Big Bang's T.O.P Wins At 47th Baeksang Arts Awards!

The multi-talented member of Big Bang, T.O.P, was the recipient of two awards at the 47th Baeksang Arts Awards, which was held mere hours ago!

T.O.P won Best New Actor for his role in "71 Into the Fire" as well as the award for being Most Popular.

T.O.P says, "I'm very thankful. The movie, '71 Into the Fire' gave me a lot of chances so I'm very thankful. I also have to thank President Yang Hyun Suk, the director for 'Into the Fire', Kim Seung Woo, Kwon Sang Woo, Cha Seung Won sunbae-nims, and to all the student soldier sunbaes who gave me endless advice. It made me work hard to not fall behind, and aspire myself to become a better actor."

Here's a clip of T.O.P accepting his popularity award:

He also doesn't forget to thank his fans in his thank-you speech, "I also want to thank my BIGBANG members, as well as all my friends in my fan club who give me enormous amounts of strength. This award is also dedicated to you."

Congratulations, T.O.P! Would you be excited to see T.O.P pursue his acting career?

Oricon Weekly Charts For The Week Of May 30th!

Here are the weekly sales of singles and albums for the week of May 30th!

Weekly Singles
*1　150,944　KAT-TUN
*2　*93,828　Perfume
*3　*73,890　DiVA
*4　*59,059　2PM
*5　*28,747　Nishino Kana
*6　*19,242　NIGHTMARE
*7　*18,674　BUMP OF CHICKEN
*8　*15,497　Kanjani8
*9　*13,458　9mm Parabellum Bullet
10　*12,645　Hotei Tomoyasu

Weekly Albums
*1　36,980　FTISLAND
*2　24,775　Amuro Namie
*3　17,926　Shibasaki Kou
*4　14,206　NAOTO INTI RAYMI
*5　12,945　BIGBANG
*6　12,057　wowaka
*7　11,626　Tokunaga Hideaki
*8　11,352　Oda Kazumasa
*9　11,316　Song For Japan
10　*8,532　Jennifer Lopez

Behind-the-Scenes for Secret Big Bang Revealed

A couple of months ago, Big Bang hilariously parodied hugely popular drama "Secret Garden". Now, you can check out the making-of the parody!

Take a look at G-Dragon and T.O.P in this English-subtitled behind-the-scenes clip!

*If the English subs do not appear automatically, there is an option to "Turn On Captions", you'll find it if you mouse over the little arrow located the bottom right of the video.

Check back with JpopAsia to find the rest of the behind-the-scenes footage as they are released.

Big Bang Shares Behind-the-Scenes for "Love Song" MV

Awed and amazed by Big Bang's latest music video "Love Song"? The behind-the-scenes for the MV has recently been revealed.

The members of Big Bang discuss and share their experience on the set. Check out the whole filming process with English subtitles!

w-inds.' Keita Tachibana Praises Big Bang & YG Entertainment

Keita Tachibana, who is a member of Japanese boyband w-inds., showed his support towards Big Bang and their agency, YG Entertainment, and praised them for their work.

Big Bang is not only getting much interest in their home country, South Korea, but also in Japan, where they are having promotions currently. Even Japanese stars support them and say that they like their style in music as well as in fashion.

One of these stars is w-inds. member, Keita Tachibana, who recently praised Big Bang and YG Entertainment by tweeting the following:

BIG BANGの新曲もいいねー。 常に一歩先のサウンドで勝負してますな。 パフォーマンスもどんどん良くなってるし。 良いグループ！！
BIGBANG's new song is really nice. Their sounds are always one step ahead of others. Their performance is improving as well. Great group!

というかYGエンターテイメントのサウンドが好きだな。 どのアーティストも世界基準の曲やってる。 アーティストの育成も本当に優れてると思う。 凄く良いチーム。
In fact, I like all YG Entertainment's sounds. Every artist from YG is accepted worldwide. The way they train singers is great as well. Great team!

In 2009, Big Bang's G-Dragon collaborated with w-inds. for their song "Rain is Falling".

PIGBANG Makes Their Official Japanese Debut

Nope, that’s not a typo. Announced as the official supporters of Big Bang's Japanese debut is the new parody band PIGBANG.

Universal Music Group took an unusual route in preparing to launch Big Bang’s third Japanese album, "BIG BANG 2", which is scheduled to be released May 11. The record label approached Yoshimoto Creative Agency to request some of its best comedians for promotional use. The agency put together five of its most talented comedians and the parody band PIGBANG was born.

The comedians are promoting Big Bang on their regular shows and familiarizing the Japanese public with the Korean boy band.

PIGBANG’s first project was a parody of the “Tonight” music video. For the video, the comedians cut and pasted their heads over the original five members.

“TONIGHT” by PIGBANG

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UPDATE: Here's a subbed video of the introduction:

What do you think of the parody? Funny promotion or bad marketing?

[UPDATED] Big Bang Photos for LG Optimus Big CF

Big Bang's popularity and influence has no doubt attracted the attention of many endorsement opportunities. Big Bang was appointed to endorse LG's newly launched smartphone, Optimus Big.

UPDATED, as of May 3rd 2011:

The official CF has been released!

Big Bang also shares the Making-Of video:

Seen here are some behind-the-scenes pictures of the boys testing out the product for themselves:

What do you think of the end result?

Below is an Intro Movie for the smartphone's microsite:

The smartphone is now available in Korea. No word yet on whether fans from overseas will be able to get their hands on one.

Concerned Big Bang Fans Sign Petition

Big Bang's Japanese album is set to drop on May 11th. As such, Big Bang is scheduled to stay in Japan for the next two months to promote the new album. There is a fear that Big Bang would be exposed to the dangers of radiation. The promotional period has since been shortened to two weeks.

UPDATED:
Big Bang's promotional period in Japan has been shortened to two weeks instead of the planned two months.

Seven thousand concerned Korean fans are signing a petition to potentially stop or delay their promotional efforts throughout Japan. The petition (which can be accessed here) is to be sent to YG Entertainment. Fans are accusing Big Bang's management company of neglecting their health, and are only focusing on turning a profit.

Big Bang Wins for "Love Song" on Music Bank

Big Bang's "Love Song" takes out CN Blue's "Intuition" on the 600th episode of Music Bank. The special episode also featured more artists and stages, therefore cutting out its usual airing of their weekly results from the K-chart.

The results were instead posted on Music Bank's official website. Big Bang's win is quite a feat considering that their first place came even before they had a chance to perform "Love Song" on Music Bank.

Big Bang to Cut Japanese Promotions Short?

YG Entertainment announced that there will be some changes in Big Bang's upcoming Japanese promotions.

As confirmed earlier, Big Bang won't cancel their Japan tour called "Love & Hope". However, according to YG Entertainment, they will delay their planned concerts in Tokyo and Yokohama indefinitely.
A representative of the company stated, "All Big Bang members really want to do the concerts in Japan as originally planned to show their support and love for everyone hurt by the recent disaster. But there still are major aftershocks happening in Japan, and many fans from other countries have voiced their concerns over Big Bang's security. We thought it was a major concern, too, so we decided to postpone the Tokyo and Yokohama concerts, which haven't sold any tickets yet."

In addition to that, it has been announced that Big Bang will shorten their upcoming Japan activities. Originally, they planned to promote in Japan for two months, but it has been decided to reduce this period of time to two weeks and release a full-length album, "BIGBANG2", which will come out on 11th May, instead.

Currently, Big Bang is on promotion in Korea with their special edition, released on 8th April, which they will end on 1st May.

Big Bang Reveals Japanese Version Of "Tonight"

The music video for the Japanese version of "Tonight" has been released on YG's official YouTube channel. Besides Japanese, the new version also includes more English parts.

Big Bang will soon be starting their activities in Japan. Therefore they've now unveiled the Japanese version of their hit single "Tonight" on YG Entertainment's official YouTube channel.
The song will be included in the group's second Japanese album "BIGBANG 2", out on May 11th.

Big Bang's Global Event Voting Now Open

Big Bang will be holding a special album release event, and fans can vote on where it will happen!

Big Bang has announced on their official Facebok page that they will be holding a special album release event. Fans of the group can vote on where Big Bang will go for this special event. Just follow this link and allow the app to run. Afterwards vote for the country you want to see the event at. Voting is open for 9 countries in each of the 3 regions. The eligible countries are as follows:

Division 1: America
USA
Canada
Brazil
Peru
Chili
Argentina
Venezuela
Colombia
Ecuador

Division 2: Europe
UK
France
Germany
Spain
Netherlands
Poland
Sweden
Romania
Italy

Division 3: Asia
Japan
Taiwan
Thailand
Malaysia
Philippines
Vietnam
Hong Kong
Singapore
China

Vote now to bring Big Bang to your country!

Big Bang Reveals "BIGBANG 2" Tracklisting + Cover Art

Last night Big Bang announced their 2nd Japanese album. Today the track listing and album covers have been revealed.

Last night the popular Korean boyband Big Bang announced their 2nd Japanese album titled "BIGBANG 2". Today the group has reveal more information on their new album.

The track list for the album has been revealed. The album will contain 10 songs including the groups hit songs "Koe Wo Kikasete", "Tell Me Goodbye" and "Beautiful Hangover". The track listing is as follows:

1. INTRO [Thank You&You]
2. TONIGHT
3. SOMEBODY TO LUV
4. BEAUTIFUL HANGOVER
5. Ora Yeah !
6. Tell Me Goodbye
7. Koe Wo Kikasete
8. Ms.LIAR
9. HANDS UP
10. LOVE SONG

The album will also be available in 3 different editions. The different version feature different covers which can be seen below:

"BIGBANG 2" will be released May 11th and is available for preorder at YesAsia.com now.

Big Bang Annonces New Japanese Album?

Big Bang's official Japanese site has been update with an announcement that they will be releasing a new album.

Big Bang's official Japanese website has received a new look. A new image appeared at the top of the page with what appeared to be the announcement of a new Japanese album. The album will be titled "BIGBANG 2" and will be released on May 11th. No details about the new album have been released with the surprise announcement.

Fans of Big Bang can now purchase the repackaged version of their latest Korean album while they wait to hear more about the new Japanese album.

Big Bang Does Photo Shoot For GQ Korea

Big Bang has a spread in the magazine GQ Korea featuring the group in stylish suits.

The popular men's fashion and lifestyle magazine GQ is known for its features with big name celebrities, and GQ Korea is no exception. The Korean branch of the magazine features the hugely popular group Big Bang in its April issue.

The men of Big Bang are shown wearing classy suits for their spread in GQ Korea, a contrast to the rock star inspired photo shoot they did with W Korea.

The rest of the photo shoot can be seen below:

YG Entertainment To Donate 500'000 USD To Japan

Korean agency "YG Entertainment" announced that they'll donate 500'000 USD to the relief efforts in Japan. Artists like Big Bang, 2NE1 and Se7en are part of the YG family.

YG Entertainment, the agency of famous groups and artists like Big Bang, 2NE1, Gummy, Se7en or PSY, announced yesterday on March 15th, that they'll be donating 500'000 USD to the disaster areas in Japan.

Usually YG Entertainment always donates money at the end of the year, but due to the disastrous circumstances in Japan, they've decided to take action now.
A spokesman told the public that the donation amount was taken from album sales, in which a lot of Japanese fans were involved. Now YG wants to give everything back.

Big Bang's Next Album Will Be a Full Length Album

With Big Bang's latest mini album leaving fans wanting more, G-Dragon thinks their next album will a full length one.

Fans of Big Bang were given a treat February 28th when they released their first Korean album in 2 years. The 6 track mini album however left their fans wanting more from the boyband. G-dragon's announcement should have fans excited though. He recently announced that they would be working on a full length album after their Japanese tour in May.

"After promoting this mini album, we’re going to tour Japan and release another album when we return. I think that’ll be a full length album which we’re thinking of working on with composers from outside YG as well so I think it’ll have a different flavor to it." G-Dragon stated.

After seeing how important the internet has been in their popularity, especially outside of Korea, G-dragon also promised that take things further through new ways of releasing their music, blogging and other new ways to connect to their fans. This comes after the group found out that the majority of their music videos' hits have come from outside of Korea in places like the United States and Europe.

"I don’t think we get a lot of hits on YouTube because we’re famous. I rather think it’s that our individual activities such as Taeyang’s solo album or GD&TOP’s duo unit album has stirred curiosity of our music amongst people overseas" commented T.O.P.

Big Bang's latest mini album has sold over 100,000 units and their new songs have topped all of Korea's major charts.