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They are standing on the stage, the five of them, waiting for their turn to perform. On the large screen above them the videos that were recorded earlier in the day of “Last Dance” and “FXXK IT” play. Jiyong listens and watches them, as do the others, but he can’t help but let his mind wander.
“All that is gold does not glitter,
not all those who wander are lost;”
Jiyong preps himself to be G-Dragon, the leader of the music group BigBang, as he sees the others mentally preparing for the stage as well. He watches Seunghyun, the eldest of the group first, who looks almost lost. Seunghyun is nothing at all like the charismatic outgoing personality that is T.O.P when he performs. And while T.O.P is a part of his hyung, as a performer he knows that it is only a small part of him. Seungri does his thing spacing out and preparing to be the super hyped up energizer bunny maknae that the VIPs expect him to be. Meanwhile Youngbae is cute and sweet as he dances along to the music, not much difference between the real him and Taeyang, just an extra dose of self-confidence. Daesung is, as usual, off in his own head waving to the fans and occasionally breaking out in air drums to the music as he is quietly getting ready to be the smiling angel that everyone expects of him.
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
It’s been just over a decade since they debuted as BigBang. Ten short years since they have been in the public eye, working their way up to the top; but the time before that was a struggle as well. All of them worked hard to even get to that pre-debut stage, each facing their own struggles.
Jiyong has performed for the longest, having been at it since he was six. That didn’t mean he had an easy time though, his song writing talent earning him the extra assignment of having to write new songs every day, just to hone his skills. Luckily he eventually met Youngbae during the grueling trainee process as young teens. The two hit it off right away, becoming the family and support system that the other needed to make it through.
Youngbae did a brief stint as a child actor before deciding that music was where his passions stood. He overcame his awkward and shy personality enough to ensure that HyunSuk took notice of him.
It was still a struggle though even well into their careers. Youngbae’s dancing and singing skills more than adequately made up for any social blunders he might make, and Jiyong was always there to help temper him as well.
It was just the two of them for several years, training to be a duo, until it was announced that they would be an idol group instead. Jiyong was not exactly thrilled with the idea, downright angry actually. That didn’t stop him from reaching out to Seunghyun, his childhood friend, a talented underground rapper. Seunghyun was rejected at first, but through determination and stubbornness he eventually became the third member of the new group.
The last three members of the group Daesung and Seungri and Hyunseung were the ones Jiyong was the least thrilled about. Seungri had it the worst. Jiyong refused to acknowledge his presence for a long time. Once he had finally endeared himself to his leader, Seungri found himself kicked out of the group by the HyunSuk, the CEO of the company, along with HyunSeung. While he was able to earn back his place as the groups’ youngest member, Hyunseung had not. Fortunately Daesung’s ever present smile and eagerness to always work hard impressed his leader fairly quickly, so he didn’t have that hurdle to deal with like the maknae.
The majority of the members had the support of their families. Daesung’s father was not happy about his son’s choice of career and this ended up nearly doubling his work load since he had to maintain a full school schedule as well as his training. He still be home before 11pm, not being allowed to stay at the dorms, only to do it all again the next day. His was finally able to gain his father’s approval with the help of HyunSuk and emotional tear filled video shortly before their official debut.
The five eventually formed a strong bond between them so that despite their very different personalities they worked well together as a unit. The roots of the group held them together through the years and trials that were to come.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
a light from the shadows shall spring;
As they approached their five year mark, the bonds and roots they formed together were suddenly put to the test. The fans and the members of BigBang feared the group would fall victim to the five year curse as Daesung and the Jiyong found themselves both embroiled in scandal.
Daesung’s incident happened first, a terrible car accident that tragically caused the death of motorcyclist. He went into seclusion and was put on hiatus from the group as netizens made matters worse by commenting on anything relating to Daesung that he was a murderer and should just kill himself. BigBang members and his family did their best to shield him from the media backlash, until someone spray-painted “murderer” on the side of the church where the young man volunteered. He couldn’t even have the refuge of the Church. Daesung suffered from depression, even after he was cleared of charges, still not actively returning to the group for several months.
Four months after Daesung’s incident Jiyong had one of his own, involving marijuana use. His urine test was negative and hair tests only showed a weak positive. The police had no reason not to believe his story that he was unaware he had been given the drug and did not charge him. He was still suspended from the group to reflect upon his actions.
November brought the group back together to attend MTV’s European Music awards where they beat out Britney Spears for Best Worldwide Act. This rejuvenated the group and got them on their feet, ready to come back the next year even stronger than ever.
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
the crownless again shall be king.”
Rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and fashion icon, these are all things that identify Kwon Jiyong. But most special to him was the title of BigBang’s Leader. Yet none of it came without its own set of problems. The stress often led him to bouts of depression and periods of self-doubt, topped with the occasional wondering if he even wanted to be leader in the first place. He can’t have a personal life without being stalked everywhere he goes. His family’s home was even intruded upon by over exuberant fans.
As the group took their place to perform their last song of the night, Jiyong was confident that he couldn’t imagine another life for himself. If given the chance to start over, choose a different path, he would still follow the same one. It has led them here, to their tenth year as a group, to become the most successful group in Asia with fans all over the world. This was where they were meant to be, singing together and no matter what the future may bring Jiyong was confident that they could withstand it.