G-Dragon’s Unique ‘Kwon Ji Yong’ Album Sparks Debate; Critics Claim Big Bang Leader’s USB Album Not Official
With G-Dragon's new album "Kwon Ji Yong" quickly becoming one of the said Kpop idol's successful projects, the Big Bang leader's new music endeavor recently sparked a debate among experts in the South Korean entertainment industry. Various local charts have expressed conflicting opinions on whether they will include the said album and its sales record in their weekly album's list given its USB format.
When G-Dragon launched his new album "Kwon Ji Yong," the Big Bang leader made a music industry record in South Korea by releasing a USB that contained links with special download keys to the said album's songs. Unlike other albums that featured a CD release, the Kpop idol utilized a different strategy on how he could bring his new songs to avid South Korean fans.
However, the said music gamble had various local charts debating whether "Kwon Ji Yong" can be considered an album. Despite an earlier pronouncement by the Korea Music Content Association that deemed G-Dragon's album as official, there have been a few music charts that refused to include the Big Bang leader's new USB album and its sales numbers in their weekly album lists such as Gaon Chart, All Kpop reported.
Known as the reference chart listing of several music shows, the absence of G-Dragon's new album "Kwon Ji Yong" on the Gaon Chart is expected to impact its ranking on TV programs such as "Inkigayo" and "Show! Music Core." However, avid fans can look forward to seeing the market progress of the Big Bang leader's new album through the shows "Music Bank" and "M Countdown" that utilizes numbers from Hanteo's chart.
In other news, G-Dragon's album recently achieved several impressive milestones on various Billboard charts. Just one day after its release, "Kwon Ji Yong" entered the Billboard 200 at number 192 and even nabbed the top spots on the World Albums and Heatseekers Albums charts.
Meanwhile, G-Dragon's recent Billboard 200 achievement marked the third time that the Big Bang leader's solo album ranked on the said chart. The Kpop idol first entered the said album list as a solo artist in 2012 with the singer's "One of a Kind" album, followed by his 2013 album "Coup D'etat, Pt. 1," according to Billboard.
G-Dragon dropped his fourth solo album "Kwon Ji Yong" on June 8, Thursday. Watch the music video for the Big Bang leader's new track "Untitled, 2014" below:
