G-Dragon says the plagiarism controversies were unbearable
Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon is no stranger to controversy. He recently sat down with Asia E and talked about how the plagiarism accusations and controversy effected him.
Here’s the full translation courtesy of sjay.x @ BBVIP.net
Kwon Ji-Yong, 23 [Stagename: G-Dragon], whose heart was filled with anticipation of his album’s release, felt despair. Merely just a day before the release of his title track “Heartbreaker,” the song was accused of plagiarism. His Me2day, which had been a meaningful way for him to communicate with his fans before, now seemed a foreign and scary place.
G-Dragon commented that “Regardless of whether it really is plagiarism or not, I think being labeled a ‘plagiarist’ itself is just disgraceful. On the internet people were having an online war about whether ‘it has been plagiarized’ vs. ‘it hasn’t.’ The company [YG Entertainment] said they’d fly over to America to set things straight. By the looks of things, it seemed like there would be a huge impending legal battle. Everything was just so hard for me. It makes me happy to sing and dance in front of other people, that’s all…but some people seemed to only pay attention to the bad stuff; I thought I was gonna go crazy. After a contemplating for a while however, I decided that singers should answer to any controversies through their performances.”
G-Dragon realized that no matter what he said, he wouldn’t be able to change peoples’ perceptions. So, he decided to speak through his profession; like actors speak through their acting, he decided singers should ‘speak’ through their performances:
“I think the only way I can take responsibility for my music is through my performances on stage. I always told myself that I would apologize if I showed a disappointing performance to my fans. I think if I try my best to make people happy, then they’ll realize the truth for themselves.”
Ji-Yong is used to being caught up in storms of controversies from a young age. Does he have some sort of strange power where he turns little things into huge issues? Regardless, the attention he receives from fans and anti-fans alike are a driving force for him.
“If an online news article about me is realized, the first comment is always someone bashing me. I’m human too, of course I check (laughs). The antis always seem to see the articles first and leave hateful comments. I’m actually thankful in way. If these people really hated me, they just wouldn’t pay attention to me at all. I think they keep checking articles about me because in the end, they still expect something from me. Something along the lines of ‘I hate this guy, but I still can’t help being interested’, maybe. Due to peoples’ attitudes being like that, I feel that I have to try even harder.”
Popular singers just cannot be separated from the public. Admiration and criticism in the end are just the opposite sides of the same coin:
“Rather than thinking ‘Let’s see who wins this battle’ about my antis, I think I just have to keep trying hard until they disappear. I can’t ‘beat’ the public since artists have to work together with them [to succeed]. It’s like being a student. I feel like I’ve done my homework as a student, and now I’m hoping that my teacher will think I’ve done well.”
He’s even got the luck of the public figured out. But though he may be precocious, he doesn’t force himself to hide pain from others.
“It’s a hundred thousand times worse when you’re in the position of the one being bashed. Korea is a small country so being in the position is really upsetting. I understood but it still hurt really bad. I’ve just grown wings to try and fly higher; I’ve flown too far to fall now and there’s no way back at this point anyway. I’m trying really hard- I truthfully just want people to be more understanding and to like me more.”