Claim: Big Bang won an Artist of the Year award in 2008.

Big Bang -LRB- Korean : 빅뱅 -RRB- is a South Korean boy band formed by YG Entertainment . Consisting of members G-Dragon , T.O.P , Taeyang , Daesung , and Seungri , the group officially debuted on August 19 , 2006 . Despite initial lukewarm receptions , their breakthrough came with the extended play , Always -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , which yielded the number one song `` Lies '' -LRB- Korean : 거짓말 Revised Romanization : Geojitmal -RRB- . The song went on to top major Korean music charts for a record-breaking seven consecutive weeks , and won Song of the Year at the 9th Mnet Korean Music Festival .   Big Bang 's follow-up releases furthered their success and popularity : Hot Issue -LRB- 2007 -RRB- spawned the chart-topping song `` Last Farewell , '' -LRB- Korean : 마지막 인사 Revised Romanization : Majimak Insa -RRB- , while Stand Up -LRB- 2008 -RRB- produced `` Day by Day '' -LRB- Korean : 하루하루 , Revised Romanization : Haru Haru -RRB- . After receiving the Artist of the Year award from the 2008 Mnet Korean Music Festival , the group expanded their endeavors to Japan , releasing both their second Korean studio-album , Remember , and their first Japanese album , Number 1 , in the same year , and consequently winning three awards at the 9th MTV Video Music Awards Japan . They would go on to release four more Japanese studio albums : Big Bang -LRB- 2009 -RRB- , Big Bang 2 -LRB- 2011 -RRB- , and the Japanese-language edition of Alive -LRB- 2012 -RRB- and Made Series -LRB- 2016 -RRB- . Amidst their Japanese promotions , the members branched out to do solo activities : Taeyang and G-Dragon released solo albums , G-Dragon and T.O.P formed a sub-unit , Seungri and Daesung acted in musicals and hosted variety shows , and T.O.P went on to star in various films and television shows .   After a two-year hiatus in South Korea , Big Bang reunited in 2011 with their EP Tonight -LRB- 2011 -RRB- . Promotions were cut short when multiple members encountered legal issues . By the end of the year , Big Bang emerged as the inaugural Best Worldwide Act winner at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards . Three months after their win in Europe , Big Bang released their most successful physical album , the Korean EP Alive -LRB- 2012 -RRB- , earning their second Artist of the Year Award at the 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards . Alive became the first Korean album to chart on the Billboard 200 , with the group embarking on their first ever world tour that concluded in early 2013 . The critically acclaimed Made -LRB- 2016 -RRB- was preceded by several chart-topping singles , winning the group their third Artist of the Year award at the 17th Mnet Asian Music Awards . Their second world tour in support of the album gathered 1.5 million attendance , making it the largest tour by any Korean act .   Labeled as the `` Kings of K-pop '' and the `` Nation 's Boy Band , '' the members ' involvement in composing and producing their own music , most notably G-Dragon , has earned the group respect and praise from the music industry . The quintet has been hailed K-pop icons for their part in spreading the Hallyu Wave around the globe along with their influence in the genre . Big Bang have sold over 140 million records , making them the best-selling digital group of all-time in Asia and one of the best-selling boy bands in the world . They have won numerous awards and set several records , including being the act who spent the most months at number one on the Gaon Chart and the most weeks at number one on Melon , besides being the all-time best-selling artist in Cyworld . Big Bang was the first Korean artist to enter Forbes Magazine '' 's Celebrity 100 and the 30 under 30 most influential musicians in the world lists . Citing their global popularity and contribution to K-pop , The Washington Post '' have described them as `` the biggest band in Asia '' and the Hollywood Reporter as `` the biggest boy band in the world . ''