Made World Tour


The Made World Tour was the second worldwide concert tour and ninth overall by South Korean boy band Big Bang, in support of their third Korean-language studio album Made. The tour began on April 25, 2015 and concluded on March 6, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea. It visited 15 countries including China, Japan, Australia, Mexico, and the United States.

Background

The tour was first announced on April 1, 2015 with the announcement of the first two concerts in Seoul on April 25 and 26. On April 16, the first trailer of the tour was released on YouTube. On April 27, the remainder of the Asian leg was revealed with a total of 30 shows. In July, nine shows were confirmed in Mexico, Australia, Canada, Taiwan and Macau. It was the first time for the group to visit Mexico, Australia, Canada and Macau.
It was also revealed a highly acclaimed crew would be joining the tour, including LeRoy Bennett, Ed Burke, Gil Smith II, and Jonathan Lia. They previously worked with Beyoncé and Jay-Z on their On The Run Tour as well as with Big Bang during their Alive Galaxy Tour.

Reception

Commercial

For the first shows in Seoul, all 26,000 tickets sold out in a matter of minutes, resulting in server crashes due to high traffic. In Mainland China, Big Bang gathered a record-breaking 280,000 people in attendance from 13 shows, with sold-out shows in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian and Wuhan. Further sold-out shows include all three shows in Hong Kong, two nights in Macau leading to a third show being added, and Toronto.
In Singapore, demand was so high that "audio seats" were put on sale after regular tickets quickly sold out. In Malaysia, hundreds of fans lined up in advance to purchase tickets for the July 25 concert, which eventually sold out in a matter of hours. Due to high demand, a second show was added on July 24. In Australia, a second show was added in Sydney after high demand.
The tour listed on Pollstar's year end list, on the Top 200 North American Tours, Big Bang ranked at number 126 and earned $7.8 million from four shows. The concerts in Macau grossed $5.3 million, and ranked the group at number 41 on the Top 100 International Boxoffice Grosses of the year.

Critical

The tour received universal acclaim from music critics. Jon Caramanica from The New York Times called Big Bang the "Smooth K-Pop Criminals" and described the concert as an "extreme, intense, overwhelming Korean pop carnival", listing it as one of the best tours in 2015. The Guardian gave the Newark concert four out of five stars and described it as "K-pop heroes delivering candyfloss hooks with a sharp edge" while praising all five members' individual talents. The Los Angeles Times described Big Bang as "One of the most inventive, aesthetically visionary acts in its genre" and called their Anaheim concert an "incredibly significant moment for K-Pop", praising the diversity of their songs and performances. Grantland's Rembert Browne remarked that Big Bang is "a boy band that in reality is a supergroup", praising each member's musical idiosyncrasies, saying "It's terrifying how good each member is".
Billboard gave the concert a 4.5/5, calling Big Bang "five individuals that are separately complex, but together an undeniable supergroup". The Michigan Daily called Big Bang a rare group that "both innovates and defines the direction a genre takes" and described the concert as an "electric, out-of-body experience". The Village Voice described the show as unique and "unlike anything in the western pop schema" saying that the concert "served to reflect the rainbow spectrum of human emotion". Jezebel described the concert as "the true definition of a spectacular" and stated they "have never seen a group nail being a boy band the way Big Bang did, playing up each member's individual strengths and personalities but also flawless when it came time to come together as a unit". Vibe called Big Bang the "Kings of K-Pop" and praised their solo performances as the most interesting moments of the night. The Straits Times called Big Bang's live performance "explosive" and stated that "Their solid vocals powered them through emotive ballads, high octane dance tunes and fiery rapping". The AU Review called the show "A fantastic concert by a fantastic group of talented individuals" while praising the production of the concert as well as the group's musical direction.

Live Stream

On December 2, 2014 YG Entertainment held a press conference in Hong Kong to announce a partnership with Tencent's QQ Music, the largest online music service in Mainland China. On June 20, 2015, during a joint press conference, YG Entertainment and Tencent announced the latter would exclusively live stream Big Bang's concert in Shanghai the following night through Tencent's live concert streaming service, Live Music. On October 25, Tencent's Live Music held a second livestream for the concert in Macau which saw more than 120,000 paid viewers online, hitting a new domestic record for the number of paid online viewers.
The final concert in Seoul was aired live via Tencent's Live Music in Mainland China and Naver's V App internationally, with a total of six separate live-streams: five following each member and one showing the entire group. On the V app, the concert recorded 3.5 million views.

Records

At the time of completion, the tour broke numerous concert attendance records by a Korean act:
  • Most attended Korean concert tour, without extensions, of all time.
  • Most attended concert tour by a foreign act of all time in Japan.
  • Most attended concert tour by a foreign act of all time in China.
  • Most attended concert tour by a Korean act of all time in the United States.
  • Most attended concert tour by a Korean act of all time in Australia.
  • Most attended concert by a Korean act of all time in Canada.
  • Most attended concert by a Korean act of all time in Mexico.
  • Largest audience drew by a Korean act for a single concert in China.
  • The only foreign act to hold a Japanese dome tour for three consecutive years.
  • The only Korean act to hold three concerts in a row at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China.
  • The only foreign act to sell out three concerts in Hong Kong on two separate occasions.
  • The first Korean act to hold a two-day concert in Kuala Lumpur.

    Set list

Tour dates

Cancelled shows

Box office score data

Personnel

Credits adapted from the 2016 BIGBANG World Tour Final In Seoul DVD.
Creative directors
  • LeRoy A. Bennett
  • Ed Burke
Video content
Band
  • Big Bang – Lead vocals
  • Gil Smith II – Music director/Keyboard 1
  • Adrian Porter – Pro Tools Programmer
  • Omar Dominick – AMD/Bass
  • Bennie Rodgers II – Drums/Percussions
  • Justin Lyons – Guitar
  • Dante Jackson – Keyboard 2
Dancers
  • Hi-Tec
  • * Park Jung Heon
  • * Kim Byoung Gon
  • * Kwon Young Deuk
  • * Kwon Young Don
  • * Lee Young Sang
  • * Lee Han Sol
  • Crazy
  • * Won Ah Yeon
  • * Park Eun Young
  • * Kim Min Jung
  • * Kim Hee Yun
  • * Choi Hye Jin
  • * Oh Hye Ryeon
Show
  • Lee Jae Wook – Choreographer
  • Chris Grant – Co-choreographer
  • Jeung Chi Young – Concert director
  • Gee Eun – Visual director/stylist
  • Kim Tae Hyun – Hair stylist
  • Lim Hea Kyung – Make-up artist
  • Hwangssabu – Personal trainer

    Gallery