A (single album)

A
Single album by
Big Bang
ReleasedJune 1, 2015 (2015-06-01)
Recorded2014–2015
Genre
Length6:55 (Digital)
20:38 (Physical)
Label
Producer
Big Bang chronology
M
(2015) 		A
(2015) 		D
(2015)
"A" Version (Black)
"a" Version (White)

A is the fifth single album by South Korean band Big Bang, and the second from their Made Series.

Background and release

The first poster titled "Bang Bang Bang" was released on May 27, YG Entertainment producer Yang Hyun-suk commented that the song was "the most powerful music you have ever heard before."[1] The second poster was released for "We Like 2 Party" a day later.[2] The music video was shot on Jeju Island on May 19.[3]

The single could be pre-ordered from May 27 to June 1, consisting of 4 tracks (two new songs and two previous ones) and two instrumental tracks. It was released worldwide through iTunes, and other online music portals on June 1. There are two different versions of the album, one contains only a CD and a booklet (24p) while the other one contains a CD, a booklet (24p) and a special kit (a random puzzle ticket, 5 photo cards and a limited photo card) with a poster.

Commercial performance

A entered the Gaon Album Chart at number three,[4] and peaked at number two the third week of release.[5] The album peaked at number three on the monthly chart in June, selling 93,504 copies.[6] In Taiwan, it charted at number 6.[7]

According to QQ Music, the pre-orders for the album in China reached 1 million,[8] in the first 12 hours the single sold 200,000 copies.[9] After two weeks the album sold over 400,000 digital copies, breaking the record for foreign album sold on QQ Music, they also dominated the chart by having four songs on the top 6.[10] As of March 2017, the album has sold over 800,000 copies on QQ Music, making it one of the best-selling digital albums in Chinese history.

Reception

The singles received positive reviews from the fans, public and critics.[11] In less than two months, the music videos gained over 60 million views on YouTube.

Promotion

After previewing both songs during their Made Tour in Guangzhou, China, BigBang participated in Yoo Hee-yeol's Sketchbook[12][unreliable source?] on May 30, 2015. The members held a live podcast for the album, an hour before its release via Naver Starcast online,[13] the live chat gathered more than 400,000 viewers.[14][unreliable source?] BigBang had their first official comeback on June 4 installment of Mnet's M Countdown.[15]

On June 1, "Bang Bang Bang" was delayed on being registered in the voting system for 41 hours on SBS's Inkigayo, which led to SHINee's "View" winning, despite "Bang Bang Bang" being on the top of the charts, which led to a storm of complaints from the fans.[16]

The problem with SBS continued, On June 14, it was announced that BigBang is banned from appearing on Inkigayo, according to SBS the reason was that G-Dragon and T.O.P didn't appear on the show when BigBang won the first place on May 24, only three members were able to show. YG representative said the members didn't show up due to the shooting of a music video. The winners of the show on June 14 was not announced on the same day, the results came the next day, the winner was BigBang.[17][18][unreliable source?]

BigBang stopped promoting the single afterwards and also didn't promote the next single album D.

Track listing

A - Single[19]
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Bang Bang Bang"Teddy, G-Dragon, T.O.PTeddy, G-DragonTeddy3:40
2."We Like 2 Party"Teddy, Kush, G-Dragon, T.O.PTeddy, Kush, Seo Won Jin, G-DragonTeddy, Kush3:16
Total length:6:55
A - CD[19]
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Bang Bang Bang"Teddy, G-Dragon, T.O.PTeddy, G-DragonTeddy3:40
2."We Like 2 Party"Teddy, Kush, G-Dragon, T.O.PTeddy, Kush, Seo Won Jin, G-DragonTeddy, Kush3:16
3."Loser"Teddy, T.O.P, G-DragonTeddy, TaeyangTeddy3:39
4."Bae Bae"G-Dragon, Teddy, T.O.PTeddy, G-Dragon, T.O.PTeddy2:49
5."Bang Bang Bang" (instrumental) Teddy, Taeyang 3:40
6."We Like 2 Party" (instrumental) Teddy, Kush, Seo Won Jin, G-Dragon 3:16
Total length:20:38
Japan Edition – Digital[20]
No.TitleLength
1."Bang Bang Bang" (Korean version)3:40
2."We Like 2 Party" (Korean version)3:15
3."Bang Bang Bang" (instrumental)3:40
4."We Like 2 Party" (instrumental)3:15
Total length:13:51
A (CD) – Special version of iTunes[21]
No.TitleLength
1."Bang Bang Bang" (a cappella)3:40
2."Bang Bang Bang" (MR)3:40
3."Bang Bang Bang" (instrumental)3:40
4."We Like 2 Party" (a cappella)3:15
5."We Like 2 Party" (MR)3:15
6."We Like 2 Party" (instrumental)3:15

Charts

Sales

Chart Sales
South Korea (Gaon) 102,493[24][25]

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Worldwide[26] June 1, 2015 Digital download YG
South Korea[27]
South Korea[19] June 2, 2015 CD
Taiwan[28] June 9, 2015 Warner Music Taiwan
Japan[29] June 17, 2015 Digital download YGEX

References

  1. ^ YG Entertainment. "[OSEN Focus] BIGBANG Returns with Powerful "BANG BANG BANG". yg-life.com/. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  2. ^ YG Entertainment. 빅뱅, 6월 1일 두번째 신곡 공개 'WE LIKE 2 PARTY'. yg-life.com/. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  3. ^ YG Entertainment. "[ISSUEIS] The Key-Words for BIGBANG's New Song for June… "Summer, Jeju Island, Fantastic.."". yg-life.com/. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  4. ^ "Gaon Album Chart Week 24". Gaon Music Chart. June 6, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  5. ^ "Gaon Album Chart Week 26". Gaon Music Chart. June 20, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Gaon Album Chart - June". Gaon Music Chart. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Comprehensive Weekly Top 20: 2015/06/26 – 2015/07/02" (in Chinese). G-Music. July 2, 2015. Archived from the original on December 28, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  8. ^ "BigBang数字专辑预约". QQ Music. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  9. ^ "BIGBANG《A》（5.1）数字专辑 QQ音乐独家首发". QQ Music. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "Takes over China's largest portal QQ Music #1 to #3". yg-life.com. June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  11. ^ 빅뱅의 음악성, 팬덤을 넘어서다. OSEN [ko]. June 6, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  12. ^ "BIGBANG to Perform on "Yoo Hee Yeol's Sketchbook"". The Korea Economic Daily. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  13. ^ Lim Jeong-yeo (June 1, 2015). "Big Bang members to live-interact with fans tonight". Kpop Herald. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  14. ^ Jackie Chung (June 3, 2015). "'Countdown Live' Big Bang Breaks Their Own Viewership Record With 440,000 Users Watching Online". kpopstarz. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  15. ^ "Big Bang and EXO to Face Off on ′M COUNTDOWN′ Today (6/4)". MWave. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  16. ^ Shin, Hyo-ryung (June 14, 2015). "'인기가요', 1위 발표 없이 방송 끝?" ['Inkigayo' ends broadcast without announcing No. 1?]. Newsis (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  17. ^ "BIGBANG banned from "Inkigayo"". [classicalite.com Classicalite]. 15 June 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  18. ^ "BIGBANG banned from SBS "Inkigayo" after G-Dragon and T.O.P fail to appear". koreaboo.com. 14 June 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c "BIGBANG - MADE SERIES [A] 'TRACK LIST'". YG Family Twitter. 2015-05-29. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  20. ^ "Big Bang Made Series [A]" (in Japanese). Recochoku Co. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  21. ^ "[YG Music] A - EP". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  22. ^ "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – The 24th Week of 2015". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  23. ^ 2015년 Album Chart. Gaon Chart. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  24. ^ "[스페셜IS] 빅뱅 중간평가① 음원, 퍼펙트한 성적표". isplus.live.joins.com (in Korean). 2 July 2015.
  25. ^ "[Special IS] BIGBANG Interim Evaluation① Music, straight-A report card". yg-life.com.
  26. ^ "Big Bang A - Single". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  27. ^ "Big Bang [A]" (in Korean). Naver Music. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  28. ^ "Big Bang Made Series [A]" (in Chinese). Warner Music Taiwan. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  29. ^ "全世界を席巻中!! MADE SERIES [A] 日本配信リリース決定!!". ygex.jp/bigbang/. 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2015-06-14.