"Loser"
Single by Big Bang
from the album Made
A-side"Bae Bae"
ReleasedMay 1, 2015 (2015-05-01)
Genre
Length3:39
LabelYG
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Teddy
  • Taeyang
Big Bang singles chronology
"Monster"
(2012)		 "Loser"
(2015)		 "Bae Bae"
(2015)

"Loser" is a song by South Korean boy band Big Bang. It was released on May 1, 2015, alongside "Bae Bae" as the group's fifth single album M, and as the first single of their third Korean-language studio album Made (2016). The single marked BigBang's first release since Still Alive (2012). Written by G-Dragon, T.O.P, Teddy and produced by Teddy alongside Taeyang, "Loser" has been described as a hip hop and R&B song.

"Loser" was a commercial success for the group. It debuted atop the Gaon Digital Chart, topping the chart for three consecutive weeks and finishing as the second best-performing song of 2015. Furthermore, it topped Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart and reached the charts in Finland and Japan.

Background

YG Entertainment announced the tracks of BigBang's "MADE Series: M" in the third teaser, including two singles, "Loser" and "Bae Bae".[1] Two of the four teasers D-1 to D-4 consist of song information, including credits for the tracks' composition. "Loser" was created within 2–3 months in late 2014 and early 2015.[2]

Composition and lyrics

"Loser" has been described as a melancholy hip hop and R&B song with a slow melody.[3] The song was composed using common time in the key of E♭ major, with a moderate tempo of 90 beats per minute. The vocals span from the lower octave of F4 to the two-lined higher note of B♭5.[4] Billboard compared the song with "the previously heard brilliance in songs like 'Bad Boy,' 'Lies' and 'Blue'," and highlighted how the track "stripped away all trendy elements for a straightforward, acoustic-leaning take on baring what lies deep in each of our consciousness."[5] The song's lyrics were noted to be "confessional," showing that even superstars have insecurities.[6] Standing out from other BigBang songs for not falling in the love song category, the lyrics described feelings of doubt and unhappiness that accompany the everyday life of a self-proclaimed loser,[7] while also detailing "unhappiness with one-night stands and forgetting the importance of love."[8] G-Dragon explained the meaning behind the lyrical-content, saying that "people who stand under the spotlight are just human beings," saying that all humans have their feelings hurt, but also the songs adept on all the situations, saying "however, we wanted to offer a [more universal] theme with this song, so we drew a bigger picture. Somebody may not have a friend and somebody may not have love, you know? Everyone lives in a different situation. Depending on how you accept it, this song could be your story."[9]

Reception

Commercial

"Loser" debuted atop the Gaon Digital Chart with two days of tracking, selling around 256,000 digital copies.[10][11] It topped the chart for two more weeks and finished as the month's best-performing song selling 770,000 digital copies.[10][12][13] It spent eight weeks in the top ten and left the chart after 24 weeks.[10] "Loser" finished as the second-best performing song of 2015, selling 1,505,163 digital units.[14][15]

"Loser" debuted on Billboard's "World Digital Songs" chart at number one on May 7.[16] The music video was the third most viewed K-pop video in the U.S. and around the world for the month of April, according to Billboard, with only two days worth of views.[17] The song also ranked third as the most popular Korean singles in 2015 in Taiwan by music streaming service KKBOX.[18]

"Loser" won a total on ten music program awards, breaking many records. On Inkigayo, "Loser" was awarded three times, breaking the tie with g.o.d, making BigBang the artist with the most songs that achieved a Triple Crown on Inkigayo. It also achieved one of the highest scores of all time on the program. On M Countdown, it became the eighth highest score in all time at the time.

Critical

"Loser" received critical acclaim upon release. The song was chosen by fuse as one of the best songs of 2015, the only non-English song on the list. The channel claimed that the track "moves you regardless of what language you speak."[19] Billboard named "Loser" the best K-pop song of 2015, saying that the single "proved that a subtle take on all the things that make a group unique can speak so much louder" and concluding that "such an impassioned performance has you hooked from first listen."[5] The magazine also called "Loser" the group's sixth essential song in honor of their tenth anniversary.[7] Sun-Times included "Loser" in their unranked list of ten best BigBang songs.[20] Consequence of Sound chose the song as one of the 10 most popular songs of 2015 that weren't in English.[21] "Loser" won Best Pop Song at the 2016 edition of the critics given Korean Music Awards.

Music video

The music video was directed by Han Sa Min, who previously directed "Blue," "Bad Boy," "Monster," and "Love Song." BigBang started filming secretly in Los Angeles between April 2, and April 8, 2015.[22]

The music video has a story line for each member. G-Dragon starts his scenes in a lift, revealing a neck tattoo that reads Truth + Dare. He walks the streets alone, feeling isolated from the world, having forgotten what love feels like. Taeyang has a personal fight with his faith, holds a cross with the sentence "Sin will find you" written on it. In the end he apparently commits suicide and the cross breaks apart leaving the words "Sin will find you." Seungri has problems controlling his anger, kicking a car and destroying his room after seeing the girl that he loved with someone else. He repeatedly tries to call her, but to no avail. T.O.P cannot commit to one relationship. He doesn't accept them, and he seems to have no control over anything which leads him to kill the women that he had an affair with. Daesung gets attacked by a group of men. He tries to defend himself but can't and ends up covered in blood, helpless, and unable to stand. The music video showed a darker side that has never been seen in BigBang's music videos. In the end of the music video, all 5 members of the group were seen walking together away from the city.[23][24]

On YouTube, "Loser" became the most viewed Kpop group video within 24 hours, with 4.5 million views. After two months, "Loser" became the second most viewed Kpop video of 2015. After a few days, it became the first, later being surpassed by BigBang's own "Bang Bang Bang."[25][26] The video reached 100 million views on the same site in June 2016.[27]

Covers

Due to the song's popularity, it's been covered by many artists, including the vocal band Tritops, who released theirs on April 30.[28] Epik High and F.T. Island's Choi Jong-hoon released covers via Instagram.[29] On May 8, B.A.P's Jung Dae-hyun, released a cover on YouTube.[30] Jun Sung Ahn also had made a violin cover of "Loser".[31] Akdong Musician covered the song on Weekly Idol.[32] Bambam, Choi Youngjae, and Kim Yugyeom also covered the song on KBS CoolFM.

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Loser"
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2016 Golden Disc Awards Digital Bonsang Won [33]
Digital Daesang Won
Global Fan's Choice Nominated
Korean Music Awards Best Pop Song Won [34]
Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards Song of the Year – May Won [35]
Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award Ten Best Digital Releases Won [36]
Music program awards (10 total)
Program Date Ref.
Show! Music Core May 9, 2015 [37]
May 16, 2015 [38]
Inkigayo May 10, 2015 [39]
May 17, 2015 [40]
May 24, 2015 [41]
M Countdown May 14, 2015 [42]
May 21, 2015 [41]
Music Bank May 15, 2015 [41]
May 22, 2015 [41]
Show Champion May 20, 2015 [43]
Melon Weekly Popularity Award
Award Date Ref.
Weekly Popularity Award May 11, 2015 [44]
[45]
May 18, 2015
May 25, 2015
July 1, 2015
July 8, 2015

Charts

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Loser"
Region Date Language Format Label
South Korea May 1, 2015 Korean YG Entertainment
Various
Japan May 27, 2015 YGEX[54]
February 3, 2016 Japanese

References

  1. ↑ "BIGBANG – MADE SERIES [M]". YGLife. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  2. ↑ 빅뱅 "YG와 10년 더? 양사장님 울타리 돼준다면" [Big Bang "10 more years with YG? If it would be a fence for both bosses"]. Star News (in Korean). May 4, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (April 28, 2015). "Bigbang Preview New Singles 'Loser' & 'Bae Bae' at Seoul Concert, Preparing 'Made' Album". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Big Bang "Loser" Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "THE 20 BEST K-POP SONGS OF 2015". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Review: MADE – Big Bang". The Straits Times. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "BIGBANG 10 must listen songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff. "BIGBANG Are at Their Emotional and Sexual Peaks in New 'Loser' and 'Bae Bae' Videos". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  9. ↑ "G-Dragon Explains The Meaning Behind Big Bang Single 'Loser': 'People who stand under the spotlight are just human beings'". Kpop Starz. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 차트 순위 검색: Loser [Chart Search: Loser]. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  11. ↑ 2015년 19주차 Download Chart [Week 19 of 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  12. ↑ 2015년 05월 Digital Chart [May 2015 Digital Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  13. ↑ 2015년 05월 Download Chart [May 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  14. ↑ 2015년 Digital Chart [2015 Digital Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  15. ↑ 2015년 Download Chart [2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Big Bang's 'Loser' & 'Bae Bae' debut at No. 1 & 2 on Billboard's 'World Digital Songs' chart". Allkpop. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Most Viewed K-Pop Videos in America & Around the World: April 2015". Billboard K-Town. Billboard. May 6, 2015.
  18. ↑ "2015韓語年度單曲/專輯榜TOP 20 (in Chinese)". KKbox Taiwan. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  19. ↑ "THE 20 BEST SONGS OF 2015". fuse. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ Graves, Wren (December 29, 2015). "The 10 Most Popular Songs of 2015 That Weren't in English". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  22. ↑ "빅뱅, 美 LA서 신곡 뮤비 촬영중…태양 휠체어 탄 모습 포착". Naver. April 10, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Big Bang Show Their Insecurities In "Loser"". seoulbeats. May 5, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Big Bang Members Release Individual Storyline Clips From 'Loser' Music Video". Kpop Starz. May 25, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Big Bang, EXO Top YouTube's K-Pop Rankings For 1st Half of 2015". Kpop Starz. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Watch K-Pop Big Bang Band 2015 Music Hits 'Loser' and 'Bae Bae' on YouTube". classicalite.com. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  27. ↑ "BIGBANG's "Loser" MV Hits 100 Million Views On YouTube". Soompi. June 13, 2015.
  28. ↑ "TRITOPS puts an a cappella twist on BIGBANG's "Loser"". koreaboo.com. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Epik High covers BIGBANG's "Loser" with hilarious high notes". koreaboo.com. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  30. ↑ "BAP's Daehyun covers BIGBANG's "Loser"". [sbs.com.au SBS Pop Asia]. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  31. ↑ "PRAY + Loser". YouTube. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Watch: Akdong Musician Covers BIGBANG's "Loser" With Witty Self-Diss Lyrics". soompi. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  33. ↑ "History". Golden Disc Awards (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  34. ↑ "KMA2016: Nominees for 13th Korean Music Awards". February 28, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Winners of the 5th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards". Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Hong Kong Digital Music Award Presented – 2016". IFPI. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  37. ↑ "'음악중심' 빅뱅, 'LOSER'로 1위…무대 출연 없이도 대세 증명". XportsNews (in Korean). Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  38. ↑ "'음악중심' 빅뱅, '루저'로 출연없이 2주 연속 1위..벌써 5관왕". Ten Asia (in Korean). Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  39. ↑ "'인기가요' 빅뱅 '루저', 빅뱅 '배배' 누르고 1위 (종합)". JTBC News (in Korean). Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  40. ↑ "[영상]'인기가요' 빅뱅, 음악팬 가슴 울리는 '루저'". SBS News (in Korean). May 17, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  41. 1 2 3 4 "'인기가요' 빅뱅 루저, 3주 연속 1위 'GD-탑 불참'…총 10관왕 기록". Sports Chosun (in Korean). May 24, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  42. ↑ "'엠카운트다운' 빅뱅, 1위 차지···'음중'·'인가'이어 3관왕". News Way (in Korean). Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  43. ↑ "'쇼챔' 빅뱅, '루저'로 챔피언송 수상.. 거침없는 1위 행진". Ten Asia (in Korean). Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  44. ↑ 길혜성 (June 18, 2015). "빅뱅, 6주 연속 주간인기상...감사 인증샷 공개" (in Korean). isplus.live.joins.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  45. ↑ Jackie Chung (June 18, 2015). "Big Bang Receives The Popularity Award For Five Consecutive Weeks On MelOn Music Chart". kpopstarz.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  46. ↑ "Suomen Virallinen Lista" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  47. ↑ "Billboard's Japan Hot 100, week June 13, 2015". Billboard. June 6, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  48. ↑ "Digital Chart Week 19". Gaon Chart. Gaon Chart. May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  49. ↑ "Official Independent Singles Breakers Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. May 3–9, 2015.
  50. ↑ "Billboard's World Digital Singles Chart: Singles". Billboard. May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  51. ↑ "Monthly Digital Chart – May". Gaon Chart. Gaon Chart. June 8, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  52. ↑ "Yearly Digital Chart – 2015". Gaon Chart. Gaon Chart. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  53. ↑ "World Digital Song Sales – 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  54. ↑ "全世界を席巻中!! BIGBANG3年ぶりのカムバックシングル5/27(水)日本配信リリース決定!!". YGEX. May 8, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
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