Maps of Music

Heartbreaker (2009)

Where the lyrics of Heartbreaker take you, and where it was really made.

The title track sold over 4 million copies as a single, yet the same song later drew a plagiarism claim that ended with a new version featuring Flo Rida.

Key places

Recorded at YG, Seoul (2009)

Recording site Big Hit Studios, Seoul — The album's recording is listed at YG Entertainment in Seoul. The point is set at city-centre level, not at a building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Private company studio, not open to visitors.

Album story

Overview

• Heartbreaker: debut studio album by South Korean rapper G-Dragon
• Released 18 August 2009 by YG Entertainment
• Four singles promoted: 'Heartbreaker', 'Breathe', 'Butterfly', and 'A Boy'
• Lead single 'Heartbreaker' became one of the best-selling singles in South Korea of all time
• Album of the Year at the Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards

Background

• Originally scheduled for April 2009, the release was moved to August
• The August date matched G-Dragon's 21st birthday
• Collaborators include Teddy Park of 1TYM, bandmate Taeyang, and CL and Dara of 2NE1
• Kim Gun-mo also appears on the track list

Cover

• The original physical cover showed a white 3D mold of G-Dragon's face
• It was replaced in 2011 after many items were made defectively; the track list stayed the same

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Kwon Ji-yong (born August 18, 1988, Seoul), known as G-Dragon, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur.
• Debuted at age six in the group Little Roo'ra; later trained under SM Entertainment for five years, specializing in dance.
• Adopted the stage name G-Dragon after joining YG Entertainment, where he was the leader of BigBang.

Members

• Leader of the South Korean boy band BigBang, one of the best-selling boy bands in the world.
• Sub-units include GD & TOP (with T.O.P) and GD X Taeyang.

Career

• Solo debut album Heartbreaker (2009) was a commercial success and won Album of the Year at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
• EP One of a Kind (2012) and album Coup d'Etat (2013) were major hits; Act III: M.O.T.T.E became the largest tour by a Korean solo artist.
• Left YG Entertainment in 2023 and signed with Galaxy Corporation; third album Übermensch (2025) won Album of the Year at the 2025 Melon Music Awards.
• Known as the "King of K-pop" and influential in fashion and youth culture.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards named it Album of the Year
• G-Dragon became the first solo artist to win that category at both awards
• The lead single 'Heartbreaker' reached number one on several charts, including Mnet and Melon
• 'Breathe' ranked in the Top 20 of online music charts
• In Korean music shows, 'Heartbreaker' took three weeks at number one on Inkigayo and five weeks on Music Bank

Reappraisal

• Sony Music accused 'Heartbreaker' and 'Butterfly' of resembling Flo Rida's 'Right Round' and Oasis's 'She's Electric'
• EMI, which also held rights to 'Right Round', stated they saw no similarities between the two songs
• In March 2010, YG announced that Flo Rida would appear on a new version of 'Heartbreaker'

Records

• Sold over 100,000 copies within four days of release
• The lead single sold over 4 million copies since its release
• Korean sales are reported as 285,000 copies in the Korean Wikipedia and about 281,000 in the French Wikipedia

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Sony Music accused the title track and 'Butterfly' of plagiarism soon after the album came out
• Sony Korea reportedly barred further promotion of the track unless reparations were paid
• In March 2010, YG brought Flo Rida onto a new version of 'Heartbreaker', released as a bonus track on the live album Shine a Light
• On 22 May 2010, G-Dragon joined Flo Rida as a special guest at his Korea concert and performed the new version
• The album's promotion began with a comeback stage on Inkigayo on 30 August 2009

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

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