K-Pop Star G-Dragon Drops First Full-Length Album in a Decade, ‘Übermensch’

K-pop star G-DRAGON dropped his first full-length album in more than a decade on Tuesday (Feb. 25), Übermensch. The eight-song collection released through Galaxy Corporation as part of their deal with indie label EMPIRE kicks off with the rock-adjacent banger “Home Sweet Home” featuring fellow former BigBang members TAEYANG & DAESUNG.

The LP features DRAGON’S patented mix of singing and swaggering rhymes over big beats and air-tight pop productions on tracks such as the funky Anderson .Paak collab “Too Bad,” as well as “Drama,” “Ibelongiiu,” “Take Me,” “Bonamana” and “Gyro Drop.”

Describing the album’s title — an allusion to philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of a future human ideal of the “overman” or “superman” — G-DRAGON said in a statement, “Übermensch means ‘Beyond-Man,’ representing an individual who transcends themselves. This album embodies the idea of presenting a stronger and more resilient version of oneself to the public. I hope this strength resonates with my fans through my music.”

Übermensch is the long-awaited follow-up to DRAGON’s sophomore solo effort, 2013’s Coup D’Etat, which also mixed rock, pop, hip-hop and electro on songs featuring collabs with Missy Elliott, Sky Ferreira, BLACKIPINK’S JENNIE, Diplo, Baauer and Boys Noize, among others.

To celebrate the album’s release, G-DRAGON released the colorful video for “Too Bad,” spotlighting the singer’s signature eclectic, oddball fashion sense and playful, Michael Jackson-inspired choreography in a clip in which he models a series of street couture looks and neon hair styles. The visual also features a surprise cameo from aespa’s Karina.

DRAGON also shared the more sedate video for the sedate ballad “Drama,” in which he plays a giant wind-up dancer — with a big metal crank in his back — who does an emotion-filled routine with a a ballerina whose face is obscured by a white mask.

“You never like it when it’s nice/ Drama queen got it from her mama/ Rather hang up to pick a fight/ What goes around here comes the karma,” he sings over a moody piano.

G-DRAGON will play his first solo concert in eight years when he kicks off a global tour on March 29 at Goyang Stadium in Seoul; a pre-sale will open on Wednesday (Feb. 26) here. The singer will continue the first outing since his 2017 Act III, M.O.T.T.E. world tour with a second Seoul show on March 30, followed by a headlining set at the Head in the Clouds Festival at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles in May and a performance at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix race in October, where he will co-headline with Elton John. More details about the tour will be released soon.

Watch the “Too Bad” and “Drama” videos below.

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