Resembling a white night, Taeyang captivated his audience with elaborate vocals and a stage presence that alternates between that of a grown man and a young boy. This is Taeyang, a member of the Korean Pop group BIGBANG which has set numerous best selling records for albums and concerts globally.
His unique R&B voice is easily identifiable in BIGBANG songs which are a mix of electro and pop, often known for being experimental but catchy. With a successful record of solo sings and EPs, he came to San Jose to promote his latest album, White Night.
Starting the night off with “Ringa Linga,” a hip-hop influenced high energy track that had the crowd howling, many who have been fans since his debut in 2006. The flashing red and white lights of the stage bounced off his white hair as he followed up with back to back songs “BODY,” “Superstar,” and “Wake Me Up.”
Taking a moment for a break, Taeyang impressed the crowd with his fluency in English, and talked about how everything goes back to BIGBANG, his family, and the most important people in house today, the audience. He also discussed how he had taken part in co-writing the songs in his latest album, moving more into the production and music composition scene, a departure from that of a standard Korean idol mold.
With the theme of this tour being “WHITE NIGHT,” his latest album, he continued the concert with some nostalgic throwbacks such as “Only Look at Me” and “Wedding Dress,” unarguably one of the most popular Korean singles in 2010, taking me and many audience members back to middle and high school prom slow dances. Unfortunately during former, Taeyang injured himself when the microphone flew off the mic stand, causing him to have a nosebleed on stage. Nevertheless, he laughed it off and continued on with his set. Dropping some more slow songs to show off his vocals, Taeyang seamlessly flowed from “AMAZIN’” to “1 AM”, “NAKED”, and “SO GOOD.”
Disappearing from the stage, he then returns with an acoustic rendition of “I Need A Girl,” another blast to past in which the audience joined in for the chorus “Girl, I need a girl ~”. Moving towards the second half of the concert, Taeyang emotionally announced how he will be transitioning into Korea’s mandatory military enlistment and this would be the last time he will be able to sing and dance in front of his fans for several years. Bringing the energetic mood back to the stadium, he started the music up again with “Empty Road,” “Ride,” “Tonight,” and “Love You to Death” before disappearing once again behind the smoke and curtains.
Returning in front of a piano, he slowly and emotionally began with BIGBANG’s “Last Dance” before finishing the night off with “Darling”…. At least that’s what the fans thought.
Returning to stage with a Golden State Warriors jersey, he was determined to give the fans a night to remember by immediately jumping into “Good Boy,” a hip-hop EDM track in collaboration with G-Dragon. Transitioning into “Stay With Me” and “Bang Bang Bang,” the energy in the City National Civic only grew in preparation for “Fantastic Baby.” Finally, Taeyang wrapped up the San Jose tour stop with his viral hit, “Eyes, Nose Lips.” Taeyang’s White Night tour was night of both old and new songs to celebrate his legacy as an artist and served as a statement that both BIGBANG and Taeyang are here to stay, for five, ten, or even 50 years in the future.
