There was BIGBANG before Lies: songs from their debut year

A song from the first single album, released on August 29, 2006, featuring Park Bom. The official introduction credits G-DRAGON with the composition and G-DRAGON and T.O.P with the lyrics. Over about 3 minutes 58 seconds, listen to how the rap and the featured vocals combine. If you knew the big performance songs of later years first, you’ll find a different impression of the beginning here. Rather than gathering later solo activity, this list looks back at BIGBANG’s first-year releases. For anyone curious about what music sat on a rookie group’s first record, it’s the song to pick up first.

‘A Fool's Only Tears’ is the fourth track on the first single album, listed overseas as ‘A Fool of Tears’. At about 4 minutes 2 seconds, it leaves a different impression within the same release as ‘We Belong Together’. On a day when the feeling of a breakup comes to mind, it’s worth calmly following how the voices were delivered on this early record. It was later included on the first studio album too, but here we chose the August single edition to follow the original release context. Instead of counting the same song twice across different editions, the listening turns to the unfamiliar music next to it. When you’re curious about BIGBANG before ‘Lies’, this is the pick that shifts the focus to the vocals.

The first song on the second single album, released on September 28, 2006. The official introduction describes PERRY and G-DRAGON’s involvement in the production and a bright, easy-to-remember melody as its features. It’s a vocal track of about 2 minutes 59 seconds, distinguished here from the instrumental version on the same album. Once you’ve heard the short title repeat, even a song you’ve just discovered can feel relatively close. If you’ve traveled back in time from today’s new releases, think about which elements of the early music feel unfamiliar and which feel familiar. It’s a song for getting to know how the team introduced its music by putting out several singles in a row in its first year.

The third track on the second single album is ‘V.I.P’, about 3 minutes 3 seconds long. The official introduction describes it as a song built around the members’ rapping, with Kim Do-hyun and G-DRAGON credited on the composition. If you’ve heard the previous song, which mixes vocals and rap, notice where the center of expression moves here. It’s also a chance to meet a title still familiar today as the name for the fandom, this time as a track title on an early record. We listen to it as a 2006 release, not as a song newly recorded by the current lineup. It suits anyone who wants to get to know the hip-hop-leaning start.

The third single album came out on November 22, 2006, with ‘Forever With U’ placed third. It brings together Park Bom’s vocals and the rapping of G-DRAGON and T.O.P, a combination the official introduction also points out. Listen to this roughly 3-minute-38-second song alongside the collaboration from the first single, and you can compare the impressions the same participants leave on different songs. Rather than assuming all of that year’s music was group singing done the same way, it’s better to listen for the distinct makeup of each song.

The fourth song and title track of the November 2006 release. Taeyang, G-DRAGON and T.O.P took part in the lyrics, and PERRY and Brave Brothers in the composition. Listen to the impression the vocals and rap make over about 3 minutes 30 seconds. It sits on the same record as the preceding Park Bom feature, but you can also learn that the way of participating and the names involved are different. You might also feel how a title about parting stands apart from BIGBANG’s later love songs. If you knew only a few of the early releases, it’s a way to check what music the three single releases led to. Worth picking before moving on to the first studio album.

The second track on the first studio album, released on December 22, 2006. A vocal track of about 3 minutes 29 seconds that follows a short intro, it lets you get to know a new song unlike the earlier singles. The album also contains previously released songs, but here we didn’t add the same songs again and turned instead to the music you meet on the studio album. For anyone who remembers the team only by the title tracks from after they became famous, it’s a chance to broaden the beginning through a single record. Listening on into ‘Dirty Cash’ afterward works well too.

The third song on the first studio album is ‘Dirty Cash’, about 3 minutes 14 seconds long. YG’s official introduction describes it as a work that unpacks the potentially heavy theme of social satire in a light, buoyant voice. If you knew only songs of love and heartbreak, it’s interesting that a different subject sat within the first year’s music as well. You might also connect the word money in the title to your own everyday life. Rather than expanding it into claims about specific people or events, listen to the attitude with which the song handles its theme. It’s a clue to understanding that a rookie group’s first studio album wasn’t filled with just one story.

‘Shake It’ is the sixth track on the first studio album; ‘Shake It’ is its overseas release title, while the Korean title is ‘Heundeureo’. The official album introduction confirms the vocal participation of Lee Eun-ju of Mugadang. Over about 3 minutes 45 seconds, listen to what impression another artist’s voice adds to the team’s music. There’s also a pleasure in closing a first-year selection that began with a Park Bom feature with a different collaboration. This list doesn’t include the entire studio album or every member’s solo song, so if a track appeals to you, feel free to go deeper into the original record. Once you know the beginning before ‘Lies’, you may find new things to hear in the later hits too.