"Last Farewell" (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: ; RR: ''Majimak Insa'') is a song by

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 ...

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

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 ...

. It was released through

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 ...

on November 22, 2007 as the lead single from the quintet's second

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

''Hot Issue''. The song was written by

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 ...

and composed by the member and

Brave Brothers Kang Dong-chul (, born June 7, 1979), also known by his stage name Brave Brothers, is a South Korean rapper, record producer and songwriter for Brave Entertainment. He was a producer and composer for YG Entertainment from 2004 to 2008. In 2008, h ...

. Mirroring the success of the group's preceding single " Lies," the song went on to become a chart topper.

Background and composition

With the release of their first extended play, ''Always'' in 2007, Big Bang began to experiment more with their sound, moving away from their original hip hop roots, and experimenting with

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. Their second EP, '' Hot Issue'', released that same year, built on that its predecessor's momentum. "Last Farewell," the lead single, was described by ''Billboard'' as one of the most blatant pop songs in the group's repertoire, with a "trance-tinged hip pop" sound. ''KpopStarz'' noted that the single included "some of the clubbiest sounds seen from Big Bang up until this point". An English version of the song named "Baby Baby" was included in the quintet's first and second Japanese albums '' Number 1'' and ''

'', as well in their

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

The Best of Big Bang 2006-2014 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''.

Controversies

The involvement of G-Dragon in writing and composing the melody – as it was unusual at the time for members of a band to be so involved in the production of their album – raised questions by

netizen The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and '' citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.

s over how much the rapper actually produced.

Yang Hyun-suk Yang Hyun-suk (born January 9, 1970) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the Ex ...

, founder and CEO of YG Entertainment, went on to clarify that G-Dragon wrote and compose the music, with arrangements done by long-time collaborator Brave Brothers. The success of Big Bang spawned the creation of OkBang, a Chinese group whose music and looks were similar to the former.

Reception and recognition

Reception for "Last Farewell" was positive, with Tamar Herman of ''Billboard'' ranking it at number nine in the magazine's list of ten best Big Bang songs, writing that the single "hits all the right notes to be quintessential K-pop song: catchy chorus, swoon-worthy crooning, and a pump-up dance beat." Park Hyo-jae from ''

The Chosun Ilbo ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, the ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations w ...

'' praised its "addictive chorus" and "sophisticated electronic sound", commenting that the song being written by a member of the group set Big Bang apart from the other idols. Park also complimented the group's stage fashion, noting that their use of high top sneakers and skinny jeans, as well as their hair styles, had become a trend among teenagers. The single's choreography, especially the

jump rope A skipping rope (British English) or jump rope (American English) is a tool used in the sport of skipping/jump rope where one or more participants jump over a rope swung so that it passes under their feet and over their heads. There are multi ...

movement, became a national phenomenon in South Korea. "Last Farewell" is recognized as one of the group's definitive songs, for setting the direction they would eventually go in on songs like "

Fantastic Baby "Fantastic Baby" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band Big Bang. It was released as a single for digital download and streaming by YG Entertainment on February 29, 2012, in conjunction with the release of the band's fourth extended play ...

" and " Bang Bang Bang".

Commercial performance

"Last Farewell" was released prior to the creation of the

Gaon Music Chart The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. It is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored by South Korea's ...

, which began tracking music performance in 2010. The song topped various charts from online music services upon its release, including the

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 ...

chart for eight consecutive weeks, holding the record for longest-running number-one song by a boy group. At another music service Mnet.com, the single remained at the first spot for six weeks, a record for the time. "Last Farewell" went to be awarded Song of the Month (December) in the 2008

Cyworld Digital Music Awards The Cyworld Digital Music Awards () was a South Korean music awards ceremony. It was established in 2006 to recognize songs with the largest monthly digital sales on the Cyworld social network service. Monthly awards were also given to popular so ...

, recording 170,000 copies sold that month. The single was the fourth best-performing song of the 2000s (decade) in Melon, the highest entry by a male group.

Track listing

* Digital download / streaming # "마지막 인사 (Last Farewell)" – 3:52

Music program wins

Sales

References

External links

* {{authority control Big Bang (South Korean band) songs YG Entertainment singles Korean-language songs Songs written by G-Dragon 2007 singles 2007 songs Songs written by Brave Brothers