Maps of Music

Solar (2010)

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

The first single from Solar came out in October 2009, almost nine months before the album itself.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Solar: first studio album by Taeyang, a member of Big Bang
Released 1 July 2010 via YG Entertainment
Three formats: regular edition, deluxe edition limited to 30,000 copies worldwide, and digital
Solar International: international edition, the first K-pop release sold worldwide on iTunes with audio and video albums
Audio version on iTunes 19 August 2010; video version with bonus behind-the-scenes documentaries 10 September 2010
Four singles: Where U At, Wedding Dress, I Need a Girl (with G-Dragon), I'll Be There
Genres: R&B, hip hop and pop; Taeyang co-produced four songs

Where U At (feat. Teddy Park): first promotional single, released 14 October 2009
Where U At video: Taeyang dances with two backup dancers, Lyle Beniga and Shaun Evaristo, in an alleyway
Ending: Taeyang looks back at a girl, a prequel to Wedding Dress
Wedding Dress: R&B song released November 2009, a month after Where U At
I Need a Girl: R&B track about the kind of woman Taeyang wants; video features labelmate Sandara Park as love interest and G-Dragon
I'll Be There: released 23 August 2010 as the second single; video pays homage to Michael Jackson's Thriller, set in a graveyard and haunted mansion

Dong Young-bae, known as Taeyang, debuted in 2006 as a member of BigBang.
He was born May 18, 1988 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
He joined YG Entertainment as a trainee after auditioning, and was initially planned to debut with Kwon Ji-yong as a hip hop duo.
The plan was scrapped; the group BigBang was formed with four other trainees.
He chose the stage name Taeyang, meaning sun.

He began a solo career in 2008 with the EP Hot, which won Best R&B & Soul Album at the 6th Korean Music Awards.
His first full-length album Solar (2010) topped the Gaon Album Chart.
His second album Rise (2014) reached number 112 on the US Billboard 200, the highest ranking by a Korean soloist at the time.
Its lead single Eyes, Nose, Lips topped the Billboard K-pop Hot 100 and won Song of the Year at the MAMA Awards, Melon Music Awards and Golden Disc Awards.
His third album White Night (2017) debuted at number one on Billboard's World Digital Albums and stayed there for two weeks.
He served in mandatory military service from March 2018 to November 2019.
In 2023 he signed with The Black Label and Interscope Records, and released the EP Down to Earth in April 2025.

South Korea, Gaon Album Chart: deluxe edition debuted at number 2
Regular edition reached number 1 the following week
International edition debuted at number 1 on the Gaon Album Chart
iTunes R&B/Soul Albums Chart, 26 August 2010: 5th in the United States and Japan, 3rd in Canada (French and Korean Wikipedia)
Korean Wikipedia gives an earlier iTunes R&B/Soul result of 2nd in the US and 1st in Canada on 9 July 2010
Gaon Digital Chart: I Need a Girl at number 1 per Korean Wikipedia, number 4 per Portuguese Wikipedia, the album's best-placed track on that chart
I'll Be There: number 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart per Korean Wikipedia, number 16 per Portuguese Wikipedia, staying two consecutive weeks
Wedding Dress: peaked at number 3 on Billboard World Digital Songs (Portuguese Wikipedia)
I Need a Girl: peaked at number 17 on Billboard World Digital Songs (Portuguese Wikipedia)

Solar International was the first K-pop release sold worldwide on iTunes with both an audio and video album.
The video version came bundled with bonus behind-the-scenes documentaries and arrived on 10 September 2010, after the audio version on 19 August.
Korean Wikipedia credits G-Dragon with lyrics and a feature on the title track I Need a Girl.
Portuguese Wikipedia notes I'll Be There was the only track on the album to get music videos in both Korean and English.
French Wikipedia says the I Need a Girl video featured singer Dara of 2NE1 and appearances by G-Dragon.