30 Mind Blowing Facts Every Fan Should Know About Kpop Group Big Bang

Big Bang, often labeled as the “Kings of K-pop,” is a South Korean boy band that officially debuted on August 19, 2006. Here are 30 interesting facts about the band:

1. With over 140 million records sold (includes the member’s solo releases and sub units), Big Bang is the best-selling digital group of all-time in Asia and also one among the best-selling boy bands in the world.
2. The lead single “Day by Day,” from their third Korean EP “Stand Up,” just as released topped several online charts and managed to retain its #1 position for six consecutive weeks. With more than five million digital downloads in South Korea alone, the single became one of the most successful singles of all-time.
3. The boy band along with label-mates 2NE1, are the first Korean act to be invited alongside top American and Japanese hip hop artists at 2012's Springroove Festival.
4. The original line-up of the band consisted of six members - T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun), Taeyang (Dong Young-bae), G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong), Daesung (Kang Dae-sung), Seungri (Lee Seung-hyun), and Hyun-seung (Jang Hyun-seung), who was officially dropped before the debut.
5. The band is the all-time best-selling artist in Cyworld, besides being the boy band who spent the most weeks at #1 on Melon and most months at #1 on Gaon Chart.
6. With their fifth EP “Alive,” Big Bang obtained five spots out of the top-ten on Billboard K-pop's Hot 100 and also reached #150 on Billboard 200. This made them the first Korean artist with a Korean album to have done it.
7. The Washington Post’s Anna Fifield claims Big Bang to have “defined and redefined South Korean pop music,” with their successful albums.
8. They are the first artist in the Korean history to have entered the Forbes Magazine’s lists of “Celebrity 100,” and also the “30 under 30” most influential musicians in the world.
9. On the 2016 Time Magazine’s polls for “Most Influential People in the World,” the band emerged at the second spot, next only to American politician Bernie Sanders.
10. Their second world tour “Made World Tour,” that kicked off with two shows in Seoul, gathered around 1.5 million fans around the world. This made it the largest tour by any act in the Korean history.
11. In the year 2011, the band won the Best Worldwide Act award at the MTV Europe Music Award ceremony, after which the search engine giant Google announced that its subsidiary “YouTube,” would launch a K-pop channel.
12. The Hollywood Reporter called Big Bang as “the biggest boy band in the world,” while The Washington Post named as “the biggest band in Asia.”
13. Time magazine's South Asia correspondent, Krista Mahr, wrote in a March 2012 article about her first K-Pop concert at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, describing the band as the “K-pop gods,” for their remarkable stage presence.
14. Big Bang was chosen by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be ambassadors for the country's "Creative Icon" slogan in 2016.
15. Following Psy’s "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman," it was the band’s two songs "Loser" and "Bae Bae," from their first single “M,” of the album “Made,” that debuted at No. 1 and the latter at No. 2 on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart.
16. In Dong-a IIbo’s survey by the music critics and Korean public, the band was named as the "Top Male Idol Group in the Past 20 Years." Big Bang was ranked at #4 in the JoongAng Ilbo’s list of “Most Powerful Figures In Korean Entertainment,” making them the highest ranking musicians ever till date.
17. The dance moves for the song “Bang Bang Bang,” from their “Made” series, which was choreographed by Parris Goebel, became one of the most popular dances of the year 2015.
18. The documentary “Big Bang Made,” that premiered on June 30, 2016 exclusively at Korean cinema chain CGV, was screened with CGV ScreenX, which showed the movie on three screens for a 270-degree viewing experience.
19. “Lies,” which is credited as their breakout and signature song, was chosen as the "Song of the Decade" in the year 2014, by Mnet's M! Countdown.
20. T.O.P’s first acting experience was with a video clip “I’m sorry” for Gummy. He first debuted as an actor in the year 2007, in the K-drama “I am Sam.” However, it was with his role as Vick the assassin in the “Iris,” in the year 2009 that he gained popularity as an actor.
21. Their song “Baby Boy,” is listed at #13 in the Spin Magazine’s list of "The 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time." The same song is the first K-pop song to have been included in one of Fuse's best songs of the year lists.
22. At the 2016 MTV Italian Music Awards, Big Bang was awarded the Best Artist from the World Award, making them the first and only Korean act to win a prize in the event.
23. The band encourages their fans to bring bags of rice to their concerts and donates the rice to charitable cause. For their first show in months, over 12.7 tons of rice was donated from more than 50 fan clubs all around the world.
24. Even at the peak of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” popularity,” Big Bang’s concert in New Jersey was compared to be the best by some critics, like The New York Times journalist Jon Caramanica claimed it to be "true wild heart of K-pop" as opposed to PSy, which highlighted the brightly colored costumes, choreography, and stage performance.
25. Before the formation of the group, T.O.P was an underground rapper, went by the stage name "Tempo." “Buckwild” was his most popular tracks at that time. On February 9, 2017, T.O.P enlisted for his two-year service as a conscripted policeman, as per the mandatory military service requirement in South Korea.
26. With their first world tour, the band set the record for the highest number of ticket sales in Taiwan. Their shows in London are said to have gathered the largest crowd for a K-pop concert in the history of United Kingdom. In the year 2013, their Japan Dome Tour, turned out to be the highest-grossing tour by a foreign act in Japan.
27. The group members’ dressing styles is a major trend setter in the Korean fashion industry and is even dubbed as “Big Bang Fashion,” become a cultural phenomenon in South Korea.
28. Their song “Fantastic Baby,” is listed at #22 in the Rolling Stone’s list of "50 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time." It is also placed second in the Stereogum's list of "Best K-pop Videos."
29. For their “Alive Tour,” at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, The New York Times ranked Big Bang second on the 2012’s list of best concerts. The same year, they topped the Philippines's Top 3 Mall of Asia Arena concerts. The group’s Lima concert was named the best of 2012 in South America.
30. At the 5th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards, Big Bang was honored with the Most Influential Group in Asia Award. The quintet also received a Special Achievement award at the 58th Japan Record Awards.