Lies (Big Bang Song)
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"Lies" () is a song recorded by the
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 boy group
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 song was written and composed by 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 ...
. It was released on August 16, 2007, by
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 ...
as the first single from Big Bang's first
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.
''Always'' (2007). It became the group's breakout hit, topping charts in their home country for several weeks and consequently winning Song of the Year at the 2007
Mnet Asian Music Awards The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...
. The song remains one of their most critically acclaimed song to date and is often viewed as one of their
signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...
s.


Background and composition

Big Bang's first extended play, ''
Always Always may refer to: Film and television * ''Always'', a 1985 film directed by Henry Jaglom * ''Always'' (1989 film), a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg * ''Always'' (2011 film), a 2011 South Korean film, also known as '' ...
'' (2007), marked several changes for the group. Though the members had previously involved themselves with writing and composing, the group took more creative control over their music, moving away from their hip-hop and R&B roots and towards electronic dance music. G-Dragon composed and wrote most of the tracks included in their first EP, including "Lies." The rapper originally wrote this track for his solo album, but the company decided it would suit the group better. An electronic dance track combined with hip-hop elements, "Lies" begins with a dial tone, and that builds up around a "subtle
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, brassy percussion, and a clapping beat." The chorus blends "boy-band harmonies and hip-hop chants", which was described as "something fresh" for K-pop in 2007, while the vocals were described as "delicate".
Arirang TV Arirang International Broadcasting is a South Korean-based broadcasting company operated by the International Broadcasting Exchange Foundation. It began as a cable TV service in South Korea on February 3, 1997, and opened Korea's first overseas ...
called the track a "
Euro-house A : Emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines instead of lyrics. It has core electronic "squelch" sounds that were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experi ...
style piece, lanced with trance." Lyrically, the song describes a break-up, with the line "I'm so sorry but I love you" being used as the
hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
.


Critical reception

"Lies" received near universal acclaim from music critics, who described the song as "through the roof." Korean website ''Star News'' published an article commenting that Big Bang's music "stands out" from other K-pop boy groups, because of their "impressive melody lines" in tracks like "Lies". Tamar Herman of ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' wrote that the "melodic, surging chorus and some rapid-fire rap" of "Lies" placed Big Bang "down the path into the realm of avant-garde experimentalism that they've become known for over the past few years" and called one of South Korea's "most memorable songs." Kaitlin Miller of ''
Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' stated that even though their sound has evolved, "their core blend of emotion and swagger shines through on this song." While including "Lies" in a list of best songs written by G-Dragon, the Korean magazine ''Ize'' commented that Big Bang's rebel image, and the track's easy melody and easy lyrics were the formula that brought the single's popularity. The impact of the song was described by Kang Myung Suk - a music critic and former editor-in-chief of ''10Asia'' magazine. Suk wrote "in that time, the one song 'Lies' satisfied all the music consumers in Korea. The 'sound' of this song was better than the normal K-Pop, and the melody development was easy for anyone to enjoy. Before 'Lies' came out, the music charts were dominated by medium tempo ballad songs." The composition was also praised, noting that "G-Dragon made this song with memorable rap and melody pieces" and admired the song for having "no useless parts". The critic concluded "'Lies' has the generation's code who wants to be a step forward in the trend but comfortable at the same time, and that wants to stand out but also somewhat mix in at the same time. This was a market that not exist before Big Bang's 'Lies', and this was the moment where the idols met this generation's emotions."


Commercial performance

The song 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 sales in 2010. In the South Korean's online music services, it became their first number one hit, and went to top the Melon Chart's for six weeks. "Lies" also went to become the first song to win the Song of the Month award from the
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 ...
for two consecutive months, as well as gathering the highest monthly sales in Cyworld's history, with over 200,000 copies sold in September. It was the best-performing song of 2007 in Cyworld, and as of 2010, the single was the ninth best-selling song of all time in Cyworld's digital chart. In 2016, "Lies" was revealed to be the second most downloaded song in South Korea since 2006, only after
Busker Busker Busker Busker () is a South Korean indie band who rose to fame through their runner-up performance in the South Korean music audition television program ''Superstar K3'' on Mnet. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Jang Beom-june, ba ...
's "
Cherry Blossom Ending "Cherry Blossom Ending" () is a song by South Korean indie band Busker Busker, from their debut studio album '' Busker Busker 1st Album''. The song was written by band member and was released on March 29, 2012 by CJ E&M Music. The song is well ...
."


Legacy

"Lies" is recognized as the song "that made Big Bang who they are today", the ground for the following releases of the group, and the "decisive moment" that influenced K-pop idols to produce their own music by themselves. The track's electronic sound became the new music trend in Korea. It was chosen as the "Song of the Decade" by
Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
's music show ''
M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...
'' in 2014. In 2016, "Lies" was voted the top K-pop male idol song in the past 20 years in a poll involving 2,000 people and 30 music industry experts by South Korean magazine ''
Dong-a Ilbo The ''Dong-A Ilbo'' (, literally ''East Asia Daily'') is a newspaper of record in Korea since 1920 with a daily circulation of more than 1.2 million and opinion leaders as its main readers. ''The Dong-A Ilbo'' is the parent company of Dong-A ...
.'' ''Billboard'' ranked the single third on their list of Top 10 Songs from the group in honor of their tenth anniversary, as well as the third greatest K-Pop chorus of the century. ''
Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' also included "Lies" in their unranked list of ten best Big Bang songs. In 2014, ''Star News'' named "Lies" one of the ten best digital hit songs in South Korea's history.


Accolades


Charts


Sales


Notes

The lead actress in the music video was
Cha Soo-yeon Cha Soo-yeon (; born August 15, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading role in the 2008 film ''Beautiful''. Filmography Film *'' On the Way'' (2014) *'' The Scent'' (2012) *'' Helpless'' (2012) *''Love Call'' (2011) * ...
.


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