Tonight (Big Bang EP)

Tonight
EP by Big Bang
Released February 23, 2011
Recorded 2010 - 2011
Genre K-Pop, hip hop, R&B, electropop
Length 20:05
Label YG Entertainment
Producer Yang Hyun Suk, G-Dragon
Big Bang chronology

Big Bang
(2009)		 Tonight / BIGBANG Special Edition
(2011)		 Big Bang 2
(2011)

Tonight is the fourth extended play of South Korean boy band Big Bang. It was their first new material released in South Korea after two-year hiatus as a group.[1] Upon its release, the album and its lead single of the same name became a chart-topper in various South Korean and international music charts.[2] It was released on February 23, 2011 under YG Entertainment.

Background

While writing the songs for the then-untitled album, leader G-Dragon and lead rapper T.O.P began to break away to collaborate on their GD & T.O.P project.[3] According to G-Dragon, the group was trying a "new combination" with their music, in which the vocalists Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri were to record their own music as a trio while the remaining two were to branch off as a duo since they had not been with their fans for the past two years.[3] Although the division of the group was initially for Big Bang's materials only, G-Dragon and T.O.P saw positive response to their materials from the fans and went to Yang Hyunsuk, CEO of YG Entertainment, to allow the duo to release an album.[3] After the promotions for GD & T.OP. collaboration ended, the group reunited to record the tracks to be included for Tonight. Songs from the album have been reportedly recorded variously over the two years span that the group was on hiatus.[4] G-Dragon describes the music from the extended play as "very cheerful" in hopes of cheering up their listeners. Though the group's previous extended plays contained songs that were heavily influenced by electronic music, the group decided to concentrate more on "warm rock music."[5]

"Big Bang’s music has been very cheerful and lyrical so far, but this time we added rock. These days, people seem to find something interesting that can make them laugh and it might come from many accidents and incidents that happened last year, so we are going to present warm and cheerful music for those people rather than heavy and electronic music.” — G-Dragon[5]

Promotion and release

After nearly two-year hiatus, Big Bang made their comeback in South Korea in February 2011 which kicked-off with their annual concert, Big Show 2011.[1] There, they also showcased songs from Tonight,[6] performing before an audience of 40,000 fans.[7] The show was aired online by SBS and Mnet.[8] The performance has been hailed as "sensual and stylish" as well as "luxurious" by Lee Soo-yeon of Newsen[6] while it was called "fresh and bold" by Yonhap News, which also went on to state that "Big Bang has come back brilliantly."[9] Park Young-gun of the Star News also applauded the group for their use of lavish props, calling the performance "compelling" and "explosive" and declaring that "Big Bang has come back stronger than ever."[10] The show was watched by a nationwide audience of 5.7%, higher than the 4.9% expected.[11] Revenues from the concert were reported to be ₩43 billion ($38 million).[12]

Teaser photos of the group's music video for their lead single Tonight, which was written solely by G-Dragon with the rap parts written by T.O.P, were also released online.[4] The group also acknowledged their return to the music industry by posting it as their status on Taeyang's Twitter account.[4] Tonight later charted at no. 3 on the Billboard World Albums chart, also no. 3 on the Heatseekers chart, and no. 29 on the Independent Albums chart.[13] It also topped numerous South Korean music chart, including Gaon, Bugs, Soribada, Melon, Cyworld, Dosirak, mobile sites, and Mnet.[14]

The album has received mostly positive praises, with Expo Flat News complimenting it for its "impressive, sophisticated sound textures."[15] The lead single "Tonight" was also praised for its "sophisticated electronic sound" paired with acoustic guitar.[16] Lee Jeon-Hyuk of Sports Chosun hailed the group's comeback as "brilliant"[11] while Choi Jun of Asiae complimented the group's new direction in their music, acknowledging that during the two years of hiatus, the group's "style and musical sensibility [had] deepened."[11] Despite this, the group have been criticized for their over-use of electronic sound.[17] The album has sold 100,000 copies in South Korea.[18]

Tracklist

Tonight (EP)
No. TitleLyricsMusicArrangement Length
1. "Intro (Thank You & You)"  G-DragonG-Dragon, Choice37Choice37 1:34
2. "Hands Up"  G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, e.knockKush 3:54
3. "Tonight" (투나잇; Toonait)G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, e.knockChoi Pil Kang 3:39
4. "Somebody to Love"  G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, Ham Seung-chun, Kang Wook-jinSeung Chun Ham, Kang Ok Gin 3:32
5. "What is Right"  G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, DJ Murf, PeejayDJ Murf, Peejay 3:43
6. "Cafe"  G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, DJ Murf, PeejayDJ Murf, Peejay 3:40
Total length:
 20:04
Big Bang Special Edition
No. TitleLyricsMusicArrangement Length
1. "Love Song"  G-Dragon, T.O.P, TeddyTeddy, G-DragonTeddy, Seo Won Jin 3:45
2. "Stupid Liar"  G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, Choi Pil-kangChoi Pil Kang, Dee.P 3:54
3. "Tonight" (투나잇; Toonait)G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, e.knockChoi Pil Kang 3:43
4. "High High" (G-Dragon & T.O.P)G-Dragon, T.O.PTeddyTeddy 3:10
5. "Oh Yeah" (G-Dragon & T.O.P featuring Park Bom)G-Dragon, T.O.P, TeddyTeddy, Sunwoo Jung AhTeddy, Sunwoo Jung Ah 3:19
6. "Cafe"  G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, DJ Murf, PeejayDJ Murf, Peejay 3:42
7. "I Need a Girl" (Taeyang featuring G-Dragon)Jun Goon, Choi Gub-won, G-DragonJun-goonJun Goon 3:40
8. "Somebody to Love"  G-Dragon, T.O.PG-Dragon, Ham Seung-chun, Kang Wook-jinSeung Chun Ham, Kang Ok Gin 3:34
9. "What Can I Do" (어쩌라고; Eojjeorago (Seungri solo))Seungri, G-DragonSeungri, Choi Pil-kang, Big ToneChoi Pil Kang 3:40
10. "Baby Don't Cry" (Daesung solo)e.knocke.knocke.knock 4:31
Total length:
 37:40

Charts

Album chart

Chart (2011) Peak
position
South Korea (Gaon Chart) Weekly[19] 1
South Korea (Gaon Chart) Yearly[19] 6
United States Billboard Heatseekers Chart[13] 3
United States Billboard Independent Chart[13] 29
United States Billboard World Music Chart[13] 3

Sales

Gaon Album Chart Sales
Tonight[20]
  • 136,594(2011)
  • 2,042(2012)
Special Edition
  • 89,371(2011)
  • 8,053(2012)

Single chart (Tonight)

Song Peak position
KOR KOR Worldwide
Gaon Chart[2] K-Pop Billboard[21] V Countdown
"Tonight" 1 1 1
"Hands Up" 3 4 -
"Somebody To Love" 4 5 -
"What Is Right" 3 2 -
"Cafe" 2 3 -

Single chart (Special Edition)

Song Peak position
KOR KOR Worldwide
Gaon Chart[2] K-Pop Billboard[21] V Countdown
"Love Song" 1 1 1
"Stupid Liar" 2 1 -
"Baby Don't Cry" 8 11 -

Other songs charted

Song Peak position
KOR KOR
Gaon Chart[2] K-Pop Billboard[21]
"Intro (Thank You & You)" 15 37

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kim, Sunny (2010-12-06). "Big Bang's Concert "2011 Big Show" To Be Held In February!". MTV Korea. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Big Bang on the Gaon Chart". Korea Music Content Industry Association. 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kim, Jessica (2010-12-15). "G-Dragon and T.O.P hold world premiere showcase for duo unit". 10asia. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Choi, Jun (2011-02-28). "빅뱅 '투나잇' 뮤비 공중파 첫 공개…음악+스타일UP↑". 10asiae. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "G-Dragon and Top: ‘Rappers Acknowledge Our Instinctive Hip Hop’". KBS. 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lee, Soo-yeon (2011-02-26). "컴백 빅뱅, 엠넷 ‘빅뱅TV 라이브’ 전격 방송 ‘6곡 최초 공개’". Newsen. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  7. ↑ Chung Ah-young (2011-02-17). "Big Bang to return with new album". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  8. ↑ Kim, Hye-rin (2011-02-26). "빅뱅 컴백에 방송가도 주목! 'The 빅뱅쇼'에 이어 '빅뱅TV 라이브'까지". The Union Press. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  9. ↑ "<빅뱅, 화려한 컴백 공연..4만팬 집결>". Yonhap News. 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  10. ↑ Park, Young-gun (2011-02-27). "돌아온 빅뱅, 더 강해졌다..'빅쇼' 1만4000팬 열광". Star News. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lee, Jeon-Hyuk (2011-02-28). "'더빅뱅쇼', 시청률 5.7% 기록. 화려한 무대와 폭풍 웃음 선사". Sports Chosun. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  12. ↑ Kil, Hyeseung (2011-03-02). "'첫방도 안한' 빅뱅, 컴백 6일만에 매출 '70억' (Big Bang totals 7 billion won in sales prior to official promotions)" (in Korean). Star News. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "Billboard Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  14. ↑ Kim, Sunny (2011-02-23). "Big Bang Dominates Korean Music Chart With An All Kill". MTV Korea. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  15. ↑ "빅뱅 신곡 투나잇, 발매 동시에 음원 차트 올킬!". KBS. 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  16. ↑ "빅뱅, 화려한 컴백 공연…4만팬 집결". SBS. 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  17. ↑ Kim, Hannah (2011-03-01). "Big Bang records early success with latest album". JoongAng Daily News. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  18. ↑ Cho, Euna-young (2011-03-01). 빅뱅, 오늘 음반판매 10만장 돌파..음원도 돌풍 (in Korean). Daum. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/album/list.gaon?nationGbn=T
  20. ↑ "Gaon physical sales". Gaon Chart. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Music Chart". Billboard. 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2011-09-15.

External links