“Burning Sun” Seungri and “Marijuana” T.O.P: Once Bigbang Members, Now Publicly Erased
On the October 30th broadcast of tvN’s “You Quiz on the Block”, G-Dragon appeared as a guest.
During the show, G-Dragon spoke about his upcoming comeback and shared stories as a member of Bigbang.
However, when old footage and stage performances of Bigbang were shown, Seungri and T.O.P were nowhere to be seen.
Bigbang, since their debut in 2006, has released hit after hit, including “Lies”, “Last Farewell”, “Haru Haru”, “Fantastic Baby” and “Bang Bang Bang”, becoming the leader of Hallyu’s second generation. The group was highly regarded for their visuals, vocal and performance abilities and self-producing skills, making them a flawless team.
However, challenges emerged. The youngest member, Seungri, was sentenced to prison for charges related to prostitution, prostitution mediation, violations of food sanitation laws, tax evasion… due to his involvement with the club Burning Sun, leading to his departure from the entertainment industry. Meanwhile, T.O.P, who had caused a scandal for smoking marijuana while serving as a conscripted policeman, announced his departure from Bigbang immediately after completing his alternative service as a public service worker, reducing Bigbang to a trio.
During the show, G-Dragon reflected on the secret behind creating legendary songs, “Looking back, I wonder, ‘How did I do that?’ I’m not sure I could do it again. Back then, I had these gemstone-like friends around me, and when we played around, it felt like songs just came together.“
When asked if he wrote one song a week during middle school, G-Dragon surprised everyone by admitting, “Whether it was good or bad, Taeyang and I made one song every week for 2~3 years.“
Speaking about his hit song “Crooked”, G-Dragon revealed, “For 10 years, everything went really well. I was happy, but underneath it all, I felt empty. I couldn’t express it outwardly. It was an ironic and rebellious mood.”
G-Dragon also opened up about dealing with stress, “As adults, people release stress through alcohol. We’d be in the recording studio one day, and the next day in a hotel abroad. I was alone with tough thoughts. Then, like magic, my pen would come alive and reflect exactly what I was feeling.”
Regarding the joint performance at Taeyang’s concert, G-Dragon said, “We didn’t make any formal plans. Taeyang is an old friend who knows how to handle me. He playfully teased me, ‘You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.’ But when I checked the concert cue sheet, I saw a microphone was ready. I also wanted to look cool since our fans were there. But on stage, he treated me like a baby, even though I wanted to make a grand entrance.“
G-Dragon also confessed, “At one point, I thought about not releasing albums anymore. I’ve lived as G-Dragon for over 20 years but as Kwon Ji-yong for only five. I have everything I could ask for, but I kept wondering if I was truly happy. I should be happy, but I wasn’t sure. I’ve received so much love, but in my personal life, I never left the studio. My whole world was there. It felt like ‘The Truman Show’. Back then, I couldn’t even ask for comfort because everything was going so well, and I didn’t want to sound ungrateful. Now, I don’t think I could go back to that time.”
G-Dragon added, “Lately, I’ve been living more as Ji-yong, and now it’s time to find GD again. It feels like I’m returning to my usual self—cameras, makeup, shaving, wearing shoes, meeting celebrities. Since I’m at the start of my comeback, I feel good as I align things step by step. Over the past 10 years, I’ve lived such a flashy life, and there are situations happening that are out of my control. I’ve done what I can within my limits, but I couldn’t find the answer and kept getting cornered. If I had realized there was space behind me, I wouldn’t have felt so trapped. But at that time, it felt like a dead end. I don’t want to repeat those old patterns. In the past, my problem was that I tried to overcome difficulties.”
Source: Daum