Monday, April 2, 2012

0 Big Bang's Interview with Oricon Style Japan (Part 1) [NEWS]



BIGBANG 『Pressured!? Opening up about their mindset and thoughts on their new album!』

A turning point album for BIGBANG

Q: Before this interview, you were on the Telephone Shocking corner of ‘Waratte Iitomo’ (Fuji TV). Weren’t you nervous?
V.I: We’ve been on the show ‘Waratte Iitomo!’ before, so we were not that nervous.

Q: Unfortunately, you guys didn’t get the phone strap.
V.I: Yeah. Since we are gyudon (beef bowl) maniacs, we expected the audience to love gyudon too. A little bit disappointing.

Q: Gyudon is everyone’s source of power?
D-LITE: I think if there’s no gyudon, I can’t do anything.
SOL: If there’s no gyudon, activities in Japan...
D-LITE: They will be meaningless. We come to Japan just to eat gyudon.
SOL: Just joking! (laugh)

Q: Let’s end the gyudon story here (laugh). This time, BIGBANG is releasing an album after a year. Please send a message to the fans who had been waiting.

G-DRAGON: A lot of things happened last year. After everything, we were finally able to complete the album. There was also pressure, but each member committed their time while getting ready for this, so I had this deep feeling when it was finally completed. For the fans who had been waiting for us, from now on, we will concentrate on our stage and we want to show all of you our cool images.

D-LITE: Like what G-Dragon said, we went through so many things last year. All the members got through it and we're back as one and completed the album. YG Family staffs also said that so far, this album is the best one. We made the album with confidence while having fun, so we hope that the fans will also enjoy it.

SOL: Releasing the album after everything that happened, it really means a lot for me personally and also for BIGBANG. I think it’s an album that has become our turning point. From now on, our color will become stronger. For fans in Japan, thank you for always waiting for us. We really appreciate it.

V.I: A new album after 1 year.. In a lot of aspects, I think that we've upgraded and grown up. For this album, I think that each member feels so much confident. So I think that this is really the best present to all fans. In the future, we hope to come to Japan more often to do promotions.

T.O.P: Same like the others, I think the album ALIVE shows a new shape of BIGBANG as one. Also, we usually record 1 or 2 Japanese songs per album, but this time we challenged ourselves and recorded many songs. And, we also tried hard to make Japanese lyrics. I hope everyone will have fun listening to the album.

SOL: This time, m-flo’s VERBAL did FANTASTIC BABY’s Japanese lyrics. I think the lyrics harmonize the rhythm of the songe very well.

“ALIVE” represents BIGBANG’s situation.

Q: The title ‘ALIVE’ has a lot of meanings, but this time, what’s the theme or concept that BIGBANG wants to convey?
D-LITE: The meaning of "ALIVE" is "to live" and up until now the frozen things slowly melted down. With that, I hope we’re be able to convey our passion to music and to the stage.

SOL: The first song, INTRO, is a short track but it represents BIGBANG’s situation. In the lyrics, there’s a part that shows how someone is falling down, but it’s simply not like that. It shows a sense of freedom and express the meaning of being "still alive=ALIVE".

(Part 2 will be posted when it's done)

Translation by MIMI (@marthapido) / ameblo.jp/heavenlady
Original Article

0 Buying Tickets for Big Bang's Alive Tour in Japan + Additional Tour Dates [NEWS]



Hi everyone! I'm getting a lot of emails about how to buy tickets for BIGBANG's Alive Tour in Japan, so here's some info:

The first round of pre-sale or lottery for official VIP Japan members is already over. The second round for fanclub members starts today (until APRIL 9) and public selling will begin on APRIL 28. Where to buy tickets:

- LAWSON
- E-PLUS


The sites are in Japanese but since Lawson and E-plus are popular/major ticket sellers, there are already some tutorials available online for foreigners:

- E-Plus Tutorial (Needs an address in Japan)
- Loppi Machine (by Lawson) Tutorial (If you're already in Japan)

If you find the tutorials above a bit complicated, there are websites that can buy tickets for you with a service fee:

- Personal Shopper Japan
- Shopping Service Japan


I haven't tried buying from these sites personally so if you have tips/experience in buying tickets for concerts in Japan, feel free to share and leave a comment below. Thanks and hope this post helps a bit!



Additional Tour Dates

(Announced today, April 2)

May 17: Aichi Prefecture (Nippon Gaishi Hall)
May 18: Aichi Prefecture (Nippon Gaishi Hall)

May 25: Yokohama (Yokohama Arena) - update

May 26: Yokohama (Yokohama Arena)
May 27: Yokohama (Yokohama Arena)

May 31: Osaka (Osaka-jo Hall) - update

June 1: Osaka (Osaka-jo Hall)
June 2: Osaka (Osaka-jo Hall)
June 3: Osaka (Osaka-jo Hall) - update

June 16: Saitama (Saitama Arena)
June 17: Saitama (Saitama Arena)

June 23: Fukuoka (Marine Messe)
June 24: Fukuoka (Marine Messe)

Source: VIP Japan (Thanks Tisya for the info!)

0 Big Bang @ Springroove After Party (120402) [PHOTOS]



Taeyang with Ilmari & Su (of Rip Slyme)


T.O.P with Adam Kosuke (DJ, model)


T.O.P with @tokyodandy (photographer, blogger)

Sources: http://instagr.am/p/I4xsmhKo12/, @tokyodandy, @sussicaalb

Sunday, April 1, 2012

0 YG Family Official App.: Big Show 2012 Photos [PHOTOS]
















Source: YG Family iPhone App via @teambigbang

0 G-Dragon and Taeyang's Costomized Ear Pieces [MISC./PHOTOS]




NOTE: This is Taeyang and GD's 3rd set of customized earpieces; The transparent version were the versions used in 2012 BIGSHOW/ALIVE Concert.

Source: Souncat & G-one.me via ygfamilyy@tumblr and @soompi_bigbang

0 Big Bang for Lotte (2011) [PHOTOS]




 *Note: Be aware, these photos were taken during Daesung's hiatus period in 2011, so he is not going to be in any of these.

0 More Big Bang's "BLUE" Behind the Scene Photos [PHOTOS]





Source: @teambigbang

0 Official YG App. Release New "Blue" Photos [PHOTOS]














Source: YG Family App. via gilbakk75@ameblo

0 Big Bang MCountdown Comeback Teaser [PHOTOS]




0 Big Bang on Grammy's Official Site (120313) [PHOTOS]




"South Korean quintet BIGBANG go kaboom during a performance in Seoul, Korea, on March 11"

0 Big Bang "Sunny 10" Ads [PHOTOS]




Source: DCBB

0 Taeyang @ Joyrich Store in Harajuku [PHOTO]



From @JOYRICH_Tokyo: "BIGBANG SOL stopped by JOYRICH HARAJUKU!!!"

*Photo taken before their comeback activities

0 Big Bang @ You & I Backstage + Autographs [PHOTOS]







 
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