Maps of Music

Übermensch (2025)

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

First-day sales of this album beat G-Dragon's previous first-week record, set in 2017, by more than thirteen times.

Key places

Recording at YG Entertainment (2025)

Recording site YG Entertainment — YG Entertainment in Seoul is listed as a recording location in the album credits. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The Black Label (2025)

Recording site The Black Label — The Black Label in Seoul is listed as a recording location for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

VPBank K-STAR Spark in Hanoi (2025)

Live show Mỹ Đình National Stadium — G-Dragon headlined the VPBank K-STAR Spark festival at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi, with about 40,000 attendees. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix at The Padang (2025)

Live show The Padang — G-Dragon performed at The Padang during the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, drawing a record crowd of 65,000 fans. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Übermensch: third studio album by South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter G-Dragon
• Released 25 February 2025 by Galaxy Corporation and Empire Distribution
• Eight tracks; first musical release in seven years since Kwon Ji Yong (2017)
• First studio album in 12 years since Coup d'Etat (2013)
• First album since leaving YG Entertainment in 2023
• Blends hip-hop, industrial pop, and alternative electronic sounds
• Themes of transformation, identity, and self-transcendence, inspired by Nietzsche's philosophy of the Übermensch
• Three singles: "Power", "Home Sweet Home", "Too Bad"
• Promoted by the Übermensch World Tour, which began in March 2025

Background

• 1 January 2023: G-Dragon, then signed to YG Entertainment, announced on YouTube that he was working on a new album
• After leaving YG, the CEO of Galaxy Corporation confirmed a 2024 comeback
• 3 April 2024: Galaxy announced a second-half release with "global activities" and Japanese activities
• 7 October 2024: release date reported as 25 October; Galaxy said the schedule had yet to be finalized
• Cryptic teasers began 21 October 2024; a third teaser followed on 28 October
• 30 October 2024: "Power" introduced on You Quiz on the Block and officially released 31 October
• 4 February 2025: album title Übermensch and 25 February release officially confirmed

Recording

• Recording credits list YG Entertainment (Seoul) and The Black Label (Seoul)
• G-Dragon wrote and co-produced the album with a range of collaborators

Sources: en.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

• NME (Rhian Daly): called it a triumphant return that reasserts G-Dragon's position as one of K-pop's greatest stars
• Vogue: called the album immersive and cohesive, praising its emotional depth and continuity with G-Dragon's established persona
• Vogue: described the album as a worthy reward for long-time fans
• IZM (Son Min-hyun): found the ambition evident but uneven in execution, framing K-pop as an allegory of the "ideal human"
• IZM: noted tension between expectation and dissonance
• Korean reviewers praised the album's conceptual depth and thematic cohesion
• Many reviews tempered praise with reservations about lyrical depth, melodic memorability, and linguistic consistency

Records

• South Korea: sold 639,176 copies on its first day, breaking G-Dragon's previous first-week record of 46,397 set by Kwon Ji Yong in 2017
• Circle Album Chart: debuted at number two and four, with 623,750 copies sold in five days of tracking
• Sold one million copies by the end of March 2025
• Melon: fastest album by a solo artist to reach 1 million streams
• Cumulative 24-hour streams reached 4.2 million, surpassing IU's previous solo record of 3.18 million for "The Winning"
• All songs entered the top 20 of the daily chart right after release, the first time since IU's "LILAC" in 2021

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 31 May 2025: Head in the Clouds Festival in Los Angeles, the first U.S. performance in eight years, with 36,000 concertgoers and 53,000 livestream viewers
• 21 June 2025: VPBank K-STAR Spark in Hanoi drew about 40,000 attendees and over 540,000 online mentions in the concert week
• 3 October 2025: Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix performance at The Padang drew a record 65,000 fans
• The album exhibition launched in Seoul in March 2025 and toured Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Osaka, Macau, and Singapore
• The Übermensch World Tour launched in Goyang on 29 March 2025 and expanded to North America, Europe, and Oceania after high demand
• 27 February 2025: M! Countdown performance of "Too Bad" and "Drama" on a circular white stage

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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