K-pop fans have all the reasons to celebrate after YG Entertainment officially announces on Monday, Feb. 7, the return of Big Bang. Once again, G-Dragon, T.O.P, Daesung and Taeyang will be back on stage to perform together, though minus Seungri, after four years.
YG revealed Big Bang would be releasing new music this spring, AllKpop noted. In fact, the original idols have already completed the recordings and are now looking forward to shooting a music video.
However, though T.O.P's exclusive contract with the label has already come to an end, he will still be part of the group's return. The company revealed it respects the rapper's decision to broaden his individual activities and they have now reached a settlement to join the band's activities whenever the "constraints permit."
The group first hinted at their return when T.O.P shared a photo with his group mates on Instagram. The 34-year-old star showed his love for his band in the first post he made this year.
He even used the hashtags "#ilovemyband" and "#ilovemyfans" and his followers couldn't help but doubt if it meant an upcoming return. After roughly a month following the post, it was proven that the boys were gearing up for their 2022 comeback.
Elsewhere, as Big Bang is about to make their much-awaited return, the group has just reached a huge milestone on YouTube. The music video for the quartet's hit song, "Fantastic Baby," surpassed 500 million views on YouTube as of Jan. 25.
Today, it has almost 501 million views after being posted a decade ago--in March 2021. Despite the time, fans all over the world are still excited about this new success.
"Fantastic Baby" is Big Bang's second music video to hit the 500 million view mark. The first one is their 2016 track "Bang Bang Bang," which currently has 576 million views. With these feats, Big Bang is now the fifth K-pop act with multiple music videos with more than 500 million views on YouTube, following BTS, BLACKPINK, PSY, and TWICE.
Meanwhile, industry insiders are now wondering why Big Bang will not be part of Coachella 2022 after the biggest music festival confirmed its return after two years of delay. The fair will be held on Apr. 15 to 17 and Apr. 22 to 24.
Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Ye and more will be headlining the event. But before it was canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, YG confirmed Big Bang would be making their much-awaited comeback at Coachella 2020. Now that it will return, along with the news of the Big Bang's comeback, many ask why G-Dragon, T.O.P, Daesung and Taeyang will not be part of it.
