"Fxxk It" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band Big Bang. It was released digitally on December 12, 2016, by YG Entertainment, as the fifth single from Made. The song was written by Teddy and by group members G-Dragon and T.O.P and produced by the first two with R.Tee. "Fxxk It" received positive reviews and was the group's ninth song to peak at number one on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and sixth to reached the Top 10 on the Japan Hot 100.
Background
The music video was filmed in Cheongju, on October 18, 2016. On December 6, the name of the single was revealed with a promotional poster. The song was released on December 13 at midnight KST worldwide on iTunes, with the music video, directed by Seo Hyun-Seung, who previously directed "Fantastic Baby" and "Bang Bang Bang".
Composition
"Fxxk It" was written by YG producer Teddy alongside Big Bang members G-Dragon and T.O.P, with production being done by Teddy, G-Dragon and R.Tee, and the arrangement was made by Teddy and R.Tee. The song is a mid-tempo, bouncy and electro-hip-hop song. The members have said that the song came out "when we didn't know what to do and were just sighing", and wanted to express the feeling of immaturity in it. The song's production was noted for being "futuristic", including a "amalgamation of tropical beats, horns and synths".
Chart performance
Upon its release, "Fxxk It" topped four charts on China's QQ Music including the daily, popularity index, music video, and K-pop music video charts. In three days, the song recorded 362,655 downloads and the music video surpassed 2 million views on QQ Music. On Billboard's World Digital Songs, the song charted second with 6,000 copies sold in three days. In Japan, the single debuted and peaked at number seven. In Finland, the single peaked at number 23, becoming Big Bang's highest charting single in the country. "Fxxk It" also entered the Canadian Hot 100, the first song of the group to appear on the chart. In South Korea, "Fxxk It" debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, recording the second highest weekly sales of the year after Lim Chang-jung's "The Love That I Committed", selling 325,623 digital copies in five days. The single also debuted at the top position on the Streaming Chart with over seven million streams. "Fxxk It" remained at the number one spot for three consecutives weeks and also topped the December monthly Digital and Download charts with nearly 600,000 copies sold in three weeks. For the year 2017, "Fxxk It" recorded additional 1,178,534 downloads, totalizing 1,778,189 copies sold in South Korea. The single also finished 2017 as the 25th most streamed song, with 81,857,155 audio streams, bringing the total stream numbers to surpass 103 million streams.
Critical reception
Tamar Herman of Billboard described it as "quirky mid-tempo" that "pulls heavily on Big Bang’s international appeal and begins with Taeyang’s English-language lovelorn verse. The song quickly morphs into an electronic hip-hop track that blends an eclectic mix of horns, synths, and tropical beats, recalling the subtle chaos of last year’s 'Bae Bae.'" The critic also ranked the track at number seven in the magazine's list of ten best Big Bang songs, claiming that "Fxxk It" incorporates the best of the quintet: "strong vocals, dramatic raps, and quirky beats". Jeff Benjamin of Fuse described the song as "career-exemplifying" and wrote that it "highlights the group's always-forward-thinking production along with their signature style of mixing heartfelt with tongue-in-cheek lyrics". Benjamin concluded by complimenting "how comfortable the guys sound on the track, particularly as Taeyang nails the all-English opening, further proving their international appeal". The New York Times called the song the best from the new album, describing the track as "a slow thumper with strong singing by Daesung, tart rapping by T.O.P., all captured in a characteristically wacky, neon-bright video". The Star's Chester Chin called the track a "futuristic top-notched" offering, adding that it highlights the group's "playful persona and eclectic artistry". The song was chosen by Dazed as one of the best K-Pop songs of 2016, highlighting the group's "undeniable maturity", stating that "everything here flows, no one element is too heavy-handed, and as a final single for some time due to military service, it’s a definite high to go out on". "Fxxk It" was chosen by Stereogum as the best music video of the week, with critic Tom Breihan saying that "South Korea’s greatest boy band have mastered the visual panache of the mid'-90s alt-rock/bubblegrunge video, and none of us are safe." Additionally, it was listed by Apple Music as one of the best songs of the week.
