About Taeyang

Dong Young-bae (Korean: ???; born 18 May 1988), better known by his stage name Taeyang (Hangul: ??, Hanja: ??, meaning Sun) or Sol, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter, lyricist, recording artist, model and actor. After appearing in Jinusean's music video "A-yo", Taeyang began training under YG Entertainment at the age of 12 alongside fellow member and leader G-Dragon. After six years of vocal and dance training, he made his debut in 2006 as a member of popular Korean boy band, BIGBANG,as main vocalist and main dancer of the same group.

His second studio album Rise peaked at #112 on the US Billboard 200 Chart, becoming the highest ranking album by a Korean soloist to enter the chart.[1][2] The album's title track "Eyes, Nose, Lips" peaked at #1 on Billboard K-pop Hot 100 Chart, giving him his first solo number one single on the chart.[1][2]
 

Background information
Native name	??
Birth name	Dong Young-bae (???)
Also known as	Taeyang, Sol, YB , Taekwon
Born	18 May 1988 Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Genres	K-pop, hip hop, R&B, EDM, pop
Occupations	Singer, Dancer, Songwriter, Rapper, Lyricist, Model, Composer, (childhood) actor, Choreographer
Instruments	Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Drums
Years active	2001–present
Labels	YG Entertainment (South Korea) YGEX (Japan)
Associated acts	BIGBANG,G-Dragon, Teddy Park, Tablo, Se7en M-Flo

 

2000—2008: Early beginnings and debut with BIGBANG

Taeyang's first appearance in the entertainment industry was with Maddie in the hip-hop group Jinusean's music video "A-yo".[3] The collaboration eventually lead him to successfully auditioning into the group's record label YG Entertainment, where he met fellow trainee G-Dragon and former trainee (now a member of 2PM) Jun. K. G-dragon and him were later coined as GDYB.[4] In 2003, Taeyang provided the rap verse in singer Wheesung's single "Player" on the latter's second album.[5]

the plan was scrapped by their record label. Instead, they were joined by four other trainees (T.O.P., Daesung, Seungri, and Hyun Seung) to form the group BIGBANG. The group's formation was documented on television as a documentary.[6] Before their official debut, however, Hyun Seung was dropped and their final lineup consisted of five members. Choosing the stage-name Taeyang (Korean: ??, meaning sun), Taeyang abandoned the idea of rapping to focus on singing.[7] Their first album, Since 2007, was a fair success,[8] and included Taeyang's first solo song "Ma Girl." The group achieved mainstream success with the release of the song "Lies" (Korean: ???; Revised Romanization: Geojitmal) from their 2007 mini-album Always, which topped several charts upon its release. The singles, "Last Farewell" (Korean: ??? ??; Revised Romanization: Majimak Insa) from the mini-album Hot Issue and "Day by Day" (Korean: ????; Revised Romanization: Haru Haru) from Stand Up, became chart-toppers as well.[9][10]

He later flew to Japan to promote the group's Japanese albums. After BIGBANG's activities have ended, he went back to the studio to prepare for his next solo activities. Taeyang released his first digital single "Where U At",[11] followed by another digital single, "Wedding Dress". Promotional videos were filmed for both "Where U At" and "Wedding Dress." "Wedding Dress" was voted No. 3 on an online poll for a Dutch radio station.[12]

Taeyang's first full-length album Solar was released on 1 July 2010. Two versions of this album – the "Regular Edition" and the "Deluxe Edition" – was released. The regular edition contained 11 songs, while the deluxe edition limited to 30,000 copies had 12 songs, including "Only Look at Me" and "Prayer" from Hot. On the first day Taeyang's solo album "Solar" released, 1 July, deluxe edition of the album had sold out its 30,000 circulated copies.[13] (All Sales: 120.000) The album was later released on iTunes,[14] charting at the number-two spot on the iTunes' Top R&B-Soul albums chart in the United States and number-one in Canada's, making him the first Asian musician to do so.[15] Two singles were released for promotions: "I Need A Girl" featuring bandmate G-Dragon, and "I'll Be There." At the end of 2010, I Need A Girl (4 Weeks) I'll Be There (1 Weeks) Only Look at Me (3 Weeks) Korean Song Music Chart's Win. Taeyang won the "Best Male Artist" award at the 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards at the end of the year and the Seoul Music Awards Best Male Artist award.
 

2013 - present

Taeyang's new single "Ringa Linga" was released on 9 November 2013. Taeyang ranked #33 in The Critic's List of "100 Most Handsome Faces of 2013".

On the May 17th 2014, YG announced that Taeyang's new album will be released on June 2 with the possible title, 'Rise'.[16] After 'Rise' was released on June 2, it achieved an "All-Kill" in Korea (#1 on all charts) and was #1 on the iTunes Album Chart in 10 countries (top 50 in 21 countries). At its peak, 'Rise' was #1 on iTunes R&B/SOUL Album Chart in 19 countries to include USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Russia, Hong Kong, and Denmark (top 50 in 25 countries). Rise became the third highest charting K-pop album, and also the highest charting K-pop album by a solo artist, on Billboard by debuting at #112 on Billboard Hot 200, #1 on Billboard World Albums Chart, and #1 on Heatseekers Albums Chart.[17]

August 2014 saw Taeyang embarked on his Japanese RISE tour 2014 with extra dates being added due to huge demand. The concerts wrapped on Sept 3rd, 2014 in Osaka with a guest appearance by G-Dragon for "Stay with Me".

On August 13th Taeyang's first Japanese album was released: RISE including the previous Korean albums SOLAR and HOT. It charted #2 on the Japanese ORION Charts.

On October 11th and 12th Taeyang will be performing his RISE solo concerts in Seoul, Korea.

A deluxe version for RISE is currently in the making. However a release date has not been confirmed yet. On September 9th, 2014 YG and Samsung's joint fashion brand NONA9ON will be launched with CL and Taeyang as models.

As per summer 2014 Taeyang is currently endorsing Calvin Klein's CK One and NIKE. The CK One spot including Taeyang and other artists is running worldwide.
 

Discography

Albums

• Solar (2010)
• RISE (2014)

Mini Albums

• Hot (2008)

Japanese Albums

• RISE (2014)

Singles

• Ma Girl (2006)
• Only Look At Me (2008)
• Where U At (2009)
• Wedding Dress (2009)
• I'll Be There (2010)
• Ringa Linga (2013)
• Eyes Nose Lips (2014)

Live albums

• Hot Live Concert Tour DVD (2008)
• Solar Live Concert Tour DVD (2010)

Other

• GDYB (G-Dragon and Taeyang) Paris Photobook (2014)

Solo Concert Tour

• Hot Concert Tour (2008)
• Solar Concert Tour (2010)
• Rise Busan mini Concert (2014)
• Rise Japan Tour (2014)
• Rise Korea Seoul Concerts (2014) 

 

Charted Songs

Single

Year	Single	Peak position	Album
		[18]
2006	"My Girl" (Taeyang solo)	12	Since 2007
2008	"Prayer" (feat. Teddy) ("??" Gido)	3	Hot
	"Only Look at Me" ("?? ???" Naman barabwa)	1
	"Ma Girl" (Japanese version) (Taeyang solo)	14	With U
2009	"Where U At"	3	Solar
	"Wedding Dress" ("?????" Wedingdeureseu)	1
2010	"I Need a Girl" (feat. G-Dragon of BIGBANG)	1
	"I'll Be There"	1	Solar International
2013	"Ringa Linga"	1	RISE
2014	"Eyes, Nose, Lips" ("?, ?, ?" Nun, Ko, Ib)	1

 
 

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2008	6th Korean Music Awards	Best R&B / Soul Song	?? ??? (Only Look at Me)	Won
		Best R&B / Soul Album	Hot	Won
	Naver Music Awards	Song of the Year	?? ??? (Only Look at Me)	Won
2010	12th Mnet Asian Music Awards	Album of the Year	Solar	Nominated
		Best Male Artist[19]	"I'll Be There"	Won
		Best Dance Performance - Solo	I'll Be There	Nominated
	allkpop Awards	Best Male Solo Artist	Taeyang	Won
	Korean Popular Culture & Art Awards	Minister Commendation for Culture and Tourism		Won
2011	8th Korean Music Awards	Male Musician of the Year		Won
2013	Soompi Awards	Best Choreography	Ringa Linga	Won
	allkpop Awards	Best Male Solo	Taeyang	Nominated
2014	So-loved Awards	Best Solo Artist Male		Pending
		Best Album	RISE	Pending

 

Music Chart Wins

KBS's Music Bank

Year	Date	Song
2008	7 July	"Only Look at Me"
	14 July
	21 July
2010	16 July	"I Need A Girl"
2014	20 June	"Eyes, Nose, Lips"

 

SBS's Inkigayo

Year	Date	Song
2008	6 July	"Only Look at Me"
	13 July
	20 July
2010	18 July	"I Need A Girl" ft. G-Dragon
	25 July
2013	24 November	"Ringa Linga"
2014	15 June	"Eyes, Nose, Lips"
	22 June
	6 July

MNet's M! Countdown

Year	Date	Song
2008	19 June	"Only Look at Me"
	26 June
	3 July
2010	8 July	"I Need A Girl" ft. G-Dragon
	15 July
	2 September	"I'll Be There"
2014	12 June	"Eyes, Nose, Lips"
	19 June
	3 July

 

MBC's Show! Music Core

Year	Date	Song
2014	14 June	"Eyes, Nose, Lips"

 

Featured & Collaboration singles

Year	Title	Peak positions	Peak positions	Album
		KOR [20]	JPN [21]
2002	"Unfold at a Higher Place" (GDYB)	—	—	YG Family 2nd Album (Why Be Normal?)
2002	"Everybody Get Down" (SWI.T Ft. Taeyang)	—	—
2003	"Player" (Wheesung Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	It's Real
2006	"Run" (Se7en Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	24/7
2006	"Give Me Permission" (Se7en Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Se7olution
2007	"Get Up" (Lexy Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Rush
	"Rush" (Lexy Ft. Taeyang)	—	—
	"Super Fly" (Lexy Ft. Taeyang, G-Dragon, and T.O.P.)	—	—
2007	"Should Have Loved You Less" (Kim Johan Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Soul Family with Jo Han
2008	"Real Talk" (YMGA Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Made in ROK
2009	"Friend" (T.O.P and Taeyang)	—	—	Friend, Our Legend OST
2009	"Korean Dream" (G-Dragon Ft. Taeyang)	—	—	Heartbreaker
2009	"Hallelujah" (T.O.P., G-Dragon, and Taeyang)	—	—	IRIS OST
2010	"Fall in Love" (Thelma Aoyama Ft. Taeyang)	—	4	Love! 2 – Thelma Best Collection
2011	"By Instinct Remix" (Swings Ft. Taeyang and Yoon Jong Shin)	—	—
2011	"Tomorrow" (Tablo Ft. Taeyang)	2	—	Fever's End Part 2
2013	"Let's Talk About Love" (Seungri Ft. G-Dragon and Taeyang)	—	—	Let's Talk About Love
2014	"Go Crazy" (M-Flo Ft. Taeyang)	—	3	Future Is WOW

 

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role
2001	Besame Mucho	Beaten up kid.

 

Music Videos

Year	Title	Official MV on YouTube	Note
2001	Jinusean – "AYO"	YGEntertainment	Younger version of Sean.
2002	YG Family – "YMCA ???"	YGEntertainment	Cameo
2003	1TYM – "Hot ??"	YGEntertainment	Cameo
2006	"MA GIRL"	YGEntertainment
2008	"PRAYER (??)"	BIGBANG
	"ONLY LOOK AT ME (?? ???)"	BIGBANG
2009	"Where U At"	BIGBANG
	"Wedding Dress"	YGEntertainment
2010	Thelma Aoyama – "Fall in Love"
	"I Need a Girl"	YGEntertainment
	"I'll Be There"	YGTAEYANG
	GD & TOP – "High High"		Cameo
2011	Tablo – "Tomorrow"	ygtablo
2012	G-Dragon – "One of a Kind"	BIGBANG	Cameo
2013	G-Dragon – "MichiGO"	BIGBANG	Cameo
2013	CL – "The Baddest Female"	2NE1	Cameo
2013	"Ringa Linga"	BIGBANG
2014	"?,?,? (EYES, NOSE, LIPS)"	BIGBANG
	???? (1AM)	BIGBANG

 

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Band Members

Read more about BIGBANG ??: BIGBANG 빅뱅 Biography
 

Stage name			Birth name		Date of birth
Romanized	Hangul	Japanese	Romanized	Hangul
T.O.P	?	T.O.P	Choi Seung-hyun	???	November 4, 1987
G-Dragon	????	G-Dragon	Kwon Ji-yong	???	August 18, 1988
Taeyang	??	SOL	Dong Young-bae	???	May 18, 1988
Seungri	??	V.I.	Lee Seung-hyun	???	December 12, 1990
Daesung	??	D-Lite	Kang Dae-sung	???	April 26, 1989

 

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Source: 

Taken from Wikipedia, amended and updated by BIGBANG 빅뱅 music.

Taeyang. (2014, September 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:33, September 9, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taeyang&oldid=624570028

Reference Notes, click here.