"Haru Haru"
Single by Big Bang
from the album Stand Up
ReleasedAugust 8, 2008
Genre
Length4:15
LabelYG Entertainment
Songwriter(s)G-Dragon
Producer(s)G-Dragon, Daishi Dance
Big Bang singles chronology
"With U"
(2007)		 "Haru Haru"
(2008)		 "Number 1"
(2008)
Music video
"Haru Haru" on YouTube

"Haru Haru" (Korean: 하루하루; Day by Day) is a song by South Korean boy group Big Bang. Released through YG Entertainment on August 8, 2008, as the lead single for their third extended play Stand Up, it became one of their most popular singles and one of South Korea's best-selling songs,[1] besides being regarded as one of the most influential singles to come out of Korean pop music.[2] A Japanese version of the song was included in their third Greatest Hits album The Best of Big Bang (2011) and in the Japanese version of Alive (2012).[3]

Composition

With the release of their first EP Always (2007), BigBang began to incorporate a range of different genre into their music, moving away from their original hip hop roots. Stand Up continued their experimentation. The song was written by G-Dragon, with arrangements provided by Japanese DJ Daishi Dance. Additional Japanese lyrics were written by Shikata, iNoZzi, and Shoko Fujibayashi.[4] "Haru Haru" was described as a combination of a dance song with a hip hop ballad, driven by a sentimental piano melody.[5] The song also includes a synthesizer sound that sounds like an orchestra that feels its "empty spaces".[6] The composition was noted for "weaving in and out of tempos seamlessly" which forced a "a sense of anxiety on the listener."[1] "Haru Haru" deepened the "Big Bang style" of music that had its breakthrough with "Lies."[6] Tamar Herman of Billboard wrote about the track's composition:

The song begins simply enough with a piano tune and breathy vocals until T.O.P's deep bass rap explodes to transform it into a hip-hop ballad like none other. G-Dragon and T.O.P's contrasting rap tones play off one another to offer a sharp change from the passionate vocals of Daesung, Taeyang, and Seungri, while the orchestral accompaniment draws the whole thing to a symphonic peak. Nearly ten years after its release, 'Haru Haru' [sic] is still the epitome of Big Bang's sound.[1]

Critical reception

One of the group's most popular songs, receptions for "Haru Haru" were fairly positive. Billboard hailed the track an "experiential masterpiece"[1] and named it the group's second best song.[5] In a survey involving 30 music industry experts by South Korean magazine Dong-a Ilbo, "Haru Haru" was chosen as one of best male idol songs in the past 20 years.[7] Spinditty felt that the track "has a nostalgic feeling, which conveys the tragic, sad, and deep story behind the song."[8] Sun-Times included "Haru Haru" in their list of the best BigBang songs, calling the track "an enduring anthem for the band."[9]

E. Alex Jung from Vulture called "Haru Haru" "the undisputed song of the decade", commenting on the single's influence, he wrote that the song presented a sound that "was once innovative" but it "has since been copied and standardized to the point where almost every boy band now has a charismatic rapper with a booming voice." Jung concluded that "Haru Haru" "tapped into the Zeitgeist, blending a deep affinity for torch songs with the swagger of hip-hop, and set a wildfire to the K-pop fandom."[2] In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked "Haru Haru" number 7 in their list of the 100 greatest Korean pop songs of all time.[10]

Music video

The music video for "Haru Haru" presents a storyline where G-Dragon plays the protagonist that believes his girlfriend, played by actress Park Min-young, is cheating on him with his friend, played by T.O.P, and the two enter a physical fight with each other. By the end of the video, it's revealed that Park Min-young and T.O.P were only pretending to cheat because she was with a deadly disease and wanted to spare the one she loved the pain of knowing she was going to die. G-Dragon learns of this too late and arrives at the hospital to an already-gone girl.[11][2] The music video was well received, being distinguished for its "heart wrenching storyline" and is recognized as a classic and as the most saddening video release by the quintet.[12] In 2016, fans voted "Haru Haru" as their favorite BigBang music video.[13] The video was parodied by the cast of the Korean TV show Infinite Challenge at the show's 2008 year-end festival.[14]

Commercial performance

The song was released prior to the creation of the Gaon Music Chart, which began tracking sales in 2010. "Haru Haru" topped several online charts upon its release and held the number one position on the online Melon Music Chart for seven consecutive weeks.[15][16] It also became one of the most successful singles of all-time in South Korea, selling over 5.4 million digital downloads in South Korea alone.[17] In 2016, "Haru Haru" was revealed to be the fifth most downloaded song in South Korea since 2006.[18] The song ranked at number eight in Melon's 2000s (decade) chart.[19] In Cyworld, "Haru Haru" was the best-selling track of 2008 and the sixth best-selling song of all time.[20][21]

Accolades

Awards and nominations
Year Award-Giving Body Category Result Ref.
2008 Mnet KM Music Festival Best Male Group Won [22]
Best House and Electronic Song Nominated [23]
Song of the Year Nominated
Cyworld Digital Music Awards Song of the Month (August) Won [24]
Music program awards (10 total)
Program Date
Inkigayo (SBS) August 24, 2008
August 31, 2008
September 7, 2008
M! Countdown (Mnet) September 4, 2008
September 25, 2008
Music Bank (KBS) August 22, 2008
September 5, 2008
September 12, 2008
September 19, 2008
September 26, 2008

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2012) Peak
position
US World Digital Songs (Billboard)[25] 13

Sales

Country Sales
South Korea (digital)[26] 5,400,000
China (digital)[27] 845,000

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Herman, Tamar (August 19, 2016). "Happy 10-Year Anniversary, Bigbang! 10 Must-Listen Songs from the Boy Band". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jung, E. Alex (August 2, 2017). "G-Dragon's World Tour Marks the End of an Era in K-Pop". Vulture.com. New York Media LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Bigbang is Back！全世界待望、2012年完全復活のニュー・アルバム3月28日リリース！！" (in Japanese). YGEX. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Big Bang Makes Comeback". english.kbs.co.kr. KBS Global. July 25, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Herman Tamar (December 22, 2016). "The 10 Best Bigbang Songs: Critics' Picks". Billboard.
  6. 1 2 "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)".
  7. ↑ "'반짝반짝 눈이 부셔'… 빅뱅-소녀시대 역대 최고 아이돌". Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  8. ↑ "The 10 Popular K-Pop Boy Groups and Their Best Songs". Spinditty. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ Miller, Kaitlin (May 2, 2015). "Big Bang's 10 best songs of the past 10 years". Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  10. ↑ "The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music". Rolling Stone. July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  11. ↑ "박민영, 빅뱅 '하루하루' 뮤비 주인공". The Internet Journal (in Korean). August 13, 2008.
  12. ↑ "The Bizarre, Creative and Devastating. Bigbang's Top 5 Music Videos". K-Ville Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  13. ↑ "[Replay] Bigbang [Made the Full Album] Countdown Live". V Live. Event occurs at 21:41.
  14. ↑ "무한도전, 빅뱅 스타일 완벽 소화…'하루하루' 뮤비 도전". Hankyung (in Korean). December 21, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Big Bang Signs Modeling Contract with Fila Korea". KBS Global. September 8, 2008. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ "~♕ Bigbang Sales Thread (160828 with Gaon400: 108mln digital, 6.64mln physical, 7.3mln Tour tickets, 3.3bln Youtube views) ♕~ – Charts and Sales". Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  18. ↑ "한국 사람들이 9년동안 가장 많이 다운 받은 음원은?". Insight (in Korean). March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  19. ↑ "The 2000s". Melon Music Chart. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Yearly Popular Songs – 2008". Cyworld Digital Music. Archived from the original on March 15, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Hall of Fame – Songs". Cyworld Digital Music. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009.
  22. ↑ "2008 Mnet Km Music Festival Winners | 2008 MKMF". Mwave. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  23. ↑ "2008 Mnet KM Music Festival Part1" Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. MAMA. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Song of the Month". Cyworld. 2008. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Billboard World Digital Songs: Chart Search". Billboard. March 10, 2012. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018.
  26. ↑ "8 top K-pop songs from 2008 (yeah, from 10 years ago)". SBS PopAsia. June 18, 2018. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Gaon Download Chart 2016 – Week 37". Gaon Chart.
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