agency and start your training from tomorrow.”
Daesung
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| (left: online community, right: Wikimedia) |
Daesung was injured in a car accident in 2009. In 2011 he was involved in a car accident in which a motorcyclist died. He was later cleared of charges of the accountability for the motorcyclist’s death. He said in “Healing Camp, Aren‘t You Happy.” a talk show on SBS in 2012, “It hurt me the most when I saw online comments of people calling me a murderer. Comments along those lines made me feel suicidal at the time.”
By Lee Ji-hae (jihlee@heraldcorp.com)
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