{"id":582216,"date":"2026-04-13T19:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/582216\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T19:52:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:52:08","slug":"k-pop-pioneer-bigbang-lives-up-to-the-hype-at-coachella","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/582216\/","title":{"rendered":"K-pop pioneer BigBang lives up to the hype at Coachella"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIO, Calif.\u00a0\u2014 BigBang knows how to make an entrance. On Sunday night, moments before the boy group took the stage at\u00a0Coachella<\/a>, fireworks blasted from the stage and lights flashed. Amid a haze of smoke, dancers waved flags bearing the group\u2019s logo. Then, as synth pulses blared out of the speakers, the group\u2019s members rose up from below the stage, three silhouettes.<\/p>\n

They wasted no time, starting with one of their biggest hits, \u201cBang Bang Bang.\u201d Singer Taeyang, who was flocked by a crew of backup dancers, sounded pristine as he sang his opening verses.<\/p>\n

It was an explosive start to\u00a0BigBang\u2019s set, and fitting for the occasion. The group\u2019s Sunday night performance at Coachella was a special event for K-pop fans, an occasion on par with Justin Bieber\u2019s long-awaited return to the stage<\/a> the night prior. BigBang went on hiatus for mandatory military service at the end of the 2010s; the group hasn\u2019t released new music since 2022 and hasn\u2019t toured since 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the mid-2010s, BigBang was one of the biggest boy groups in the world, going\u00a0toe-to-toe<\/a> with One Direction<\/a>. It was formed as an idol group in 2006, but thanks to its unusual degree of creative freedom \u2014 G-Dragon, the leader, writes and produces the songs \u2014 the outfit has enjoyed a long shelf life. Twenty years after the group\u2019s public debut, BigBang\u2019s members are in their mid-30s.<\/p>\n

Within the K-pop genre, BigBang remains enormously influential. The members of BTS cite BigBang as one of their primary inspirations. (\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be an exaggeration to say that BigBang\u00a0practically made BTS,\u201d Suga, a BTS member, once told Taeyang, a member of BigBang. \u201cYou were musicians that I aspired to be like as a kid.\u201d)<\/p>\n

In 2025, BigBang looks different than before. What was once a five-piece group has shrunken down to a trio. Rapper T.O.P. left the group after controversies related to cannabis use<\/a>, and Seungri retired after the Burning Sun nightclub scandal<\/a>. The group\u2019s three remaining members are Daesung, Taeyang and G-Dragon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This onstage reunion marked a hard end to BigBang\u2019s hiatus. The anticipation was palpable; although most of the audience members seemed to be in their 20s, they seemed to know every hit. When BigBang launched into the piano-driven intro of \u201cHaru Haru,\u201d a group of young women near me covered their mouths and began tearing up. Near the front of the crowd, somebody waved a South Korean flag.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s hourlong set involved several phases, with accompanying outfit changes. BigBang cycled through some of its biggest hits, with pyrotechnics and backup dancers in tow: \u201cBang Bang Bang,\u201d \u201cFantastic Baby,\u201d \u201cSober.\u201d The emotional high point was \u201cHome Sweet Home,\u201d a G-Dragon song featuring Taeyang and Daesung. After running through their solo material, the group members reunited onstage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The track\u2019s climax was euphoric. \u201cWell, I said I would be back \/ And I\u2019d never let you go,\u201d G-Dragon sang, over a blaring synth line that sounded like it was pulled out of an old Avicii song.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In BigBang\u2019s future 2026 performances, the track is likely to be a staple. After all, it\u2019s hard to think of a more fitting statement for the group. On Sunday, it made it clear: BigBang is back for good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIO, Calif.\u00a0\u2014 BigBang knows how to make an entrance. On Sunday night, moments before the boy group took…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216,253626,244040],"class_list":{"0":"post-582216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-sfgcoachella","11":"tag-sfgculture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}