K-pop star Taeyang embraces authenticity and reinvention on comeback solo album Quintessence

SEOUL – South Korean singer-songwriter Taeyang is entering one of the most significant years of his career.

As K-pop boy band BigBang, which he is a part of, celebrate their 20th anniversary, the 38-year-old returns with his first solo album in nearly a decade.

After kicking off 2026 with BigBang’s appearance at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, in April, Taeyang released his fourth studio album Quintessence on May 18, the same day as his birthday.

As both a BigBang member and solo artiste returning to music after a hiatus, Taeyang said he spent nearly a year working on the album while trying to balance familiarity with new artistic challenges.

“Since this year marks BigBang’s 20th anniversary, the most important thing for me when I started working on this album was figuring out what felt the most like myself while also being something new,” Taeyang said during a listening party in Seoul on May 18.

“Over the past 20 years, I have already tried so many different things, so it was difficult. I kept asking myself what kind of new challenge I could take on at this point.”

Taeyang said the words that guided him at the beginning of the project were “essence” and “quintessence”, which naturally led the album to explore the process of searching for one’s true core identity.

Signs of experimentation appear throughout the 10-track album, the follow-up to 2017’s White Night. While Taeyang previously worked mostly with in-house producers at his agency The Black Label, he collaborated with a wider range of outside producers for this project.

Opening track Bad was created with American production team The Stereotypes. Taeyang described the song as a darker, performance-driven track reminiscent of earlier solo releases such as Where U At (2009).

“The title is Bad, but throughout the song it says ‘still bad’, meaning I am still the same,” he said. “Usually that phrase sounds like bragging, but for me, the lyrics are about the path I have walked, the things I have fought against and the life I have lived.”

The album’s main track, Live Fast Die Slow, is the fastest-tempo song Taeyang has released in his career. It reflects his determination to continue moving at his own pace despite living in a rapidly changing era.

“While writing the lyrics, I thought this was the song that explains Taeyang the best,” he said. “And during my solo tour two years ago, I realised my next album needed a faster song.”

The third track, Would You, has drawn attention from K-pop fans for featuring Tarzzan and Woochan, members of South Korean group AllDay Project.

“Watching AllDay Project debut reminded me a lot of BigBang’s own debut days,” Taeyang said. “I thought it would be great to work together, and I felt their rap verses could bring the youthful texture and freshness that BigBang once had.”

Former The Black Label labelmate Tablo of South Korean hip-hop trio Epik High also participated as a lyricist on three songs: Movie, Open Up and G.O.A.T.

Taeyang revealed that Movie was the only track on the album for which he did not participate in writing lyrics.

“Usually, I have a specific direction in mind and make many revisions, but Tablo’s lyrics for Movie were already perfect,” he said. “I recorded it almost immediately without making changes.”

Towards the end of the album process, Taeyang said he came to realise that essence cannot be defined with a single word.

“When we talk about things like freedom or love, so many different elements come together to create those meanings,” he said. “I realised what matters is the attitude with which I pursue those values. Even if I feel like I have found the answer, it is not something I can simply define.” THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK