- I saw you on TV this morning.
*smiles shyly* Actually it was just after I woke up, so I was feeling like dreaming then.
- No no, you definitely cheered up your members who were having some difficulties with the subject which was not about music.
Yes, but actually I’m a very shy guy. I’m the most coyest one in Big Bang.
- But you never seem like one! Then what do you think of yourself, not the shy one?
(
in Japanese: shojiki bocumo bocuo yocuwa karimasen) Honestly, I don’t know about myself that much either.
- Oh, you are good speaking in Japanese.
(
in Japanese: um, etto jenjen madamadadae smimasan) Um, ah, I’m still not very good at it, so hopefully you can understand.
- You can speak whatever language that you’re comfortable with. *laughs* So, how about the others? For example, they say, “This is the person I think Taeyang is”.
They would say that I’m a serious and worrying person. Saying, “What can you possibly do if you are just so worried about the others all the time?”. It’s like now I’m the one who makes everyone worry about me, *laughs bitterly* but this year, 2010, I’ve made a whole lot of difference in me. There were some hard times for me considering some personal stuff, one of the things like, I wasn’t even able to sleep well. But I found an answer and when I was finally over that, I started to think everything so positively. I was speaking with so much enthusiasm on TV or my face would be showing all kinds of expressions, yeah.
- Can you share with us, about that, uh,. problems you had?
It has not been that very long, but after I started my singing career, I’d spent everyday asking myself, “What do I have to do now?”, “Is this choice a right thing to do?”. It has been 3 years now and I was starting to feel my limit, like there’s some kind of a wall or something. I was so scared that maybe I can even lose my reason to sing. However one day, it was maybe beginning of 2010, I started to think that it’s not the thing that I should be afraid of. I think I’m not really really “over” that wall, but I’m at the point of, “Maybe I can do this?!”
- Ah, ok. But really, it was a little surprise that you felt your limit on music.
Maybe some people think that it’s so natural that Big Bang started to get more and more famous, getting some popularity, but we must fight, quarrel, and make our best effort in the progress. And from time to time i have been overwhelmed thinking “How should I get through this?!”
- It must be very hard to stay on top. It’s like out of imagination that you must show the audience better stages from there. I wonder how hard you make your effort behind the back.
I think debut is easy. It’s the start line and of course it’s hard, but it’s still easy because it has a great range of challenge and we can challenge everything we want. But as we go up, there are things making that wall taller and thicker, like what we’ve come to now. Also we lose, uh, freshness too. Feeling those kind of difficulties everyday, but as I solve the problems one by one, I’ve become more confident and I think that led to the success of “Electric Love Tour”.
- Truely, the tour was so amazing!
It was the best. I’ve done so many concerts, but there aren’t many that I can remember. But this “Electric Love Tour” is one of the tours that I felt with my heart. The stage equipments were amazing, but more than just the equipments, we really enjoyed it. Plus the audiences were really having fun too.
- Yes, it was so sparkling with such smiling faces not only just on the stage, but also the fans.
I was so happy. Of course, it is important that we get the popularity and good responses, but making the kind of music that moves deeply in people’s hearts, who care about us, is more important. I think it will be so great that maybe the people can feel love, live a life full of love, after they go back to the real life having felt something at the concert.
- Taeyang, you are so professional at both singing and dancing, but I feel so close to you even after the concert.
It’s all the same whether I’m doing an interview like this, singing on the stage, or filming a show. I want to stay just as who I am. Maybe that’s why you feel friendly, but I also don’t think it’s bad that the artists make people feel like they are difficult to get close to. Even there are some parts that I admire them, but in my way of thinking, it’s the right thing to do to show you the real me.
- Your control of the passion that push yourself to your limits, which are shown through your fantastic performances. Also at the same time, you make the friendly feeling showing us your true self. After hearing from you, it’s getting more interesting.
I think the more I get my experience on the stage, the more I can show you my true self.
- Plus, do you get nervous, Taeyang?
Yes, yes. Actually I’m so nervous right now too.
- *laughs* Is there a way to ease it?
Before going on to the stage, I would talk to myself. To let my greed go, the thoughts stuck in my heart, I would say things like, “I have to finish this concert successfully. I have to be great.”
- Oh~
There are things I must do to do that. I would do something good or listen to music to relax, but the waiting room is so crowded all the time as there are members or staffs, so I go to a bathroom. It’s not because of the stomachache from being too nervous. *laughs* A bathroom can be the place where I can have my own time to focus on myself.
- As I imagine the place, bathroom, I think it’s sort of the same thing with the head phones worn by sports players before their games.
Ah, it could be?! I assume it’s the same as I go on the stage and sports player stand before the start line.
- But the difference is you make the stage full of entertainment and the sports player do their games. By the way, Big Bang’s stage is very full of many entertainment elements, right?
That’s the strong point of Big Bang. The things each member like or is good at are so different from one another. It’s so obvious that we have a lot of ideas when we gather together. There are 5 people with 5 different colors. Because of that, we can make our own world so entertaining. My things are just singing and dancing… there are many things that the other members can do well on, which I can’t do, like going on variety shows…
- But your strong points attract a lot of people with your awesome vocals and great dance moves.
(
in Japanese: arigatto gojaiemas) Thank you. *smiling*
- So that’s the 5 different colored people all gathered together.
Yes, even it’s so marvelous to me. Many may think that at some point, there must be some sense of rivalry and some quarreling. Quarreling with each other is unavoidable. We all are going to the same path. Of course there were some displeasing things at first because all 5 members had lived very different lives. *laughs* But we can understand better and deeper with one another when we spend some time and experience the same things together. Of course there are a lot of different things we want to do and what we aim to do, but one thing that all the members love is music.
- What kind of people do you think your members are?
Okay, one by one. G-Dragon, he is a person who really hates to be restricted, who always pursue freedom. Therefore he has flexiblity to accept new things without fear and soon make it his own style. His composition shows very well of that. Even his hair style is always changing, right? TOP, he is the oldest and has his own charisma in his appearance and behavior. He is just so cool, even we can notice that in movies and dramas as well as on the stages. But in fact, he is the funniest one at the same time. Daesung has his own charm that makes people expect like, “What is going to happen next?”, no matter what show he is on.
- And his smile!
Yes, I think that’s the great attraction of Daesung’s. Also he and I have some similarities in personalities so he is the one who I’m on the same wavelength with the most. That’s why we share our room in the hotel.
- It must be so important when you have more overseas activities?
Yes. Really, it’s like living with him since we have to see each other all day long. That’s why I share my room with Daesung and G-Dragon is sharing his with SeungRi.
- Then how about TOP?
We don’t have any other choice. We can’t share one room with the 3 of us. Also, TOP is the man who enjoys his own time alone. *smiles* And SeungRi is the one who is always so passionate and confident. He’s always optimistic, he’s very opposite from me. I think he has a very attractive personality.
- Oh yes and also I can see the reason why you don’t share your room with him.
*laughs* Also he’s kind of a little troublemaker. It’s not that he makes some big troubles, but he constantly makes small troubles all the times. Everyone is just saying like, “Just calm down a little bit” to him.
- He’s like the youngest brother, right? Also he’s the actual youngest one in Big Bang too.
(
in Japanese) The members are a little worried about him all the time.
- So, in Big Bang, what do you think your role is?
Hmmm…
- It seems a little difficult to talk about yourself so suddenly, right? *laughs*
(
in Japanese: ichibang muzkasiei) It’s the most difficult thing to do. Um, it’s a little like the same thing that I said before. I want my members to not forget the main thing, the reason why we make our own music and why we perform our stages. The thing that each member have their own different features means there are possibilities for Big Bang to split up from one another so easily. My role is to keep ourself in tension about our serious thoughts of music, about our mind aiming the same goal. In Big Bang, I think I need to do that job. Like I said, I don’t have any ability except that and just singing.
- Yeah~ like I said, you have your own enough presence with your vocal. That modesty, in some way it’s so useless. Have you had that kind of personality since you were young?
Yes, absolutely. Since I was young I have had so much thoughts and worries. *laughs* But the most important thing is to make that feature the positive thing and I think I chose my path of music at the age of 13 because of this personality.
- It sounds quite early to choose your future at the age of 13.
Music was all around me. Ever since when I was a kindergartner, I have learned classical piano and also got to listen to western music, especially African-American music, which affected me because of my 5-year older brother. I thought it was so cool even not knowing the title or the artist of the song.
- So what made you to really sing, not just enjoying and listening to the music?
I have never sung in front of my mother or my friends because I was such a shy boy. I just listened to my brother’s cassette tapes and memorized the lyrics, singing, and dancing just in my room, standing on my own stage in my own world. *shy* But that imaginative world have became the real world now. Seriously, I think I’m here where I stand now because of the imagination and the strong hope wishing to be like this from the past.
- I guess there must have been many people around you so surprised.
They really were, including my family, the ones who remember the 13 year-old me, still say that “you’ve changed”. At first, I stepped into this world not as a singer, but a child actor applying to an audition for YG. I thought that chance was not just a coincidence that I had to go for my dream of music by using this kind of chance. But like I said, I am this kind of person, so it was hard to just jump into that. Back then I just thought too much, not knowing what to do. *smiles bitterly* But I guess that was the time I started to break my limits and walls one by one.
- Ah, so what do you think your turning point of your music career is?
There are so many. One of them is after I got into the office (YG), I was introduced to hip hop when I took part in the music video of Jinusean, which is my senior group. I just love hip hop, but after I studied it seriously and got to understand it deeper, the music I had listened since I was so young, for example, the music of Stevie Wonder, who is called to be the root of the R&B music, the music started to sound so different. The hip hop, which I learned after having studied music, was a very different thing. It was like “Oh, this was born because of that artist and that kind of music. It’s not just a coincidence that I was so attracted by this music. They were just so connected, similar to each other.” After I actually learned that music, the studying from then was just so amazing.
- Um, I guess I get what you mean.
Another turning point I must say is my solo mini album that was released 2 years ago. While I was working with that album, I had deep conversations with the producer, Teddy, a lot of times. Like talking about our opinions of the sounds and expressions for the album, we made sure that it’s the real me, my whole view of life.
- Your life experience speak of Taeyang, the real you.
It’s just what I’ve been thinking lately, that I am just me, no matter who I meet along the way. And it’s just not worthless to worry a little about all the things because of my personality. Because it keeps me being me. Ah, I mean for now, I have the strength to find my own color and be myself no matter what new things I’m trying to do. Actually, I’m still a little afraid of trying new things, but I started to have some confidence, yes.
- So Taeyang, what’s your dream?
Um.., I was so greedy at the time when I first dreamed to be a singer. It was like “My goal is to be the best in the world!”. *laughs* But now, I want to make my every effort in making the great music and the best stage. Perhaps in that way, there must be someone who reconize me as number 1.
- Who’s your ideal musician type?
MJ! (Michael Jackson)
- For his what? His music? Or his presence?
Everything about him. But it’s not just that I want to imitate him, I want to learn his mind, what he was trying to say by his music. Of course, I’ve been so affected by him, his vocal, dance, and fashion. He is the only one who can do his music, so that’s why I have to find my own. Taeyang’s own music before that I was just imitating him. And yes, my goal is to find my own music.
- How about your ambition as Big Bang?
It’s not like we have some goal and go for it, it’s just we do our best right now. Like now, getting some popularity in Japan, many people getting to know Big Bang’s music and love us… it’s something that I couldn’t even imagine and still can’t believe it even for now. So I think from now on, we just have to do our best like we are doing right now. Then there must be some great results in the future.
- Okay, so the very last question, the important one. What’s your most precious thing in your life?
Um… there is something. There must be, but it’s just too important to talk right now. *laughs*
- Oh, so there is something. *laughs*
There must be and there has to be.
- Okay then, what do you want to have most, right now?
The thing I want to have… time. And the precious thing in my life must be love. *shy*
- But the most precious thing is a secret, right?
(
in Japanese: heimize des) It’s a secret.
Japanese to Korean Translation: 여신권지디@bbvipz
Korean to English Translation: HuisuYoon@21BANGS.com
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