Dong Young-bae (Hangul: 동영배; born 18 May 1988), better known by his stage name Taeyang (meaning sun in Korean) and Sol (when performing in Japan), is a South Korean singer-songwriter. After appearing in Jinusean's music video "A-yo," Taeyang began training under YG Entertainment at the age of 12. After six years of training, he made his debut in 2006 as a member of the South Korean boy band Big Bang.
Taeyang is a devoted Christian with multiple faith-inspired tattoos, including a large Christian Cross on his right rib cage and a mural-style tattoo across his shoulder blades depicting Jesus Christ on the cross, a centrally placed Christian Cross, and Jesus risen from the dead.
Language/s: Korean (fluent), Japanese (conversational), English (conversational)
2006–08: Early beginnings and debut with Big Bang
Taeyang was scheduled to debut alongside G-Dragon as the duo GDYB, the plan was scrapped by their record label. Instead, they were joined by four other trainees (T.O.P, Daesung, Seungri, and Hyun-Seung) to form the group Big Bang. The group's formation was documented on television.
Before their official debut, however, Hyun-Seung was dropped and their final lineup consisted of five members. Choosing the stage-name Taeyang (meaning sun) because "the sun is the brightest star from the incalculable stars in the universe, Taeyang abandoned the idea of rapping to focus on singing. |
2008—2012: Solo career development and Solar
Taeyang released the EP Hot in May 2008, backed by a production team that included 1TYM's Teddy Park, Yang Hyun Suk, Kush, and his fellow member G-Dragon. Moving beyond the hip-hop genre of Big Bang, Taeyang incorporated mainly R&B songs into his album, stating that it was his "main focus". He expressed disappointment with the album, however, admitting that he did not write any of the songs. He later stated that he would do so in the future to fully express and incorporate his thoughts and ideas into his music.
Taeyang later received two awards from the 7th Korean Music Awards: Best R&B/Soul Song for "Only Look At Me" and Best R&B/Soul Album.
Taeyang later received two awards from the 7th Korean Music Awards: Best R&B/Soul Song for "Only Look At Me" and Best R&B/Soul Album.
Throughout the majority of 2009, Taeyang contributed to his group's activities, recording the song "Lollipop" with his group and labelmate 2NE1.
He later flew to Japan to promote the group's Japanese albums. After Big Bang's activities ended, he went back to the studio to prepare to record new materials.
Two digital singles were released: "Where U At" and "Wedding Dress.
Promotional videos were filmed for both. The latter single was voted number three on an online poll for a Dutch radio station.
Taeyang's first full-length album Solar was released in July 2010 in two versions: a "Regular Edition" and a "Deluxe Edition." The regular edition contained eleven songs, while the deluxe edition, limited to only 30,000 copies, had 13 songs, including "Only Look at Me" and "Prayer" from Hot. The "Deluxe Edition" sold out on the first day.
Two singles were released for promotions: "I Need A Girl" and "I'll Be There." Taeyang won the "Best Male Artist" award at the 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards at the end of the year.
2013—present: Rise and first world tour
The single "Ringa Linga" was released in November 2013, preceding his second album Rise (June 2014).
While he utilized the help of Teddy Park, G-Dragon, and Choice37, Taeyang also involved himself heavily with the production of the album, producing six tracks. Rise became the third highest charting K-pop album, and also the highest charting K-pop album by a solo artist on the Billboard charts, reaching 112 on the Billboard Hot 200 while topping the Billboard World Albums Chart and Heatseekers Albums Chart, selling 3,000 copies.
Taeyang promoted the album with three singles: "Ringa Linga," "Eyes, Nose, Lips," and "1AM."
The first two singles became chart toppers on the Gaon chart while the latter peaked at number seven. The choreography for "Ringa Linga" also spawned numerous covers on the video-sharing website YouTube. He also embarked on the Rise World Tour, visiting 9 countries and 16 cities. At the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Taeyang won the Best Male Artist, with his song "Eyes, Nose, Lip" winning Song of the Year and Best Vocal Performance - Male.
Taeyang later collaborated with G-Dragon to release the song "Good Boy" for YG Entertainment's new hip hop projects.