Bad Boy (BigBang song) explained

Bad Boy
Type:single
Artist:Big Bang
Ep:Alive
Released:February 29, 2012
Genre:
Length:3:59
Label:YG Entertainment
Producer:G-Dragon, Choice37
Chronology:Big Bang
Prev Title:Blue
Prev Year:2012
Next Title:Fantastic Baby
Next Year:2012

"Bad Boy" is a single by South Korean boy band Big Bang. It was released on February 29, 2012, by YG Entertainment, as the second single from their EP Alive. The track's R&B and hip hop sound was acclaimed by music critics, who called it one of BigBang's best songs. "Bad Boy" peaked at number two on South Korean's Gaon Digital Chart.

Release and composition

"Bad Boy" was the third song to the featured on the teaser videos from Alive, after "Blue" and "Love Dust."[1] The music video for the track was released on the same day as the album. The song charted at number one on online music charts after its release.[2] The first televised performance was held at the music show Inkigayo on March 11.[1] A Japanese version of the song was included at the Japanese studio albums Alive and The Best of Big Bang 2006-2014.

The song was penned by G-Dragon, who also produced the song with Choice37, and with additional rap parts written by T.O.P. "Bad Boy" is a piano-based R&B track.[3] The production was noted for its roots "in the airiest of hip-hop/R&B summer crossover," for including tropical elements[4] and was compared to the work of Boyz II Men and Justin Timberlake.[3] The rapping parts were described as "mellow," which gave the song an "airy flow."[4] Fuse described "Bad Boy" as a "unique mid-tempo track" that is "richly urban, set against a nostalgic '90s hip hop beat."[5]

Controversy

In 2016, Filipino Rapper Skusta Clee released an exact plagiarised version of the song under the title "Wag Ka Nang Magalit". Lots of BigBang Fans were enraged when they found out about it

Critical reception

"Bad Boy" is one of the group's most acclaimed work by music critics. Spin listed it at number thirteen in their "Greatest K-Pop songs of all-time list," stating that "Big Bang's five very distinct personalities combine here for a single more singular than any of their K-pop peers can lay claim."[3] Fuse choose it as the only non-English song in their best songs of the year list, calling the track "soft, elegant, refined."[5] "Bad Boy" was also highlighted in The Fader's "A Year in Review" article, being described as "relieving as a joint and a Gatorade."[6]

Billboard placed the track at number five in their "Best K-Pop songs of the Year" list,[7] and claimed that "Bad Boy" stands out for "being the epitome of Big Bang's unique brand of evocative hip-hop" and added "the song is a creeping earworm that hits all the right notes without much apparent effort and was an early adopter of the tropical elements so common in Korean hip-hop nowadays."[7] Sun-Times included the track in their unraked list of ten best BigBang songs.[8] Gawker praised the track for being "so perfect it transcends language."[9]

Billboard20 Best K-Pop Songs of 20125
100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List8[10]
Fuse40 Best Songs of 2012
SpinThe Greatest K-pop Songs of All Time13
The Forty-Five (Rhian Daly)The 45 best K-pop songs of all-time8[11]

Commercial performance

"Bad Boy" debuted and peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart, after the group's own "Blue," and at number one on the Gaon Download Chart, with first week sales of 537,161 downloads.[12] On its second week, the single remained at its peak position on both charts, selling additional 384,125 downloads.[13] [14] For the month of March, "Bad Boy" was the fifth best performing song on Gaon.[15] By the end of the year, "Bad Boy" was the 30rd best selling song of 2012, with over 2.2 million downloads.[16]

Music video

The music video for "Bad Boy" was filmed in a 90s throwback style, using 360-degree rotation-capable MK-V AR Steadicam's Arri Alexa cameras.[2] The shot took place in the New York City neighborhood Williamsburg, down by the Marcy Ave JMZ subway entrance.[17] It reached 100 million views on YouTube in December 2016, making Big Bang the first Korean boy band to have five music videos that have hit over 100 million viewers.[18] Duncan Cooper from The Fader called the video "compelling and refreshingly unforced", writing that the group is "on the ground and they're walking the turf, and for four breezy minutes they're absolutely killing it."[17] Popdust ranked "Bad Boy" fourteen in their list of 20 Best K-pop videos of 2012, commenting that the video "proves that sometimes less really is more."[19]

Credits and personnel

Adapted from Qobuz.[20]

Charts

Chart performance for "Bad Boy"! Chart (2012) ! Peak
position
South Korea (Gaon Weekly Digital Chart)[21] 2
South Korea (Billboard K-pop Hot 100)[22] 3
US World Digital Songs (Billboard)[23] 3

Sales

Sales for "Bad Boy"! Country! Sales
South Korea2,367,663[24]

Release history

Release history and formats for "Bad Boy"! Region! Date! Format! Label
South KoreaFebruary 29, 2012Digital downloadYG Entertainment
Various
JapanMarch 28, 2012YG Entertainment, YGEX

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Big Bang Unveils Teaser for "BAD BOY". Soompi. February 24, 2012.
  2. Web site: Big Bang Album and 'Bad Boy' MV Released. February 29, 2012. M Wave. Stewart. Ho.
  3. Web site: The 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time. June 1, 2012. Spin. May 24, 2016.
  4. BIGBANG 10 must listen songs. Billboard. September 9, 2016. Tamar Herman.
  5. Web site: . The 40 Best Songs of 2012: Fuse Staff Picks. FUSE. February 10, 2013.
  6. Web site: A Year in Music: Naomi Zeichner. The Fader. December 19, 2012.
  7. 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2012: BIGBANG, PSY, 2NE1 & More. December 21, 2012. Billboard. Jeff. Benjamin.
  8. Web site: Big Bang's 10 best songs of the past 10 years . Miller . Kaitlin . Sun-Times . May 2, 2015 . February 20, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160207011723/http://national.suntimes.com/national%2Dmusic/7/72/2529604/bigbang%2Dbest%2Dsongs%2D10%2Dyear%2Danniversary/ . February 7, 2016 . dead .
  9. Web site: Chen. Adrian. The Real Perfect New Pop Song Is This K-Pop Hit, 'Bad Boy'. Gawker. March 9, 2012.
  10. The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List . live . Billboard . https://web.archive.org/web/20191128190649/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/8544710/best-k-pop-songs-2010s-top-100 . November 28, 2019 . December 17, 2019.
  11. Web site: Daly . Rhian . May 11, 2023 . The 45 best K-pop songs of all-time . May 16, 2023 . The Forty-Five . en-GB.
  12. Web site: 2012년 10주차 Download Chart . March 10, 2012 . Gaon Chart.
  13. Web site: 2012년 11주차 Digital Chart . March 10, 2012 . Gaon Chart.
  14. Web site: 2012년 11주차 Download Chart . March 10, 2012 . Gaon Chart.
  15. Web site: 2012년 03월 Digital Chart . March 10, 2012 . Gaon Chart.
  16. Web site: 2012년 Download Chart . March 10, 2012 . Gaon Chart.
  17. Web site: Video: BIGBANG, "Bad Boy" . Cooper. Duncan. March 5, 2012. The Fader.
  18. Web site: Big Bang's 'Bad Boy' video reaches 100m YouTube viewers. December 16, 2016. The Jakarta Post.
  19. Web site: The 20 Best K-pop Music Videos of the Year (That Aren't "Gangnam Style") . Popdust . December 13, 2012 . April 15, 2017 . April 16, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125715/https://www.popdust.com/the-20-best-k-pop-music-videos-of-the-year-that-arent-gangnam-style-1889584520.html . dead .
  20. Web site: Alive - BIGBANG. Qobuz. February 28, 2017. fr. March 1, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170301010352/http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/alive-bigbang/3610153827040. dead.
  21. Web site: Digital Chart . February 29, 2012 . Gaon Chart.
  22. Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Chart. Billboard. March 17, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20150718220113/http://www.billboard.com/charts/k-pop-hot-100/2012-03-17. July 18, 2015.
  23. World Digital Songs. Billboard. March 17, 2012.
  24. Cumulative sales for "Bad Boy"
    • Web site: Online Download – Year End 2012. . August 3, 2016.
    • Web site: Special Edition Version - Online Download – June 2012. . August 3, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160815091607/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?pageNo=2&nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=S1020&targetTime=06&hitYear=2012&termGbn=month. August 15, 2016.
    • Web site: Online Download – Week 15 of 2013. . August 4, 2016.
    • Web site: Online Download – Week 02 of 2014. . August 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160815200727/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?pageno=3&serviceGbn=S1020&termGbn=week&hitYear=2014&targetTime=02&nationGbn=K. August 15, 2016.
    • Web site: Online Download – Week 04 of 2014. . August 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160816173501/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?pageno=4&serviceGbn=S1020&termGbn=week&hitYear=2014&targetTime=04&nationGbn=K. August 16, 2016.
    • Web site: Online Download – Week 06 of 2014. Gaon Chart. August 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160816173501/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?pageno=4&serviceGbn=S1020&termGbn=week&hitYear=2014&targetTime=06&nationGbn=K. August 16, 2016.
    • Web site: Online Download – Week 09 of 2014. Gaon Chart. August 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160816173501/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?pageno=3&serviceGbn=S1020&termGbn=week&hitYear=2014&targetTime=09&nationGbn=K. August 16, 2016.
    • Web site: Online Download – Week 10 of 2014. . August 11, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160816173501/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?pageno=3&serviceGbn=S1020&termGbn=week&hitYear=2014&targetTime=10&nationGbn=K. August 16, 2016.
    • Web site: Online Download – Week 19 of 2015. . August 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002073120/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?pageno=4&serviceGbn=S1020&termGbn=week&hitYear=2015&targetTime=19&nationGbn=K. October 2, 2016.
    • Web site: Online Download – Week 20 of 2015. . August 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002073120/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?pageno=4&serviceGbn=S1020&termGbn=week&hitYear=2015&targetTime=20&nationGbn=K. October 2, 2016.