Before BTS and Blackpink, there was Big Bang. Now the Kings of K-pop are back

Before BTS and Blackpink, there was Big Bang. Now the Kings of K-pop are back

A wave of glowing yellow crowns. Thousands of voices singing in Korean.

Then the opening synth riffs of Fantastic Baby burst through the stadium air in an explosive rush of energy. Big Bang is back.

Fourteen years after their first major European performances, and after a decade shaped by military service, member departures and legal scandals, the South Korean group performed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday as part of their 20th anniversary world tour.

Inside the almost full venue, the audience did more than attend a concert; they became part of a major moment in K-pop history.

As the band appeared in their signature high-fashion, sparkling outfits, the crowd danced freely, creating an atmosphere that felt less like a standard tour stop and more like a homecoming.

For fans, it was a long-awaited reunion. But Big Bang’s return matters for more than nostalgia.

Long before BTS were selling out Wembley Stadium and Blackpink were headlining Hyde Park, Big Bang were already showing that Korean pop could break through far beyond Asia.

The group filled arenas across the West, worked with major American artists, experimented with hip-hop and electronic music, and made their own fashion and creative identities part of their appeal.

Having been at their European debut at Wembley Arena in 2012, the change in mood on Saturday was striking.

Where their first UK shows were driven by a need to prove themselves and promote a new album, this comeback as a trio, made up of G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung, felt designed entirely for their devoted community.

By reworking classic tracks and smartly remixing songs to fit absent members, the group leaned on pyrotechnics, their trademark live band and pure stage presence rather than elaborate production.

The outcome was a reunion that felt celebratory, grounded and playful.

In 2011, Big Bang became the first K-pop group to win a major Western music award when they received the newly created Worldwide Act prize at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

When they made their European debut at Wembley Arena in December 2012, a second show was added after the first sold out in under two hours.

They were leading a pioneering generation that showed global crossover was truly possible.

Then in 2016, Forbes estimated Big Bang had earned $44m (£33.2m) over the previous year, making them the first K-pop act to appear on its Celebrity 100 List.

"When it comes to the global market for K-pop, there is no doubt Big Bang made a huge contribution," says Dr Haekyung Um, senior lecturer in music at the University of Liverpool.

"Earlier acts were popular within Asian markets, but Big Bang were true international stars. I would call them the Kings of K-pop, just as we call Michael Jackson the King of Pop," Um adds.

"Big Bang's success really was an early signal of how successful a K-pop stadium tour in the West could truly be."

Before Big Bang, K-pop groups were often seen as heavily manufactured by entertainment agencies.

But music critics say Big Bang broke that mould. They wrote and produced their own songs, shaped their own streetwear image and mixed genres ranging from hip-hop and R&B to trot, a traditional South Korean folk genre.

For many in the audience on Saturday, the show felt like a direct lesson in K-pop’s history - a chance to see "the idols' idols" perform live.

"They were different because they didn't follow the uniform K-pop cookie-cutter pretty boy phase," explains Sharon, who was visiting London from Singapore.

"They went harder on their music, a bit more hip-hop. They did what they had to do, and they are the absolute OGs for me."

That difference set them apart across Asia and helped create the blueprint for modern self-produced acts such as BTS.

And then there is the yellow crown. At Big Bang concerts, the group’s crown-shaped lightstick, known as the Bang Bong, is impossible to miss.

In early K-pop, fans supported artists by waving coloured balloons or generic glow sticks.

But in search of a distinct, permanent identity for their fandom, known as "VIPs", band leader G-Dragon proposed a handheld yellow crown, establishing the model for custom concert merchandise.

"Fan engagement and coordinated chants have deep roots in Korean music history," explains Um. "But Big Bang helped modernise the physical technology."

The Bang Bong created a template for custom-designed fandom lightsticks and merchandise that modern K-pop groups now use.

Outside the venue, that same fan-driven energy spilled into the streets, with attendees exchanging handmade gifts and photo cards - a ritual that has spread to Western arena tours in recent years.

Volunteer fan groups handed out roughly 35,000 custom-printed banners across the stadium, organising a huge crowd-wide salute to be raised together during selected performances.

Big Bang’s story, however, is far from a simple success tale.

South Korea requires able-bodied men to complete mandatory military service, and Big Bang’s members served at different times during the group’s hiatus.

Then came the scandals.

In 2017, former band member T.O.P was convicted of marijuana use, an offence heavily criminalised and socially taboo in South Korea, and received a suspended prison sentence while serving his mandatory military duty. He later formally left the group.

Then in 2019, the group’s youngest member, Seungri, permanently retired from entertainment amid the "Burning Sun" scandal.

It was a high-profile police investigation into a Seoul nightclub of the same name that uncovered a network of sex trafficking, bribery, and illicit filming involving several male K-pop stars.

South Korea’s Supreme Court later upheld an 18-month prison sentence for Seungri in 2022 on charges including prostitution mediation, overseas gambling, and embezzlement.

Although the band did not openly address the departure of two former members from the stage, their absence was clear to long-time fans in the crowd.

Still, it did not matter to fans like Annie, who flew from New York to see the show with friends. She said Big Bang’s ability to endure hardship made their music mean even more.

"Big Bang was my starter," she says. "I love how they move through the obstacles - it gives me hope. After years of hiatus, it's amazing they're coming back. They are the OGs."

The crowd roared as the opening chant of Bang Bang Bang rang out before the band even appeared, while their iconic 2008 ballad Haru Haru sparked a huge stadium-wide singalong.

The K-pop industry Big Bang helped build has changed almost beyond recognition.

Yet their return has attracted a striking mix of original second-generation fans and younger Gen Z listeners who were barely born when the group debuted.

While many veteran followers grew up with the band, a whole new generation found them through digital archives or cross-media appearances.

Gemma and her daughter Casey travelled from Edinburgh wearing handmade custom jackets.

"I found out about them through T.O.P in Squid Game and then fell down a rabbit hole," Gemma says. "I've converted so many of my friends to K-pop now. It's all about the energy."

For Korean diaspora fans, the concert carried an even deeper cultural meaning.

"I got into Big Bang when their Alive EP (in 2012) was released because I felt they were quite ground-breaking," says Kevin.

"Before, I felt there was a lot of mimicking by Korean artists on what was happening in the West, but here they took full ownership of their unique identity. It's very rare in K-pop that you have a band around for 20 years, and they definitely played a part in making K-pop mainstream."

Much of this cross-generational appeal is driven by archival concert footage, TV appearances, and classic music videos circulating across social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

"Nostalgia can be built upon something people didn't even experience personally at the time," notes Um.

"It comes through shared digital memory. YG Entertainment was early in leveraging digital platforms like YouTube, which built a lasting global fan foundation that has accumulated across two generations."

While the band did not directly discuss their past on stage, the emotional weight of their history peaked during the finale Still Life.

As T.O.P's unmistakable baritone echoed through the stadium via recorded vocals, a visible wave of emotion moved through the crowd.

Speaking to the venue during the encore, G-Dragon appeared clearly moved, admitting they never expected their music to leave such an enduring global mark 14 years after their London debut.

As fireworks lit up the night sky, the three members joined hands and bowed deeply - a triumphant moment for the group widely credited with helping reshape modern K-pop.