TAEYANG

Taeyang Biography by Fred Thomas Solar Born Dong Young-Bae and taking the stage name Taeyang, this K-Pop superstar began training in dance, vocal coaching, and other elements of performance at age 12 before making his debut as part of boy band Big Bang in 2006. Big Bang would grow to enormous acclaim and Taeyang would eventually branch out into acting, modeling, and a fruitful solo career. A solo EP titled Hot appeared in 2008, paving the way for full-length Solar in 2010. Initially, Taeyang's smart, hip-hop-flavored pop material didn't turn as many heads as the similarly minded boy band sounds of his better-known parent band, but his 2014 solo outing, Rise, bested their chart stats, debuting at number one on Billboard's World Album charts. The album also broke through on the American charts, making Taeyang the highest-charting Korean male artist of his time. After two years of touring and collaborating with bandmate G-Dragon, Taeyang returned with his third full-length, White Night. The album topped the Billboard World Album chart once again and featured the singles "Darling" and "Wake Me Up."