"Fantastic Baby" is a song recorded by South Koreanboy bandBig Bang. It was released as asingle fordigital download andstreaming byYG Entertainment on February 29, 2012, in conjunction with the release of the band's fourthextended play (EP),Alive (2012). The song was written by membersT.O.P,G-Dragon and long-time group collaboratorTeddy Park, whilst production and composition was handled by the latter two contributors. A boisterous, sonic and dynamicEDM track, "Fantastic Baby" incorporates a multitude ofhooks and catchphrases—most notably "Wow, fantastic baby" and "boom shakalaka".
"Fantastic Baby" was well received bymusic critics, withRolling Stone andBillboard magazines naming it one of the greatest boy band songs of all-time. The song has also been recognized byBillboard as "one of the biggest K-pop hits ever", and was hailed as a highlight in the spread of theKorean wave around the world byThe Smithsonian in 2013. The song was a commercial success, peaking at number three on both theGaon Digital Chart and theBillboardWorld Digital Songs chart while placing within the top 10 on theBillboard Japan Hot 100.
Selling more than 4 million digital units in the band's native country by 2016, "Fantastic Baby" became one of thebest-selling singles in South Korea. Additionally, the song sold 3 million units across China and Japan, and was certified double platinum by theRecording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in August 2015. The accompanyingmusic video, directed by Seo Hyun-seung, was released on March 7, 2012 and became the first music video by a K-pop group to surpass 200 and 300 million views onYouTube.
On January 25, 2012, YG Entertainment unveiled a teaser photo on their blog YG Life with the word "Alive", sparking curiosity among fans. Two days later, the first two tracks of their then-upcoming release were exhibited, and were followed by additional teasers revealing the rest of the tracklist in increments, revealing a mini-album.[1] On February 7, the agency officially confirmed that BigBang would release their fifth Korean-language mini-album, titledAlive, on February 29. In addition, it was announced that the group would embark on their first worldwide concert tour, given the title "Alive Tour 2012" in Seoul from March 2 to 4, 2012, and would see shows in several different continents around the world.[2] On February 16, it was revealed that "Fantastic Baby" would serve as one of the title tracks for the album.[3] On February 29, 2012, the song was officially released fordigital download andstreaming in conjunction with the release ofAlive.[4] It was written and produced by both memberG-Dragon and YG Entertainment collaboratorTeddy Park, with additional rap lyrics written by memberT.O.P.[5] A Japanese-language version was released as part of the band's fourth Japanese studio album of thesame name on March 28, 2012 throughYGEX, with the lyrics translated byM-Flo memberVerbal.[6] It was later added to the band's Japanesegreatest hits albumThe Best of Big Bang 2006–2014 in November 2014.[7]
A 21-second sample of "Fantastic Baby", which has been described as an anarchic, sonic, and vibrantEDM,hip hop,electropop, andhip house track, complete with a multitude of catchphrases—"Wow, fantastic baby", "I wanna da-da-da-da-dance", and "boom shakalaka".[8][9][10]
Musically, "Fantastic Baby" has been described as anEDM track that features a "boisterous" and "genre-blending sound".[8] TheInternational Business Times referred to the song's composition as a "beautiful blend of electropop and EDM-laced with an anarchistic theme."[5] Composed in thekey ofD minor, the song carries atempo of 130 beats per minute, and has a runtime of 3:52.[11] "Fantastic Baby" incorporates "bright digital thumps and soaringsynth wails" with infectioushooks such as "Wow, fantastic baby", "I wanna da-da-da-da-dance" and "boom shakalaka" to create a vibrant, sonic and dynamic electronic and hip hop track.[9] Tamar Herman ofBillboard magazine contrasted the song's musicality from much of the band's previous works, which consisted of mainly old-schoolR&B and hip-hop hits which have gradually evolved into more sentimental numbers and upbeat dance tunes, and referred to "Fantastic Baby" as a "new era that poised the group as one of Korea’s most ambitious acts".[10]NME compared the song's signature catchphrase "boom shakalaka" to music that of 1960s bandSly and the Family Stone.[12]
The song was met with general acclaim frommusic critics. Kaitlin Miller from theChicago Sun-Times called the track one of BigBang's best songs, hailing it a "quintessentialK-pop song" for being able to reach a widespread international audience.[13] Writing about the influence of "Fantastic Baby", Tamar Herman fromBillboard magazine recognized the track as the first to cross international boundaries with its "then-groundbreaking EDM style", and noted its exhilarating and creative flair; Herman also praised the song for being "nothing short of fantastic."[8][10] The publication also ranked "Fantastic Baby" number 27 on their 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time list, stating that the "anarchic hip-house track raised the bar for the genre, overflowing with vibrancy as it bounces between sonic styles."[9]
Rolling Stone ranked "Fantastic Baby" number 31 in their list of 75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time, writing: "This instantly accessible single from K-Pop phenomenon Big Bang blew off many doors of American crossover with little effort on the band's part." The publication further labeled the song as a "modern-day essential" for showcasing "K-pop's genre-bending, visually-oriented charms."[14] In October 2013,Smithsonian Music recognized "Fantastic Baby" as one of the highlights in the spread of theKorean Wave around the world, along with "Sorry, Sorry" bySuper Junior, "Gangnam Style" byPsy, and "I Am the Best" by2NE1, among others.[15] InMelon and newspaperSeoul Shinmun's list of top 100 K-pop songs of all time, 35 Korean music critics and industry experts ranked "Fantastic Baby" at number 24, with KBS Radio director Soyeon Kang stating that the "unconventional fashion, intense music video, and a hot theme of breaking the mold" conveyed freedom of expression and divergence from the basic beliefs of society, while at the same time keeping its "musical attractiveness". Kang added that the song served as "a kind of turning point in the history of Big Bang and K-pop": "Both the music and philosophy of the song were ahead of their time".[16]
Four days after the EP's release, the song debuted at number four in theGaon Digital Chart, charting behind BigBang's other songs "Blue," "Bad Boy", and "Love Dust", and sold 450,021 digital units.[33][34] The following week, the song rose to number three, selling an additional 362,298 copies.[35][36] The song was subsequently ranked as the second best-selling song of March 2012 in South Korea, reaching 1,229,518 downloads,[37] and ranked number one on the monthly digital chart.[38] On theBillboardK-pop Hot 100, the song entered at number five in the chart issue dated March 17, 2012.[39] The following week, the song rose to its peak of number two, and charted for 17 additional weeks.[40] By the end of the year, "Fantastic Baby" was ranked as the fifth best-selling and sixth most streamed single of 2012 in South Korea, with 3,339,871 digital units sold and over 30 million streams.[41][42] As of September 2016, "Fantastic Baby" had accumulated over 4 million digital downloads in the country, becoming the best-selling boy group song onGaon Music Chart.[43]
In Japan, the single was certified gold by theRecording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for PC downloads in September 2012.[44] In December 2013, the song was certified platinum—having sold more than 250,000 units[45]—and was further certified double platinum by the RIAJ in Japan for total digital sales of over 500,000 units in August 2015.[46] The single went on to peak at number 8 on theBillboard Japan Hot 100 in the week of February 19, 2016, after spending over 75 weeks on the chart.[47] Elsewhere, in China, the single sold over 2.5 million digital units on Chinese music streaming and download serviceKuGou.[48] In the United States, the song peaked at number three on theBillboardWorld Digital Song Sales chart in the week of March 23, 2012.[49] On its year-end issue for 2012, "Fantastic Baby" was ranked the sixth best-selling international/foreign language song in the US,[50] and was further ranked number 11 and number 24 on the 2013 and 2014 year-end issues, respectively.[51][52] As of February 2021, "Fantastic Baby" is the third-longest charting K-pop song on the World Digital Song Sales–following Psy's "Gangnam Style" (2012) and "Dope" (2015) byBTS–spending over 130 weeks on the chart.[53]
A still from themusic video, displaying the five members being crowned kings upon thrones.
The music video for "Fantastic Baby" was uploaded to BigBang's officialYouTube channel on March 7, 2012,[10] and was directed by Seo Hyun-seung.[54] The video was described as a "visual stunner",[55] and captures the fight for freedom from oppression.[56] The members are seen wearing futuristic helmets, metal shoulder embellishments and jewelled crowns, among other accessories, while sporting dark make-up.[56] The background dancers act as "rebels colliding with oppressors", wearing masks, spraying wires and waves of smoke around sets containing wreckage, while dancingsaja-nori (the Korean lion dance).[55][56] BigBang released a Japanese version of the music video focused on the band's scenes while they are in a warehouse setting. Some individual scenes were removed and there are noextras in this version.[57]
The music video begins with scenes depicting a revolution, with the black-masked people representing those who capitalized on past controversies and tried to discourage, discredit and ultimately disband BigBang, whereas the white-masked people symbolize the V.I.P.s, the band's fans, who continue to defend and protect them despite everything.[58] In the video, three frames of T.O.P. wearing a variety of outfits reminiscent of historical revolutionary figures such asGeorge Washington andNapoleon Bonaparte are featured, which serves to represent BigBang's status as K-pop's musical revolutionaries. Daesung is also shown to be bound in chains, representing the emotional turmoil he went through following a car accident that he was involved in a year prior.[59] The images of a frozenTaeyang, a scarredSeungri, and a seemingly silenced G-Dragon, portray the number of publicity blows the members have faced in the past year.[58] The video concludes with a giant dance party and the five members being crowned kings upon thrones.[10]
Kevin Perry fromNME compared the band members' outfits in the music video to those ofLady Gaga.[12] While commenting on the success of labelmate Psy's "Gangnam Style", the staff ofThe Daily Telegraph recommended "Fantastic Baby" to its readers, highlighting the video's "fashionista eccentricity and excess."[60] Francois Marchand fromThe Vancouver Sun felt that "it is easily one of the most colourfully twisted pop videos we've seen in a while, combiningRPG style art,riot gear,steampunk elements and street pop swagger."[61] Tamar Herman ofBillboard praised the video's "stimulating visual feast" when "promoting music as a form of rebellion."[10]The Guardian named "Fantastic Baby" the best K-pop music video of 2012, with Peter Robinson asserting that the "supremely demented" video "establishes global equilibrium."[20] The music video for "Fantastic Baby" won Best Dance Video at the2013 MTV Video Music Awards Japan and won the Video of the Year award at the2014 World Music Awards.[62]
In March 2014, the official music video for "Fantastic Baby" on YouTube surpassed 100 million views, making it the fourth Korean video to do so, after Psy's "Gangnam Style" (2012), "Gentleman" (2013), andGirls' Generation's "Gee" (2009), as well as the first by a Korean boy band.[63] The music video later became the first from a K-pop group to reach 200 million and 300 million views on the platform in January 2016 and June 2017, respectively.[64] The music video then become their first to hit 400 million in June 2019.[64] It became their second music video to hit 500 million in January 2022.[64]
Big Bang at the K-Collection in Seoul on March 11, 2012.
BigBang premiered "Fantastic Baby" at theOlympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul on March 2, 2012, which served as the group's first show on their worldwide tour,Alive Galaxy Tour.[65] They performed the song on live television for the first time on March 11 onInkigayo, alongside "Blue" and "Bad Boy".[66] Additionally, they made an appearance at the K-Collection in Seoul on the same day. A live shot from the event was included inFuse TV's list of performance photos that shaped 2012.[67] The group subsequently performed the song for the first time onM Countdown four days later,[24] and on May 11, they performed it at theExpo 2012 opening ceremony in Yeosu.[68] On November 30, 2012, the group performed the song at the2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong along with G-Dragon's "Crayon".[69] At the annualSBS Gayo Daejeon festival on December 29, BigBang performed a remix rendition of the song, incorporating parts and dance moves from Psy's "Gangnam Style".[70] They additionally performed the song live at theMBC Gayo Daejejeon on December 31,[71] and at the 22ndSeoul Music Awards on January 31, 2013 along with "Bad Boy".[72]
BigBang performed at the2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards on November 22, 2013; the group members performed a series of solo works and concluded the performance by reuniting with "Fantastic Baby". The group's performance of the song recorded the ceremony's highest broadcast rating across various networks, garnering a one-minute peak rating of 6.917 percent—a record high for a musical performance at MAMA.[73] At thefollowing year's ceremony on December 3, 2014, G-Dragon and Taeyang performed it along with the duo's single "Good Boy", which was released the previous week.[74] During their 2014–15Japan Dome Tour X[75] as well as the Seoul and Guangzhou concerts on theirMade World Tour in 2015, "Fantastic Baby" was used as the opening number.[76][77] On November 7, 2015, the group performed a medley of their songs at the2015 Melon Music Awards, which included several of their singles released in that year along with "Fantastic Baby".[78] The group members additionally included the song in the set lists for their multiplesolo concert tours following its release.
In November 2012, "Fantastic Baby" was featured in an episode of American TV showGlee,[10] and was included in the trailer for the moviePitch Perfect 2 in April 2015, where Jeff Benjamin ofBillboard referred to the song as "one of the biggest K-pop hits ever" and considered it a "win for Korean music that has seemingly penetrated yet another traditional media source."[79] The members' visuals in themusic video, especially that of G-Dragon's long red-streaked side hair, have been parodied by theRunning Man cast members andDynamic Duo.[80][81]
^빅뱅, 2월 컴백 앞두고 트랙리스트 공개 [Big Bang reveals track list ahead of comeback in February].TV Report (in Korean). January 27, 2012. Archived fromthe original on April 30, 2021. RetrievedApril 27, 2021.
^빅뱅 월드투어 공식발표 '16개국 25개 도시 달군다' [Big Bang World Tour Official Announcement 'Will Visit 25 Cities in 16 Countries'].Newsen (in Korean). February 7, 2012.
^Son, Nam-won (February 16, 2012).빅뱅 새 앨범, 타이틀곡이 도대체 몇개야 [Big Bang's new album, how many title songs are there?].Osen (in Korean).
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^빅뱅, '엠카' 3주연속 1위..올 첫 '트리플크라운' [Big Bang tops 'M Countdown' for 3 weeks in a row .. first 'triple crown' this year].Star News (in Korean). March 22, 2012 – viaNaver.
^レコード協会調べ 11月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: November Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. December 20, 2013.Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. RetrievedDecember 23, 2013.
^빅뱅 '음악으로 답할 수밖에 없었다' [Big Bang "I have no choice but to answer with music"].OhmyNews (in Korean). March 2, 2012. RetrievedOctober 27, 2021 – via Naver.
^빅뱅, 첫 컴백..광란의 환호 속 무려 세 곡 열창 ’왕의 귀환’ [Big Bang, first comeback stage .. amid the frenzied cheers, 'the kings return' with three songs].Herald Pop (in Korean). March 11, 2012. RetrievedOctober 27, 2021 – via Naver.
^빅뱅, 美퓨즈TV 선정 '올해의 라이브 퍼포먼스 포토' [Big Bang included in 'Live Performance Photos of the Year' list by Fuse TV].Osen (in Korean). December 22, 2012. RetrievedOctober 27, 2021.
^'역시' 빅뱅, 헤어+스타일링+퍼포먼스 '판타스틱'하네 (SBS 가요대전) ['As expected' Big Bang, hair + styling + performance 'fantastic' (SBS Gayo Daejun)].Xports News (in Korean). December 30, 2012 – via Naver.
^'MBC가요대제전' 빅뱅, 파워풀 퍼포먼스에 팬서비스까지 무대 장악' ['MBC Gayo Daejejeon' Big Bang, powerful performance and fan service takes over the stage'].Xports News (in Korean). January 1, 2013 – via Naver.
