On stage Taeyang is captivating, with vocals and a stage presence that exudes confidence and charisma. One of South Korea’s most popular R&B K-pop idols, he’s made his name (and career) as a member of BIGBANG. But that’s only the beginning for the 29-year-old, whose also seen success with his solo releases, though he remains true to his origins.
“All things, to me, go back to being a member of BIGBANG,” the artist tells Billboard.
Decked out in black sweats and Balenciaga high tops, he exuded simplicity in comparison to the flair of his bedazzled and befeathered, primarily white, stage outfits. “I would describe myself as a very plain but very honest person,” he says. “I don’t really hype myself up with fancy things. I do a lot less than other celebrities because I like being honest. I just want the audience to see that the performances are a real representation of myself.”
Unlike his bandmate G-Dragon — whose existential crisis in the face of lifelong stardom was the focal point of his New York City concert in July — the artist sees little difference between who he is as Taeyang, a stage name meaning “sun” in Korean, and as Dong Youngbae, his given name. “Taeyang has a microphone and makeup, and Youngbae doesn’t,” he said with a characteristically wry grin.
Eleven years into his career as a member of one of South Korea’s most acclaimed boy bands, his Sept. 1 concert at the Theater at MSG in New York was the singer’s first ever solo show in the United States, one of six stateside performances on his White Night tour. Part showcase for his new album and part testament to his long-lived career — he performed BIGBANG’s hits “Bang Bang Bang,” “Fantastic Baby,” and “Last Dance,” the latter of which he revealed was originally meant as a solo track– the White Night concert will be the last time many fans are able to see the K-pop star for the next few years. It also serves as a farewell tour before he is begins his compulsory service with South Korea’s military in upcoming months.
With a small laugh, the artist acknowledged that the album’s release and the accompanying concert series were driven by the upcoming event in his life — like all able-bodied South Korean men, Taeyang must take a break from his career to fulfill his mandatory duty. “The album just conveniently became finished around now,” he said. “I started getting to work on it earnestly at the beginning of this year, but actually began working on new music whenever I had any free time since the [2014] Rise album.”
While Rise served as a lesson in production, taking four years to complete, it was created as he was going through some hard times and the lengthy process made Taeyang feel the need to start something new. “I just wanted to finish it and start off with a fresh slate,” he said. And so he went into the new project that would become White Night with a different state of mind than how he created the previous album: “I wanted to express a more honest version of myself, I wanted to be more genuine. At the same time, I wanted to experience a broader musical spectrum and bring it into my music.”
Taeyang followed the titular concepts of his past albums, all of which have related to the celestial body he takes his stage name from, and picked White Night — or a night that never is properly dark — for the name of his next project. “It’s a natural phenomena and so I wanted to conjure that imagery into a sound.” The building “White Night” intro track served as a dynamic opener that would set the tone for the whole work and grab listeners’ attentions, while the album ends things off with “Tonight,” a laid back jam featuring Zico that Taeyang says is a song “reminiscent of a strong burning sun.”
“Musically, I wanted to come up with a timeless feeling to present to my fans, that felt both new and very original at the same time. It has chic beats and is very experimental, and incorporates a lot of different kinds of music,” he said. Keeping with the classic vibes, Taeyang drew inspiration from three greats when considering what step or sound to take next on White Night: Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and Prince.
Working on new music in anticipation of his next album while prepping for BIGBANG’s MADE album ended up working out nicely for Taeyang; his latest single “Darling” was originally intended to be his solo track on the band’s album. But the song’s mellifluous piano chord wasn’t clicking with the melody originally planned for it and Taeyang didn’t feel comfortable including the solo in what would be the group’s last album before members began enlisting.”Darling” was eventually rejected for MADE and put on a hard drive’s back burner. “But while I was working with my team to conceptualize White Night, we hit writer’s block and couldn’t come up with a single that I felt would resonate with listeners,”he said. “I wanted something with a similar feel to ‘Eyes, Nose, Lips,’ a similar flow, a similar style, but that had even deeper emotional depth. And that’s when I remembered the older song.”
Always Tae Yang 
I think fans who are used to reading between the lines knew that “Darling” was not YB’s personal choice of lead single — he said often enough that “Wake Me Up” was easily the song that he liked almost from the beginning and that he was most satisfied with. I can understand though, why YGE would want to capitalize on the success of ENL with something similar. But I do feel that Darling really did not represent the album well, and was just not public friendly enough for a lead single. It was well sung and fit the entire album, but didn’t fit the requirements of a public hit: not hooky or dance-able, not easy to sing for noraebang, not lyrically outstanding. It was more of a good showcase for YB’s abilities that solidified his image as a unique voice in k-pop as opposed to the “best dancer” image he had back then. I think that it will be a good base to build on for the future, but only time will tell.
A characteristic of Hot and Solar (and YB himself) is that it’s charms are ones that reveal itself more and more with time. Fan favorite songs like OLAM, Wedding Dress, INAG never really took the charts by storm but enjoyed moderate success and then built popularity over the years. Their albums too, were not the type to grab attention at first listen but then age beautifully. (I honestly believe that YB is crafting a wonderful discography one album at a time.) RISE was an outlier and ENL was the notable exception in that it was popular from the very start. I feel that White Night’s performance is more characteristic of his earlier albums.
I’m hoping that White Night will also eventually prove its merits with time and that more people will discover it and give it a chance. It’s a remarkably easy album to live with since its so laid back — its so comfortable to have playing all times of the day. (For me, it has a magical quality of being energizing and/or relaxing depending on when I listen to it.) Like Taeyang himself, its appeal is a bit shy but lasting once it takes hold. I believe it’s a terrific “timeless” album to have in the interim for the next few years (except for the fact that it could have had a stronger lead single.) I really feel that this was an album YB HAD to do, music he really loves, to sustain his spirits during enlistment. It is a bit of a niche market, but I do believe he would have been seriously depressed if he had to compromise more for the sake of having a commercial hit. (I think he’s more aware of the business side of music nowadays, but we also know that his personal ambitions have always been more musical than financial.)
In the meantime, White Night is a terrific album to tour with. I’ve had the pleasure of attending several of the concerts this time around and it’s truly amazing and among the best concert experiences I’ve ever had. I’m so proud of YB! Writing about it is impossible on a post concert high so hopefully a recap can be done when I come down to earth lol.