After four years of hiatus, K-pop legend BIGBANG returns with an emotional single, ‘Still Life’. Released on the midnight of April 5, the group’s latest song broke records and trended on various social media platforms.
The legendary South Korean group finally made their long-awaited comeback with the release of their new track titled ‘Still Life’ – which literally translates to the four seasons (Spring Summer Fall Winter) in Korean.
Following its release, the song instantly trended on Twitter with more than 1.31 million tweets. It topped real-time in 33 regions on iTunes and on major music streaming sites in South Korea, China, and Japan, like Melon, QQ Music, and Line Music. As of this writing, the music video has already garnered an astounding 19 million views on YouTube.
After announcing their return last February, fans have been anticipating the kind of music that the four members of the group would be making. Mid-March, photos and videos have circulated, teasing their supporters even more. Subsequent to the cryptic polaroid image posted on the group’s social media account, individual polaroid images of members, G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, and Daesung were also released. This was then followed by the lyric poster of the song dropped on April 1 and 2.
The dreamy music video of ‘Still Life’ perfectly suited the slow and emotional retro rock ballad genre of the newly-released track. Wrapped in comfort and nostalgia, the lyrics figuratively relate the struggles of the group members into seasons – of how they’ve matured through time in the face of the challenges brought upon them.
As a K-pop group known for writing their own music since their debut, ‘Still Life’ demonstrates the exemplary genius of the members. According to sources, both T.O.P. and G-Dragon made a great contribution in the composition and lyric creation of the song. Hence, though delivered in metaphors, the words truly struck the fans, particularly on T.O.P’s part where he sang, “Boy, look over at the sky doing well throughout the four seasons, goodbye/ Those who left and those who came/ The world above our head/ I’m leaving inspirations amazon/ Burying all the trauma from pas nights/ A roundtrip ship running, risking its life to start anew.” Such evoked so much emotion knowing that he will be parting ways with the group’s label, YG Entertainment, after 16 years of working together.
‘Still Life’ is BIGBANG’s first single released after four years of silence. It can be recalled that the last song they produced was ‘Flower Road’ in March 2018 – a special present they made for their fandom before they enlisted for mandatory military service. Since then, a number of challenges were posed upon the group – from Seungri’s departure to the cancellation of major events brought about by the pandemic.
Despite the lack of music updates for years, BIGBANG remained as one of the major influencers in the music and entertainment industry. G-Dragon made several successful releases with Nike, Taeyang got married and recently welcomed his son, Daesung started his YouTube channel to further engage with his fans, while both T.O.P and G-Dragon became renowned figures in the art world as collectors.
BIGBANG made their debut in 2006 and successfully dominated the Korean music charts for years. They became the country’s best-selling boy band for a long time – earning numerous awards like the Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year on major Asian Music Award Shows. They were one of the boy groups whose influence crossed over to the U.S. as well.
While many speculations are ongoing about the group – despite the success of ‘Still Life’ – the melancholic vibe of this new track reminds fans that their music will continue to touch hearts and uplift souls, even in these difficult times. BIGBANG once again proved why they are South Korea’s legendary group.
Image credit: YG Family
