Heartbreaker is the debut studio album by South Korean rapperG-Dragon.[1] The album's chart-topping single "Heartbreaker" became one of the best selling singles in South Korea of all time, having sold over 4 million copies since its release.[2]
Although initially scheduled to be released in April, the release date was pushed back to August to coincide with his 21st birthday.[3][4] G-Dragon collaborated with several YG labelmates, includingTeddy Park of1TYM, bandmateTaeyang, andCL andDara of2NE1. The lead single "Heartbreaker" landed at number-one on multiple charts, including the Mnet andMelon Music chart, while "Breathe" was ranked in the Top 20.[1] "A Boy" described the personal struggles he went through as he started in the entertainment industry at the age of 6, eventually becoming a trainee atYG Entertainment when he was 12.[5] "The Leaders", which featured Teddy and CL, referencedGirls' Generation's song "Gee",Kim Kyu Jong (ofSS501)'s "Wuss Up", and 2NE1's "I Don't Care".
G-Dragon was accused of plagiarism bySony Music, as his tracks "Heartbreaker" and "Butterfly" were thought to be similar toFlo Rida's "Right Round" andOasis's "She's Electric", respectively.[6][7]EMI, who also owned the rights to "Right Round" stated they saw no similarities between the two songs.[8] In response, Sony Korea denied G-Dragon the ability to promote the track any further without paying reparations. On September 21, 2009,Sisa Magazine, a news program onMBC, stated that officials from Sony reportedly sent YG Entertainment warning letters about plagiarism. Sony's legal representative stated, "It was a hard decision for the music critics." However, they decided that there were similarities and accordingly issued a warning letter to the production company and composers. However,YG Entertainment claimed nothing had been decided or legally determined and that the "letter" which YG received from Sony was not considered legal action; they also stated they have not received a direct response from the American publishers regarding the matter.[9] On March 6, 2010, YG Entertainment announced that they personally contacted Flo Rida's representatives and that he will appear as a featured artist in a new version of "Heartbreaker", to be released as a bonus track on G-Dragon's concert albumShine a Light. On May 22, G-Dragon appeared as a special guest at Flo Rida's concert in Korea and performed the new version of "Heartbreaker".[10][11]
^Lee, Jae-hoon (May 22, 2010)."'강력마약' 플로라이다, 지드래곤 떠올릴 여유×" ['Powerful Drug' Flora, I Can Afford to Think of G-Dragon×].Newsis (in Korean).Seoul.Archived from the original on December 10, 2024. RetrievedDecember 10, 2024 – viaNaver.
