G-dragon (GD), when was the first time you became interested in music?
When I was still in grade school. My friend’s father was a producer on a music show at the time, so when I went over to their house to play I saw a lot of foreign artists’ CDs. That was also the first time I listened to hip-hop and was moved by the music.
When I was still in grade school. My friend’s father was a producer on a music show at the time, so when I went over to their house to play I saw a lot of foreign artists’ CDs. That was also the first time I listened to hip-hop and was moved by the music.
Do you believe there are other music in the world like that?
I only listened to music from Korean artists before that because I thought since I didn’t understand the lyrics nor the meaning, how good could it be? I had absolutely no understanding
of the foreign music market so I had no interest in it. However, after I listened to a then famous American hip-hop group’s song called C.R.E.A.M, my opinion of music instantly expanded.
I only listened to music from Korean artists before that because I thought since I didn’t understand the lyrics nor the meaning, how good could it be? I had absolutely no understanding
of the foreign music market so I had no interest in it. However, after I listened to a then famous American hip-hop group’s song called C.R.E.A.M, my opinion of music instantly expanded.
Language was no longer a problem then?
I still couldn’t understand the meaning of the lyrics nor how the words were pronounced in English, but I was completely mesmerized by the music. I listened to it repeatedly on the CDs and tapes and tried to imitate. I would sing along to the parts I learned. For the parts that I memorized, I wanted to show off to others so I joined something like a song competiton at school and sang it there. I originally thought people would praise me and say how good I was, but they said “What are you singing? We can’t even understand!” & was teased instead (bitter smile).
I still couldn’t understand the meaning of the lyrics nor how the words were pronounced in English, but I was completely mesmerized by the music. I listened to it repeatedly on the CDs and tapes and tried to imitate. I would sing along to the parts I learned. For the parts that I memorized, I wanted to show off to others so I joined something like a song competiton at school and sang it there. I originally thought people would praise me and say how good I was, but they said “What are you singing? We can’t even understand!” & was teased instead (bitter smile).
Ah, that must have been hard to deal, although you were probably the only boy in grade school to begin listening to foreign music.
Yes, but those friends that didn’t agree with my music back then phone me nowadays and say they wish they had listened with me (laughs).
Yes, but those friends that didn’t agree with my music back then phone me nowadays and say they wish they had listened with me (laughs).
So you must have been labeled as a weird person around that time too?
I’ve always liked to challenge myself with fresh things, the new things that people don’t know about yet. Actually the first thing I had interest in was dance. When I watched TV or listened to music when I was young, I always liked dancing along to the beat. When my mother saw me like that, she started helping me apply for all sorts of auditions and then I got through.
I’ve always liked to challenge myself with fresh things, the new things that people don’t know about yet. Actually the first thing I had interest in was dance. When I watched TV or listened to music when I was young, I always liked dancing along to the beat. When my mother saw me like that, she started helping me apply for all sorts of auditions and then I got through.
Which means that your mother was the first person to notice your talent.
I’m the type of person that can’t dance if there aren’t a lot of people around. At the same time, my mother realized that I liked bringing joy to others so she decided to let me try the entertainment industry. So…if you were to say that I’m awesome, you should say that my mother is awesome instead (laughs).
I’m the type of person that can’t dance if there aren’t a lot of people around. At the same time, my mother realized that I liked bringing joy to others so she decided to let me try the entertainment industry. So…if you were to say that I’m awesome, you should say that my mother is awesome instead (laughs).
By the way, when was the first time you appeared on a TV show?
When I was 6. It was a show where they brought all the kids to play. Truthfully if you were to say that I participated in it myself, why not say my mother took me to the show instead. It’s not that I didn’t like appearing on TV but I wanted to play with my friends or go eat something (laughs). I was a shy child when I was young; I only knew to walk behind my mother but the only thing I could do with full confidence was to go on stage and dance. Ever since joining my current company (YGE) at the age of 12, I have become more extroverted.
When I was 6. It was a show where they brought all the kids to play. Truthfully if you were to say that I participated in it myself, why not say my mother took me to the show instead. It’s not that I didn’t like appearing on TV but I wanted to play with my friends or go eat something (laughs). I was a shy child when I was young; I only knew to walk behind my mother but the only thing I could do with full confidence was to go on stage and dance. Ever since joining my current company (YGE) at the age of 12, I have become more extroverted.
You left your parents and started living by yourself at that age?
Ever since I decided to advance into the music industry, I’ve been doing things the way I want to. Even though at first my mother would tell me to prepare and study for high school exams, but when she saw my intense passion for music, she turned around and supported me instead!
Ever since I decided to advance into the music industry, I’ve been doing things the way I want to. Even though at first my mother would tell me to prepare and study for high school exams, but when she saw my intense passion for music, she turned around and supported me instead!
But after that, it was a long time before you debuted.
I was a trainee for 6 years and I would participate in my senpai’s album or live performances. That was how my life was but now that I think about it, if it wasn’t for that time and to have those experiences, I wouldn’t be able to stand there and battle it out.
I was a trainee for 6 years and I would participate in my senpai’s album or live performances. That was how my life was but now that I think about it, if it wasn’t for that time and to have those experiences, I wouldn’t be able to stand there and battle it out.
G-dragon’s 1st Japanese Pictorial Interview (2/4): Being the leader
Rather than being excited, I was extremely stressed out. Only a few people knew of the name ‘GD’ back then. A lot of people had great expectations of us as the first boy group under YGE and because of that, there were a lot of eyes on us. Instead, that pressure brought the 5 of us closer together. I said this to the members, “in order to not let people feel ashamed of the name BIGBANG, we have to do things that exceed their expectations”. Everyone worked hard day by day after that.
Do you have a lot more stress being the leader?
When the group first formed and because I’m in the middle (age), I wanted to make sure I had a good relationship with the youngest and the oldest. I worked very hard during that time but compared to other groups, being BIGBANG’s leader is not as hard work as the others.
It’s like that with 5 members with different personalities?
That is the best part. Everyone knows what they have to do so I only need to say a little bit and then everyone will immediately understand. Of course before building this harmony and trust, we all had our fair share of arguments…
Arguments….? Can you give an example?
Such as different eating habits or the way they fold their clothes (laughs). We all lived together in the dorm so if there was something off in my life, I would be dissatisfied. Now that I think about it, there were lots of arguments about petty things but nothing would be gained from it and it would only hurt each other’s relationships. We stopped arguing after that.
Have you ever argued due to differences with BIGBANG’s direction?
Absolutely not; the 5 of us have the same views about BIGBANG’s music and performances. Of course the way we grow up, the music we listened to before, the artists that we like are all different but our views all come together when it has to do with BIGBANG. Fortunately, we can present our own styles of music when we have our solos so there’s no “pressure” in being part of BIGBANG. In Korea, there’s a popular phrase that says the more you argue, the closer you will get. We are like that….we fought a lot to understand each other and the distance between us shortened. We are like family now.
That’s one way to communicate?
Actually we fight and argue due to mis-communications. BIGBANG members are all surprisingly very shy people and are very polite with people we meet for the first time. When we’re together however, we’ll play jokes on each other and have a lot of fun.
Most 20yr old guys are like that though.
Yes, but when I was in grade school I never had fun playing jokes on people or just joke around. A lot of people were scared of me…I even made some of them cry (bitter laugh). I simply wanted people to acknowledge me back then so I did some mean jokes on them. I transferred schools 4-5 times and I especially wanted to form friendships with my classmates. Every time I transferred, my number of friends would increase so I definitely had more friends than anyone. That’s something that I’m proud of.
No matter where you go, GD is always the most eye-catching one and the most popular, isn’t that right?
I don’t know if I’m popular but I always show off my leadership skills and bring everyone together.
You always like to place yourself in new surroundings and you never feel uneasy?
Never…in fact, I think it’s very fun. Now that we talk about this, I don’t like staying in 1 place for long. I’m still like that now…as long as I go to an unknown place, I will feel really excited. I’ve been like that when I was young and I’m still like that now. I don’t use my brain to think through things. Instead, I use my body to lead myself into the right direction.
G-dragon’s 1st Japanese Pictorial Interview (3/4): About BIGBANG
Not really….(laughs), but I was scared the first time I met Taeyang. Our personalities are complete opposites. I used to be more introverted when I was young but now he is the one that’s introverted. I was quite shy when I saw him for the first time but ever since we started training together and going through thick and thin, we know what the other is thinking now just by glancing at one another. We have no misunderstandings with each other. Like Taeyang, all the members are like family to me and I say this from the bottom of my heart. It’s a special kind of existence and we all respect each other.
By the way, if Taeyang was a color what color would he be?
Red….because he’s taeyang (sun). He gives off the impression that he’s a flame that is always burning. He looks cool on the outside but has a lot of passion on the inside.
That’s kind of like GD yourself. What about Daesung?
After getting to know Daesung, I realized how important one’s personality is. He is especially gentle and everything becomes brighter when he is around. If he was a color, it would be yellow. Like a lightbulb to shine everywhere. And then Seungri…I didn’t have a good first impression of him (laughs). Seungri became a member of BIGBANG by going through the BIGBANG auditions, and I also knew that he participated in a lot of other auditions while surfing on the Internet. That’s why I didn’t have a good impression of him. I even wanted to discipline him…
Can’t believe he left that impression on you (laughs).
Seungri is the type of person that’s very greedy…and has a lot of passion for a lot of things. Of course it would be good if he used it in the right place, but I’m very sorry to say that he presents himself very poorly (bitter laughs). He should find a particular thing and put all his focus on it, but his attention span is only 3 mins long and then he will shift on to another new thing. He always gives up after awhile. When I see that, I always have the feeling that “ah…he’s still so young”. If he was a color, he would be ivory - not yellow & not white…he’s still not at the phase where he can build his own distinct color yet and so I think he will have the biggest change when he grows up. But no matter what, I still think he’s a very tame and adorable kid.
As for TOP, I’ve known him since high school. He was a well known enemy of mine back then but 3-4yrs later by a random encounter, I saw him again and he greeted me first. After we talked through our misunderstandings, we began to open up to each other and could talk about anything.
So you invited him to be part of BIGBANG?
Ah….everyone must think TOP is an especially handsome and perfect guy with no faults right? Actually he has a lot of weaknesses (laughs) but I think that’s what makes him so charming. If I had to give him a color, it would be pink. It doesn’t matter if you’ve seen or heard him once but he gives off a powerful impression that will make people remember him. Only TOP can do that!!
And then what color are you?
Transparent and no color. When a dye drops onto a cloth, that cloth will have color. I want to become a person like that, and I’m working hard in that area. You can say that I’m slowly transforming from a boy to a man.
During performances on stage, GD gives off the impression that he’s hard to get close to but when you MC, you seem much friendlier and you look innocent and childlike.
I’m different on stage and off stage. When I’m off stage, I change back into a normal person. I really dislike acting high and mighty just because I’m a celebrity. Anyhow, as long as I’m on stage I will try my best to finish my performance flawlessly. In order to give a best stage performance, it is important that I completely absorb myself into the center of the stage.
G-dragon’s 1st Japanese Pictorial Interview (4/4): His ambition, his future
Truth be told, it’s unbelievable that so many people know of us. We sing in Korean but Japanese fans can actually sing along with us. I feel very, very happy but since there are a lot of restrictions, we can’t be in close contact with the fans like we do during concerts in Korea. It makes me worried during that time because I value the close distance between the fans - I’ve experienced the joyfulness of this first hand when I was young. I went to a concert of my favorite singer at the time and during one of his performances, that person shook my hands and I felt especially happy. I will never forget that feeling, and that’s why I want to spread that feeling to our fans.
Ah….what does GD want the most right now?
Freedom.
(laughs) Then….what do you think is the most important thing in life?
I think it’s still friends. I’m not afraid to do anything now since there’s BIGBANG, but even after I leave this group in the future I still want to have friends around wherever I go. Even when I start a new love relationship, I’m the type of person to date within my group of friends. I’m surrounded by people with distinct charm and I always feel they lead me forward.
What’s your ambition towards the future of BIGBANG and your own goal?
I don’t want to be a balloon that soars up to the sky and then immediately breaks apart. I want to grow with the fans; be it a few years or 10yrs. I want people to look back and remember how I was during my time in BIGBANG…I want them to remember our songs forever…just like how hip-hop touched my life. I want people to never forget our group. I’m not the type of person that aims to be number 1, but I don’t want to be number 2. If I knew I was going to be number 2 from the very beginning, I don’t think I would even think of becoming a singer.
My biggest mission or goal in life is to achieve something that I can accept - the highest form of achievement. Nevertheless, I want to keep experiencing new things and challenge myself by trying out different genres of music and I hope I can be able to find my own distinct color after 10 years. However, music isn’t something I should enjoy on my own. If fans can fulfill their dreams after listening to my songs or if it can soothe their soul when they feel sad, I will keep making music in different styles - as long as my music can stay with my fans forever.
Finally, what do you want to say to our readers?
If after reading this interview can make you understand more about BIGBANG and I, then I’m contented. But…you can only understand more if you come to our live shows. Hope to meet all of you during our next concert!
Translation: jwalkervip.tumblr.com
(Source: jwalkervip)
KYAAAH~~ JIYONG-OPPA! I MISS U SO BAD! T^T
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