Lies (BigBang song)

"Lies"
Single by Big Bang
from the album Always
ReleasedAugust 16, 2007
Recorded2007
Genre
Length3:49
LabelYG
Songwriter(s)G-Dragon
Producer(s)G-Dragon
Big Bang singles chronology
"Shake It"
(2006) 		"Lies"
(2007) 		"Always"
(2007)

"Lies" (Korean: 거짓말; RR: Geojitmal) is a song recorded by the South Korean boy group BigBang. The song was written and composed by rapper G-Dragon. It was released on August 16, 2007, by YG Entertainment as the first single from BigBang's first extended play 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.[3][4][5] The song remains one of their most critically acclaimed song to date and is often viewed as one of their signature songs.[6]

Background and composition

BigBang's first extended play, Always (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.[1] G-Dragon composed and wrote most of the tracks included in their first EP, including "Lies."[7] The rapper originally wrote this track for his solo album, but the company decided it would suit the group better.[8]

An electronic dance track combined with hip-hop elements,[9] "Lies" begins with a dial tone, and that builds up around a "subtle piano, brassy percussion, and a clapping beat."[10] The chorus blends "boy-band harmonies and hip-hop chants", which was described as "something fresh" for K-pop in 2007,[11] while the vocals were described as "delicate".[1] Arirang TV called the track a "Euro-house style piece, lanced with trance."[12] Lyrically, the song describes a break-up, with the line "I'm so sorry but I love you" being used as the hook.[8]

Critical reception

"Lies" received near universal acclaim from music critics, who described the song as "through the roof."[12] Korean website Star News published an article commenting that BigBang's music "stands out" from other K-pop boy groups, because of their "impressive melody lines" in tracks like "Lies".[13] Tamar Herman of Billboard wrote that the "melodic, surging chorus and some rapid-fire rap" of "Lies" placed BigBang "down the path into the realm of avant-garde experimentalism that they've become known for over the past few years"[10] and called one of South Korea's "most memorable songs."[1]

Kaitlin Miller of Sun-Times stated that even though their sound has evolved, "their core blend of emotion and swagger shines through on this song."[14] While including "Lies" in a list of best songs written by G-Dragon, the Korean magazine Ize commented that BigBang's rebel image, and the track's easy melody and easy lyrics were the formula that brought the single's popularity.[15]

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."[16]

Commercial performance

The song was released prior to the creation of the Gaon Music Chart, 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.[17] "Lies" also went to become the first song to win the Song of the Month award from the Cyworld Digital Music Awards for two consecutive months, as well as gathering the highest monthly sales in Cyworld's history, with over 200,000 copies sold in September.[18] It was the best-performing song of 2007 in Cyworld,[19] and as of 2010, the single was the ninth best-selling song of all time in Cyworld's digital chart.[20] In 2016, "Lies" was revealed to be the second most downloaded song on Mnet.com since 2006, only after Busker Busker's "Cherry Blossom Ending."[21]

Legacy

"Lies" is recognized as the song "that made Big Bang who they are today", the ground for the following releases of the group,[2] and the "decisive moment" that influenced K-pop idols to produce their own music by themselves.[15] The track's electronic sound became the new music trend in Korea.[9] It was chosen as the "Song of the Decade" by Mnet's music show M! Countdown in 2014.[22] 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.[23] Billboard ranked the single third on their list of Top 10 Songs from the group in honor of their tenth anniversary,[1] as well as the third greatest K-Pop chorus of the century.[11] Sun-Times also included "Lies" in their unranked list of ten best BigBang songs.[14] In 2014, Star News named "Lies" one of the ten best digital hit songs in South Korea's history.[6]

"Lies" on select critic lists and polls
Publisher Year List Rank Ref.
Billboard 2017 10 Greatest K-pop Choruses of the 21st Century 3 [11]
The Dong-a Ilbo 2016 Best male idol songs according to experts 1 [24]
Gallup Korea 2007 Most Popular Songs of 2007 2 [25]
2024 10 Most Beloved K-pop Songs of the 21st Century 7 [26]
Melon 2021 Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time 19 [27]
Mnet 2014 Legend 100 Songs No order [28]
Music Y 120 Best Dance Tracks of All Time 18 [29]
Research Panel Korea 2013 Best hit idol songs of all time 2 [30]
Star News 2014 10 Best Digital Hit Songs in the Past 10 Years No order [6]

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Lies"
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2007 Cyworld Digital Music Awards Song of the Month (August) Won [18]
Song of the Month (September) Won
Mnet KM Music Festival Song of the Year Won [31]
Best Male Group Won
Best Hip Hop Song Nominated
Golden Disc Awards Digital Bonsang Nominated [32]
Digital Daesang Nominated
2008 Seoul Music Awards Best Song Award Won [33]
Music program wins (5 total)
Program Date Ref.
Music Bank September 7, 2007 [34]
October 5, 2007 [35]
October 19, 2007 [36]
Inkigayo September 9, 2007 [37]
M Countdown September 27, 2007 [38]

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
US World Digital Songs (Billboard)[39] 24
Chart (2024) Peak
position
South Korea (Circle)[40] 132

Sales

Country Sales
South Korea (digital) 5,000,000[41]

Notes

The lead actress in the music video was Cha Soo-yeon.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Herman, Tamar (August 18, 2016). "Happy 10-Year Anniversary, BIGBANG! 10 Must-Listen Songs from the Boy Band". Billboard.
  2. ^ a b "K-Pop Mixtape: 9 Most Definitive Big Bang Songs". KpopStarz. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  3. ^ 빅뱅 '올해의 노래'-슈주 '올해의 가수'…MKMF '아이돌 천하'(종합) [Big Bang wins 'Song of the Year' - Super Junior wins 'Singer of the Year'... MKMF 'Idol Reign' (Comprehensive)]. My Daily (in Korean). November 17, 2007. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009 – via Nate.
  4. ^ "Big Bang". MTV UK. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  5. ^ "G-Dragon". YG Entertainment. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c 대중음악계 10년史..최고 히트곡 톱10·연도별 190選. Star News (in Korean). September 15, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  7. ^ Kim, Mi-youngshin (August 17, 2007). 빅뱅, 'Always' 선주문 3만장 괴력 (in Korean). Hankyung News. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Throwback: Big Bang Gets Their Start with "Lies"". Seoul Beats. May 10, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Kim, Wong Young (February 28, 2008). 빅뱅·BEG·쥬얼리…가요계 대세는 '일렉트로니카' (Big Bang, Brown Eyed Girls, Jewelry... The trend of J-pop 'Electronica') (in Korean). Star News. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
  10. ^ a b Herman, Tamar (December 23, 2016). "The 10 Best BIGBANG Songs: Critics' Picks". Billboard.
  11. ^ a b c Benjamin, Jeff (April 28, 2017). "The 10 Greatest K-Pop Choruses of the 21st Century". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Big Bang's Showcase & First Fan Meeting". Arirang. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  13. ^ 아이돌 장악 가요계, 백문이 불여일견 '씁쓸'. Star News (in Korean). July 8, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Miller, Kaitlin (May 2, 2015). "Big Bang's 10 best songs of the past 10 years". Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  15. ^ a b G-Dragon 고별展│가사로 본 지 드래곤의 인생. Ize Magazine (in Korean). June 13, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  16. ^ "An in-depth piece about Big Bang's impact in Korea written by Kang Myung Suk (music critic and former editor-in-chief of 10Asia magazine)". March 13, 2014.
  17. ^ Park, Jung Sun (May 7, 2014). [M+기획…'보이그룹 통계'②] 최장·최다 음원 1위 빅뱅, 견줄 그룹 없다. MBN Daily (in Korean). Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  18. ^ a b 빅뱅 '거짓말', 싸이월드 최초 2회연속 '이달의 노래' [Big Bang's "Lies", first song to win two consecutives Cyworld's Song of the Month awards]. Star News (in Korean). October 8, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  19. ^ 2NE1 '아이 돈 케어', 2009 싸이월드 연간차트 1위 [2NE1's 'I Don't Care' ranks 1st on 2009 Cyworld Chart]. Star News. January 8, 2010.
  20. ^ "Hall of Fame - Songs". Cyworld Digital Music. Archived from the original on February 27, 2010.
  21. ^ 한국 사람들이 9년동안 가장 많이 다운 받은 음원은?. Insight (in Korean). March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  22. ^ "BIGBANG's 'Lies' Named Song of the Decade". HelloKpop. July 25, 2014.
  23. ^ "반짝반짝 눈이 부셔"… 빅뱅-소녀시대 역대 최고 아이돌 원문보. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  24. ^ "New survey ranks top K-pop artists & songs of the past 20 years". SBS PopAsia. September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  25. ^ "갤럽조사 "원더걸스 텔미가 올해 최고 인기"" [Gallup Poll 'Wonder Girls Tell Me is the most popular song this year']. KBS News (in Korean). December 26, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  26. ^ "'레전드' 싸이 '강남스타일' 21세기 최고 히트곡 등극[창간 20주년 설문]" ['Legend' Psy's 'Gangnam Style' Becomes 21st Century's Greatest Hit Song [20th Anniversary Survey]]. Star News (in Korean). Naver. September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  27. ^ Hicap, Jonathan (August 29, 2021). "Top 100 K-pop songs of all time revealed". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  28. ^ Kim, Soo-jung (February 3, 2014). "'동백아가씨'부터 '강남스타일'까지, 대중 사로잡은 명곡은?" [From 'Camellia Lady' to 'Gangnam Style', which famous songs have captured the public?]. MediaUS. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  29. ^ "Dance Track 120 List". Music Y (in Korean). July 31, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  30. ^ "원더걸스 '텔미', 역대 최고의 아이돌 히트곡 선정" [Wonder Girls' 'Tell Me' selected as the best idol hit song of all time]. My Daily (in Korean). Naver. June 6, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  31. ^ "2007 Mnet Asian Music Awards". Awards and Winners. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  32. ^ "2007 Golden Disk - Part1 - Golden Disk - Mwave". mwave.interest.me. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  33. ^ 빅뱅, 서울가요대상 대상 '3관왕 싹쓸이' [Big Bang is Artist of the Year at Seoul Music Awards]. Korea Economic Daily. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  34. ^ 빅뱅, 데뷔 이래 첫 지상파 1위 [Big Bang tops the terrestrial TV chart for the first time since their debut]. My Daily (in Korean). September 9, 2007 – via Daum.
  35. ^ 빅뱅 '거짓말' 백지영 누르고 '뮤직뱅크' 1위 탈환 [Big Bang's 'Lies' beats Baek Ji-Young and reclaims 1st place on 'Music Bank']. Newsen (in Korean). October 5, 2007 – via Daum.
  36. ^ 빅뱅 '거짓말' 표절 논란 딛고 '뮤뱅' 시청자선호도 1위 등극 [Big Bang's 'Lies' overcomes plagiarism controversy and ranks first on 'Music Bank']. Newsen (in Korean). October 19, 2007 – via Daum.
  37. ^ 빅뱅 데뷔 첫 뮤티즌송 1위 수상 감격, 컴백 2주만에 전성시대 예고 [Big Bang’s first Mutizen Song 1st place since debut]. Newsen (in Korean). September 9, 2007 – via Daum.
  38. ^ 빅뱅, '거짓말'로 전 음악차트 석권 '진기록' [Big Bang, 'Lies' tops all music charts]. Star News (in Korean). September 28, 2007 – via Daum.
  39. ^ "Billboard World Digital Songs: Chart Search". Billboard. March 10, 2012. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018.
  40. ^ "2024 Week 49 Digital Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  41. ^ 빅뱅업적 (원탑인 이유) [Big Bangs Achievements]. Nate (in Korean). October 15, 2016. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2018.