Singer G-Dragon has made a comeback after a long silence with his new song ‘Power’, and is garnering curious attention from both inside and outside of K-pop for his ‘pop-friendly moves’, which are 180 degrees different from his previous moves.

G-Dragon released his first solo song, ‘Power’, on the 31st of last month in a whopping 7 years and 4 months and has been actively promoting it. In particular, he opened a new personal SNS account right before the release of his new song, and through it, he has been strongly expressing his will to actively communicate with the public by revealing his natural daily life that he had kept hidden until now.

A representative example is the surprise release of the entire ‘Power’ song through a live broadcast on the relevant SNS account a day before its official release. In addition, he has been making ‘Jung Hyung Don memes’ (pictures or short videos containing funny situations) popular among K-pop fandoms by continuously uploading posts comparing his emotions and situations to scenes with Jung Hyung Don from MBC‘s ‘Infinite Challenge’. He appeared as a guest on ‘Infinite Challenge’ in 2011, 2013, and 2015, and even earned the nickname ‘Jung Hyung Don sufferer’ while working with Jung Hyung Don.

In addition, he has shown up on entertainment and radio programs that he had not appeared on in the past 10 years, drawing explosive reactions from fans. Prior to the release of ‘Power’, he appeared on tvN’s ‘You Quiz on the Block’, hosted by his close friends, broadcasters Yoo Jae-suk and Jo Se-ho, and candidly revealed the process of working on the album. Also, on the 18th, he will appear on MBC FM4U‘s ‘Kim Eana’s Starry Night’, hosted by lyricist Kim Eana. It has been a full 12 years since he appeared on a talk show and radio program.

It has been revealed that G-Dragon‘s thirst for music has played a role in this ‘reckless pace’. He had previously said through behind-the-scenes footage of the music video filming process, “If the response is good, I will continue to come out. There are many good songs,” and “I made a comeback because I really wanted to do music,” conveying his change of heart regarding his activities.

It has been reported that he used ‘Power’ as a turning point to seek out different activities. He also looked for new directions by focusing on programs with stars he is close with, such as Yoo Jae-suk, lyricist Kim Eana, and Big Bang member Daesung. In addition, while leading discussions to showcase a group stage with the members of Big Bang at the ‘2024 MAMA Awards’ on the 23rd, they are also drawing up a ‘new blueprint’ for group activities.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com