''Heartbreaker'' is the debut album of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n singer-songwriter and rapper

G-Dragon Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the " King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipi ...

, member of

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

. The chart-topping single "

Heartbreaker Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to: Film and television *''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle *''The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff * ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American f ...

", became one of the best selling singles in South Korea of all time, having sold over 4 million copies since its release. Heartbreaker was the best-selling album by a South Korean solo artist since its release until 2019.

Release and singles

Although initially scheduled to be released in April, the release date was pushed back to August to coincide with his 21st birthday. G-Dragon collaborated with several YG labelmates, including

Teddy Park Teddy Park (born Park Hong-jun on September 14, 1978), is a Korean–American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Park moved to the United States with his family as a young child. When he was 17 years old, P ...

1TYM 1TYM (Korean: 원타임, pronounced as "One Time") was a four-member South Korean group. They were Teddy Park (also known as Park Hong-jun), Oh Jinhwan, Song Baekyoung, and Danny Im (also known as Im Taebin). History In the late 1990s, YG CE ...

, bandmate

Taeyang Dong Young-bae (; born May 18, 1988), better known by his stage names Taeyang (meaning "sun" in Korean) and SOL (when performing in Japan), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and dancer. After appearing in Jinusean's music video "A-yo", Taey ...

, and CL and

Dara Dara is a given name used for both males and females, with more than one origin. Dara is found in the Bible's Old Testament Books of Chronicles. Dara �רעwas a descendant of Judah (son of Jacob). (The Bible. 1 Chronicles 2:6). Dara (also known ...

2NE1 2NE1 (, ) was a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, which was active between 2009 and 2016. The group was composed of four members: Bom, CL, Dara, and Minzy. Known for breaking typical stereotypes of K-pop, musical experiment ...

. The lead single "

" landed at number-one on multiple charts, including the Mnet and

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

Music chart, while " Breathe" was ranked in the Top 20. "

A Boy "A Boy" ( ko, 소년이여, ''Sonyeoniyeo'') is a song recorded by the South Korean singer G-Dragon. It was released as the fourth and final single from his debut album ''Heartbreaker''. G-Dragon stated that the song was released as an answer to ...

" described the personal struggles he went through as he started in the entertainment industry at the age of 6, eventually becoming a trainee at

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...

when he was 12. "The Leaders", which featured Teddy and CL, referenced

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

's song " Gee",

Kim Kyu Jong Kim Kyu-jong"Kim Kyu Jong Official Site (more detailed information on me ...

(of

SS501 SS501 is a South Korean boy band consisting of five members: Kim Hyun-joong, Heo Young-saeng, Kim Kyu-jong, Park Jung-min and Kim Hyung-jun. They debuted in 2005 with the EP ''Warning'', which included their first number one song, "Never Again ...

)'s "Wuss Up", and 2NE1's " I Don't Care".

Controversy

G-Dragon was accused of plagiarism by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

, as his tracks "Heartbreaker" and "Butterfly" were thought to be similar to

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

's "

Right Round "Right Round" is a single performed by American rapper Flo Rida featuring guest vocals from American singer Kesha. It was released as the lead Single (music), single from his second studio album, ''R.O.O.T.S.'' (2009). It was released to radio ...

" and

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's "She's Electric", respectively.

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, who also owned the rights to "Right Round" stated they saw no similarities between the two songs. In response, Sony Korea denied G-Dragon the ability to promote the track any further without paying reparations. On September 21, 2009, ''Sisa Magazine'', a news program on MBC, stated that officials from Sony reportedly sent YG Entertainment warning letters about plagiarism. Sony's legal representative stated, "It was a hard decision for the music critics." However, they decided that there were similarities and accordingly issued a warning letter to the production company and composers. However,

claimed nothing had been decided or legally determined and that the "letter" which YG received from Sony was not considered legal action; they also stated they have not received a direct response from the American publishers regarding the matter.“표절 경고장 불쾌”…양현석 뿔났다
. ''donga.com''. September 25, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009. On March 6, 2010, YG Entertainment announced that they personally contacted Flo Rida's representatives and that he will appear as a featured artist in a new version of "Heartbreaker", to be released as a bonus track on G-Dragon's concert album '' Shine a Light''. On May 22, G-Dragon appeared as a special guest at Flo Rida's concert in Korea and performed the new version of "Heartbreaker".

Track listing

Sales

Accolades

Release history

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heartbreaker (G-Dragon Album) 2009 albums G-Dragon albums YG Entertainment albums Korean-language albums Albums produced by G-Dragon