Maps of Music

Made (2016)

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

Made came out as four monthly single parts from May to August 2015, and the full album was then delayed by more than a year.

Key places

Recorded at YG Studios in Seoul (2016)

Recording site Big Hit Studios, Seoul — The recording link for Made points to YG Studios in Seoul. The marker sits at city-center level, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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

Album story

Overview

• Made: third Korean-language studio album by South Korean boy band BigBang
• Released December 13, 2016, after more than a year of delays
• Preceded by four single albums (M, A, D, E) released May to August 2015
• Ten of the eleven tracks were promoted as singles
• Marks the group's comeback after a three-year hiatus
• First full-length Korean album since Remember (2008)
• Production mainly by G-Dragon and long-time collaborator Teddy Park
• Styles: hip hop, EDM, pop rock, R&B
• Lyrics examine doubt, worry, sexuality and societal issues

Background

• Remember released November 2008; two Korean EPs followed in 2011 and 2012
• Members focused on solo careers; each except T.O.P. released one solo project
• G-Dragon first announced the album in January 2014; it was postponed
• YG Entertainment announced the comeback on April 20, 2015, after nearly three years since Still Alive (2012)
• The Made project split into four parts, each with two singles, released monthly
• The full album was planned for September 2015 but delayed by the world tour and busy schedules
• Music videos for the final release were filmed in Cheongju on October 18, 2016

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

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• BigBang was formed by YG Entertainment, with G-Dragon and Taeyang first trained at age eleven.
• The group debuted on August 19, 2006, at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul.
• Their debut album BigBang Vol. 1 (2006) sold over 110,000 copies.

Members

• Current members are G-Dragon (leader, rapper), Taeyang (vocalist), and Daesung (vocalist, drummer).
• T.O.P left the group in 2023, and Seungri retired in 2019.

Career

• Their 2007 hit "Lies" was their first number one and topped Korean charts for six weeks.
• Their Japanese albums were all certified gold by the RIAJ.
• They won the inaugural Best Worldwide Act at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards.
• Their fifth EP Alive (2012) became the first Korean album to chart on the US Billboard 200.
• The Made World Tour attracted 1.5 million people and set a record for a Korean act.
• Eleven of their singles reached number one on the Gaon Digital Chart.
• They have sold over 140 million records globally.
• In 2022 they returned as a quartet with "Still Life", which debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart.
• In 2026 they are set to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a world tour.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard named Made one of the 30 best boy band albums since 1990
• Billboard chose Made as the sixth best K-pop album of 2016, praising its genre diversity
• Billboard said the album's value as a standalone work is undeniable and called BigBang one of the most universally loved acts on the scene
• Fuse: Jeff Benjamin called it career-exemplifying, saying it solidifies the group's artistry and personality
• The Straits Times: Gwendolyn Ng noted the album comprises an eclectic mix of songs
• The Star: Chester Chin called the album cohesive and strong
• KKBOX chose it as the best Korean album released in December 2016 and called it a strong return

Reappraisal

• Genius ranked it number 75 in its list of the 100 Best Albums of the 2010s (2019)
• Billboard named it the 17th best boy band album of the past 30 years (2020), calling it the group's magnum opus

Records

• Gaon Album Chart: limited edition debuted at number two with 100,000 copies sold
• Gaon weekly and monthly album charts: regular edition topped both in January 2017
• South Korea: over 250,000 copies sold in the group's native country
• Japan: Oricon Albums Chart number one; 101,364 copies sold in the first week after the official release on February 15, 2017
• Japan: certified gold by RIAJ for over 100,000 physical units
• United States: debuted at No. 172 on the Billboard 200 with 6,000 equivalent album units
• United States: number one on the World Albums and Heatseekers Albums charts
• China: over 2.8 million copies across three major platforms as of March 2017

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

Trivia

• Music videos for the final release were filmed in Cheongju from October 18, 2016.
• Made was available for pre-order on December 8 in China on QQ Music, with 170,000 pre-orders on the first day.
• On December 12, 2016, the group held a live broadcast on Naver V-App one hour before the release, drawing more than 1.5 million viewers.
• All eight singles released in 2015 were picked by Billboard as the biggest K-pop songs of that summer.
• The album's first full-length release came after the Made World Tour, which ran until March 2016.

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

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