A is the fifth single album by South Korean band Big Bang, and the second from their Made Series.
Background and release
The first poster titled "Bang Bang Bang" was released on May 27, YG Entertainment producer Yang Hyun-suk commented that the song was "the most powerful music you have ever heard before." The second poster was released for "We Like 2 Party" a day later. The music video was shot on Jeju Island on May 19. The single could be pre-ordered from May 27 to June 1, consisting of 4 tracks and two instrumental tracks. It was released worldwide through iTunes, and other online music portals on June 1. There are two different versions of the album, one contains only a CD and a booklet while the other one contains a CD, a booklet and a special kit with a poster.
Commercial performance
A entered the Gaon Album Chart at number three, and peaked at number two the third week of release. The album peaked at number three on the monthly chart in June, selling 93,504 copies. In Taiwan, it charted at number 6. According to QQ Music, the pre-orders for the album in China reached 1 million, in the first 12 hours the single sold 200,000 copies. After two weeks the album sold over 400,000 digital copies, breaking the record for foreign album sold on QQ Music, they also dominated the chart by having four songs on the top 6. As of March 2017, the album has sold over 800,000 copies on QQ Music, making it one of the best-selling digital albums in Chinese history.
Reception
The singles received positive reviews from the fans, public and critics. In less than two months, the music videos gained over 60 million views on YouTube.
Promotion
After previewing both songs during their Made Tour in Guangzhou, China, Big Bang participated in Yoo Hee-yeol's Sketchbook on May 30, 2015. The members held a live podcast for the album, an hour before its release via Naver Starcast online, the live chat gathered more than 400,000 viewers. Big Bang had their first official comeback on June 4 installment of Mnet's M Countdown. On June 1, "Bang Bang Bang" was delayed on being registered in the voting system for 41 hours on SBS's Inkigayo, which led to SHINee's "View" winning, despite "Bang Bang Bang" being on the top of the charts, which led to a storm of complaints from the fans. The problem with SBS continued, On June 14, it was announced that Big Bang is banned from appearing on Inkigayo, according to SBS the reason was that G-Dragon and T.O.P didn't appear on the show when Big Bang won the first place on May 24, only three members were able to show. YG representative said the members didn't show up due to the shooting of a music video. The winners of the show on June 14 was not announced on the same day, the results came the next day, the winner was Big Bang. Big Bang stopped promoting the single afterwards and also didn't promote the next single album D.
