GD & TOP is a South Koreanduo formed by G-Dragon and T.O.P, the rappers of the K-pop boy bandBig Bang in 2010. The release of their first album, GD & TOP was a commercial success becoming one of the best selling albums of the year in South Korea, and spawning the top-five hits "High High", "Oh Yeah", and "Knock Out" on the Gaon Digital Chart. After a five year hiatus, they released the single "Zutter", which peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart.
History
2010–2011: Formation and first album
YG Entertainment announced the a sub-unit between G-Dragon and T.O.P under the name "GD & TOP" in November 2010, and to release an album with the same name. The duo held a worldwide premiere showcase for their album at Times Square in Yeongdeungpo of Seoul, which was also broadcast live on YouTube. The album was released on Christmas Eve, and debuted at number one on the Gaon Chart with pre-orders of 200,000 copies. By the end of 2010 the album had surpassed 130,000 copies sold in a week, becoming the fifth best-selling album of the year. As of 2015 the album sold 200,000 copies. To promote their album, G.Dragon and T.O.P released three music videos for the tracks "High High", "Knock Out", and "Baby Goodnight". "High High" was released first, then "Baby Goodnight." However, due to the song being banned twice for being too explicit, the release of the music video for their song "Don't Go Home" was postponed till late June 2011. The singles attained commercial successes, topping the online music charts in South Korea. In the Gaon Digital Chart, "Oh Yeah!" peaked at number two, "High High" at number three, while "Knock Out" and "Don't Go Home" peaked at number five and eleven, respectively.
2015: "Zutter"
After a four-year hiatus, YG Entertainment announced that the duo will come back with a new single as a part of Big Bang's Made Series E. The teasers were released on July 25, 2015, with the song name "Zutter". The song was a commercially success, selling 280,817 downloads in its first week on Gaon Chart peaked at number two in the Digital and Download charts. The single charted second on US Billboard World Digital Songs and in the Chinese QQ Music video chart. In the end of 2015, the song sold 982,710 copies in South Korea and 6,000 in USA.
Impact
In 2012, "Knock Out" and "High High" were both listed as one of the bestK-Pop music videos of all time by Stereogum, ranking at seventh and fourth, respectively. That same year, "High High" was also named the seventh greatest K-Pop song of all time by Spin Magazine. XXL Magazine listed the duo as one of "15 Korean Rappers You Should Know", stating that "if it wasn't for acts like these two, Korean rap probably wouldn't have amassed such international appeal that it’s garnering now." The magazine also wrote that "K-Pop's currently full of boy bands with designated rapper as a member, and nine out of ten times they're modeled after" GD & TOP. Korean magazine Ize wrote that GD & TOP inspired several idol groups to make "more extreme or extraordinary attempts" concept and music wise that their groups could not do through unit activities.
