Big Bang’s Taeyang 112th on Billboard 200 with album “Rise”

Taeyang, a member of K-pop band Big Bang, landed on the Billboard 200 chart on Friday with his new album “Rise.”

“Rise” placed No. 112 on the chart, surpassing all the Korean male singers who have made it to the chart before him. Earlier, “Overdose” by the subunit of idol group EXO, EXO-K, was No. 129, the previous highest ranking for a Korean singer.

Taeyang also placed first on both the Billboard World Albums Chart, which ranks albums in terms of sales in non-English speaking regions, and on the Heatseekers Albums Chart, which lists the albums of relatively new singers.
The best record for the Billboard Hot 100, a weekly updated chart for singles, is possessed by Psy, whose “Gangnam Style” ranked No. 2 for seven consecutive weeks.

“Rise” is the second full-length album by Taeyang released in South Korea on June 2, four years after his first “Solar” in July 2010. The album’s title track is “Eyes, Nose, Lips,” an R&B song jointly produced by YG’s main producers TEDDY and DEE.P.  The track became an instant hit after its release by topping 10 national music charts in Korea. The music video received high marks as 6 million viewers have watched it on YouTube so far.

By Ahn Sung-mi(sahn@heraldcorp.com)