G-DRAGON Comes Back Stronger With His First Album in 12 Years, “ÜBERMENSCH”
2013: The last time G-DRAGON — also known as the King of K-pop, among other titles — released a full-length solo album. 2017: The last time G-DRAGON dropped new music before he shared his latest singles, “POWER” and “HOME SWEET HOME,” at the end of 2024.
Now: G-DRAGON is back with a tight, eight-track album called ÜBERMENSCH. Joining forces with Galaxy Corporation and the independent record label EMPIRE, which is a Palestinian-founded company, the icon refuses to be boxed into one genre. He crafts another layer on his signature “G-DRAGON” style throughout this 25-minute album that muses over Nietzsche’s famous “Übermensch.” Ranging from so-what anthems (“TOO BAD”) to cutting ballads (“DRAMA”), G-DRAGON proves yet again why he is your favorite idols’ favorite idol.
Stronger Now, Stronger Together
In 2017, G-DRAGON released his last EP before going on an almost decade-long break from sharing new music. That EP was simply titled Kwon Ji Yong — his given name. If that five-track work (including “Untitled”) takes an unflinching look at the man behind it all, then G-DRAGON takes these identity musings to the next level with ÜBERMENSCH.
“’Übermensch’ means ‘Beyond-Man’, representing an individual who transcends themselves,” he explained in a press release. He added, “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.”
Resilient is an apt description for the 36-year-old superstar. Throughout the rollercoaster his group, BIGBANG, went through a few years ago to the illegal drug usage allegations he faced in 2023, G-DRAGON often takes the higher road. (For example, when he voluntarily went to the police station for questioning and a drug test to prove the allegations false and then launched the charity foundation JUSPEACE, which combats substance abuse in South Korea.) Part of this resilience, G-DRAGON notes through ÜBERMENSCH, is togetherness. When the world feels like it is threatening to tear you apart, turning to others you trust is a way to endure those challenges.
Enter the EDM track “HOME SWEET HOME” with fellow BIGBANG members Taeyang and Daesung, which was released on November 22. Opening G-DRAGON’s highly-anticipated album, the three share vulnerable thoughts with fans, firmly emphasizing their humanness despite their idol statuses. The honesty found in “HOME SWEET HOME” — with lyrics such as “Well, I said, I would be back / And I’d never let you go” — shows that even your favorite idols’ idols search for home and search for it among others. To close the pre-chorus before launching into the “Home sweet home” beat drop moment, G-DRAGON, Taeyang, and Daesung reassure listeners, “Where I am is where you will be / The place that I belong.”
Then, G-DRAGON reclaims his power. Through “POWER” (dropped on October 31), he does not back down from calling out his haters — and doing so in his clever and artistic way. He spits back at haters and celebrates who he is from the very first lines: “When G.D’s in the house (Übermensch)… / Now I got the power.” From these five words, G-DRAGON renders past accusations powerless because he has the power in knowledge and in knowing himself. In the press release for the track, he added, “I express myself through music. This marks the beginning of a new era.”
The vibrant music video pairs well with the upbeat and bouncy production. A one-shot music video, G-DRAGON appears in his signature style, complete with a silk scarf wrapped around his head and a knit hat on top. While he moves through the dynamic sets, his “haters” (namely, the media) — dressed in red robes — also appear. However, G-DRAGON is unfazed, as he has confidence in himself and the true story he knows (with the receipts): “I’m beautiful just being myself.”
G-DRAGON Style
This is the energy the star brings to the lead track of ÜBERMENSCH, “TOO BAD.” Recruiting Grammy award-winning artist Anderson .Paak and one of K-pop’s current It girls Karina of aespa, G-DRAGON adds a tongue-in-cheek quality to the first half of his album. Yet again weaving bombastic color, trendsetting style, and a G-DRAGON flair into the music video, he poses a challenge: “Come do something do me.”
There is a nonchalant vibe to this track, complete with a head-bopping funky groove. It is as if G-DRAGON took this shrug face ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and turned into a searing clapback aimed at those who have tried to undermine his reputation. Meanwhile, he simultaneously celebrates art and joy — more specifically, his art and his joy. When G-DRAGON’s dancers join him on set, they dance freely on a graffiti-splattered staircase, despite the all-capitalized warning “NO DANCING ALLOWED TODAY” underneath their feet. He also swings between a loose hip hop style and melding traditionally feminine clothing (such as skirts and Mary Janes) with traditionally masculine pieces (including Timberland boots). This attention to detail — from set design to costuming — further underscores his status as one of the most notable icons today.
ÜBERMENSCH’s second title track, “DRAMA,” which was released before “TOO BAD,” slows things down with a healthy side of tears. G-DRAGON, of course, is not just capable of crafting bops with cutting social commentary but also creating piercing and hypnotizing songs of pain. Weaving Japanese, Mandarin, and Korean sentences into the mostly English lyrics, G-DRAGON produced and wrote a track about a love breaking into pieces. “‘The End’ begins for us, be nice / I bet you like it, bet you like this,” he sings in the chorus.
Most of the shots in the music video focus on his haunted facial expressions, his shock of orange hair, and the stark sets, the chalky dust in these spaces never quite settling or clearing. Another figure joins him on a circular stage around the one and half minute mark, yet they are faceless and their hands also are covered in chalk dust. In this story, G-DRAGON is a wound up doll with a key in his back, a machine made up of metal parts — just an object that is controlled by an outside force.
The “DRAMA” and “TOO BAD” music videos have garnered over 10 million views in 24 hours on YouTube. At the time of writing, the Anderson .Paak collab track sits at No. 1 on Trending for music on YouTube, while the No. 2 spot belongs to “DRAMA.” Further cementing G-DRAGON’s King of K-pop status, the eight tracks charted on Melon’s Top 100, with “TOO BAD” clinching the No. 1 spot.
The Beauty in the B-sides
While G-DRAGON mostly spotlights his victories through the lead singles (with the exception of “DRAMA”), he digs a little deeper into how he has risen above society’s expectations and has emerged as his ideal self in the B-sides.
If “POWER” and “TOO BAD” were all about G-DRAGON’s autonomy, “IBELONGIIU” and “TAKE ME” are about being something greater than yourself when you love another. The fun bassline, addicting beat, and occasional falsetto moments in the former supports the love story he tells through the track. It is an interesting piece to the Übermensch puzzle, as this philosophy is often focused on the self. G-DRAGON flips this idea on its head and emphasizes that this transcending can also happen through another person.
“You and me alone in the dark / Forever, I’ll stay with you / Nothing’s gonna tear us apart,” he sings with a raspy edge in the chorus. While this lyric could refer to a romantic “you,” knowing K-pop, it could refer to his fans. Considering the scandals and events that have happened between Kwon Ji Yong and ÜBERMENSCH, a song dedicated to fans has definitely earned a spot on the latter album. Besides, they are a major factor in why he can be seen as an Übermensch in the eyes of the public.
The bouncy electric guitar line gives a levity to “TAKE ME.” Although there are lyrics such as “I’ll give myself to you” and the whole chorus is a repetition of “Take me take me, take me, I’m yours,” these words feel less like begging and more like indescribable joy. This joy, combined with the nerves of how the other person will react to you bearing your heart to them, creates a track where you can dance or sway to.
G-DRAGON switches from the brighter, more open part of his voice to his lower range in “보나마나 (BONAMANA).” Bringing a gravelly and scratchy quality to the already mysterious song, he matches the story with his voice. He sits between singing and chanting in the hook, as he questions, “Am I weird? No doubt, obviously / Am I the one at fault? Isn’t it clear? Is my brain weird? No doubt, obviously.”
The stripped down quality of the track, complete with a lone acoustic guitar, contrasts with the lightness found in the previous two songs. He continues the thread of emotion found in “DRAMA,” although “BONAMANA” might be the step before the story of the former track. G-DRAGON clearly paints the situation with lyrics like “Hey, come on, we both know the truth / How about having a little fun behind your man’s back?” The emotionally-cutting tracks on ÜBERMENSCH suggests that there is no ideal version of yourself before you confront your lowest versions as well.
In G-DRAGON fashion, he calls out the media in “GYRO-DROP,” a full-circle moment that began with the release of “POWER.” The name of a ride at Lotte World in Seoul, this song has an upbeat swing to it. Meanwhile, the fun exterior only strengthens the lyrics G-DRAGON spits in his verses. He begins the track with the bouncy lines, “Ride me like a carousel / Spin me like a Ferris wheel,” leaning into the amusement park theme.
He hurtles his thoughts on the media circus into the track, starting from his first verse: “The article kicks and slaps, the joke is too much / Can’t even apply medicine, ‘news’ spreads it all out.” However, just like the Gyro-Drop ride, G-DRAGON may stumble and fall, but he always rises again — no matter how long it takes. That is his last word (complete with a quirk of a smile) in ÜBERMENSCH, wrapped in experimentation and his “G-DRAGON” genre.
G-DRAGON Is Flying High
ÜBERMENSCH packages G-DRAGON’s resilience into its eight tracks, from showing his high moments and his low moments. But it all comes down to emerging back on top, whether in the face of the media circus or in the face of his own emotions.
The album artwork, too, lends itself to this idea of “transcending the self.” A figure, probably G-DRAGON, stands in the center of the frame, barefoot. Viewers see him as if he is standing on top of a glass pane, his head angled towards the cloud-filled skies. We don’t actually see his face, just like in the Romantic-era painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818) by Caspar David Friedrich. The bold primary colors add an extra punch behind the softness of the skies and the clouds, the treatment of nature reminiscent of the art produced during the Romantic period (about 1800–1850) in Europe and the United States. G-DRAGON is beyond human to those looking up to him; yet, he himself has even higher ambitions — this is his personal Übermensch goal.
G-DRAGON has had a monumental end of 2024, and 2025 is shaping up to be even more so. In March, he will embark on his first solo world tour in eight years (the last one was “Act III: M.O.T.T.E World Tour” in 2017). Starting in Seoul, G-DRAGON will host two shows. The rest of the cities and dates are yet to be announced.
This past November, he took the stage at the MAMA Awards in Japan, the first time in about a decade, where he performed his new singles, “POWER” and “HOME SWEET HOME.” BIGBANG members Taeyang and Daesung also joined him on the stage for the latter track along with “BANG BANG BANG” and “FANTASTIC BABY.” About three months later, G-DRAGON took to the stage Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes 2025 stadium show in Paris, a charity event dedicated to raising funds for children in hospitals.
As for the rest of 2025, G-DRAGON is understandably booked and busy. Besides his upcoming world tour, he is set to be a headliner at the May Head in the Clouds Festival in Los Angeles. Then he will make his way back to Asia to perform at the Singapore Grand Prix in October as a co-headliner with Elton John.
After seven years of waiting — 12 years, if you count the time between full-length albums — now we can officially say: Welcome back, King.
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Want more breakdowns of your favorite albums? Check out the album breakdown for Saint Levant’s Love Letters here!
