#GDA Artiste Profile: G-Dragon

To VIPs, he’s known as the cool fashionista leader of K-Pop super group, BIGBANG. But in actuality, Kwon Ji-yong aka G-Dragon or GD is your standard boy-at-heart who is surprisingly humble and well-mannered. In fact, he’s most famous for his “90-degree bows” (the staple sign of respect in the Korean culture).

Despite being labeled a “product” of the Korean music industry, G-Dragon’s talents (he’s a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and sometimes, a model) have obviously superseded that notion. In the past, he has written, composed, and produced many of BIGBANG’s most popular songs e.g. “Lies” and “Haru Haru”.

He later on went to release his debut solo album, “Heartbreaker”, which earned him the MAMA 2009 accolade for “Album of the Year”.

In September 2012, G-Dragon released his second solo album, “One of a Kind”, amidst the “BIGBANG Alive GALAXY Tour 2012“. The first single off that album, “That XX”, dominated music charts almost immediately after its release. Other songs off “One of a Kind” also quickly became hit singles, such as the title song “One of a Kind” and of course, “CrayOn”:

Following the success of “One of a Kind”, 2012 is proving to be a big comeback year for not only BIGBANG but also G-Dragon (after a series of scandals that the group faced in the previous years) because he’s in the running to bag a couple of “Samsung GALAXY The 27^th Golden Disk Awards in Kuala Lumpur” awards.

They are:

1. “One of a Kind” for “Album of The Year”.
2. “CrayOn” for “Song of The Year”.

Just to name a few.

When asked about his songwriting, he said, “All the songs I write, I mean, of course, some level of fiction is in the mix, but I try to write my own stories for the most part. I wouldn’t say I completely went through that same experience, but when I felt those types of emotions, I remembered it well, and I just jotted it down.” (Source)

Other facts about G-Dragon as follows:

1. Because he changes his hairstyles ever so often, he has also earned the nickname, “Iguana Idol”.
2. He completely sold out the July 2012’s edition of Harper’s Bazaar Korea (which featured him) in three days.
3. His number “1” speed dial on his phone is his father.
4. One of G-Dragon’s most noticable bad habits is biting his nails.
5. He once said that if he wasn’t in BIGBANG or a musician, he’d most likely be in the fashion industry.
6. G-Dragon has been in the music industry since he was a little boy – he was in “Little Roora” when he was only seven years old.
7. He is convinced that he would go crazy without music in his life.