Riding the Korean Wave – Taeyang Breaks In to the US Music Charts
Taeyang is best known as a member of one of Korea’s biggest boy bands, Big Bang. Since their debut in 2006 the group has achieved massive success all over the world, thanks in part to the Korean Wave (한류). Each member of Big Bang has released solo albums, but Taeyang set himself apart by trying to make his way into the American music industry. Born Dong Young-bae on May 18, 1988 in South Korea, Taeyang chose to use the Korean word for sun as his stage name before Big Bang made their debut. When he was young he secretly danced to the music of Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder without sharing his aspirations of becoming a performer with anyone.
Taeyang released his first solo work in 2008, the mini-album “Hot”. “Hot” earned two awards from the 7th Korean Music Awards: Best R&B/Soul Song for the single "Only Look At Me" and Best R&B/Soul Album. By the time he released his second solo work in 2010, the full-length album “Solar”, Taeyang was a full-blown idol in the Korean music industry both as a member of Big Bang and as an individual. The limited deluxe edition of “Solar” sold out on its first day of sales. After being released on iTunes, the album ranked #2 on the Top R&B-Soul albums on the US chart and #1 on the Canadian chart. He was the first Asian artist to accomplish this feat. The international version of the album featured English versions of some tracks. Taeyang also chose to work with Asian American choreographers for his music videos and live performances from the album.
Currently Taeyang is set to go on the Alive Tour 2012 with the rest of Big Bang. Their first world tour will visit countries in Asia, North America, South America, and Europe in the second half of this year. As a solo artist Taeyang may release another work this year as well. With all the success he has achieved so far in his career, fans from all other the world look forward to what Taeyang will bring in the future.
Linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIt6KCwlFPwMusic video for “Wedding Dress” by TaeyangSources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taeyanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang_(Korean_band)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_(album)http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2013227,00.htmlhttp://www.dcnews.in/etc_list.php?code=succeed&id=11632http://news.nate.com/view/20100826n04439http://www.allkpop.com/2012/05/big-bang-releases-initial-tour-dates-and-cities-for-alive-tour
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