Fantastic Baby
The song was written by members T.O.P, G-Dragon and long-time group collaborator Teddy Park, whilst production and composition was handled by the latter two contributors.
"Fantastic Baby" was well received by music critics, with Rolling Stone and Billboard magazines naming it one of the greatest boy band songs of all-time.
The song has also been recognized by Billboard as "one of the biggest K-pop hits ever", and was hailed as a highlight in the spread of the Korean wave around the world by The Smithsonian in 2013.
Selling more than 4 million digital units in the band's native country by 2016, "Fantastic Baby" became one of the best-selling singles in South Korea.
[5] A Japanese-language version was released as part of the band's fourth Japanese studio album of the same name on March 28, 2012 through YGEX, with the lyrics translated by M-Flo member Verbal.
[9] Tamar Herman of Billboard magazine contrasted the song's musicality from much of the band's previous works, which consisted of mainly old-school R&B and hip-hop hits which have gradually evolved into more sentimental numbers and upbeat dance tunes, and referred to "Fantastic Baby" as a "new era that poised the group as one of Korea’s most ambitious acts".
"[8][10] The publication also ranked "Fantastic Baby" number 27 on their 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time list, stating that the "anarchic hip-house track raised the bar for the genre, overflowing with vibrancy as it bounces between sonic styles.
"[14] In October 2013, Smithsonian Music recognized "Fantastic Baby" as one of the highlights in the spread of the Korean Wave around the world, along with "Sorry, Sorry" by Super Junior, "Gangnam Style" by Psy, and "I Am the Best" by 2NE1, among others.
[41][42] As of September 2016, "Fantastic Baby" had accumulated over 4 million digital downloads in the country, becoming the best-selling boy group song on Gaon Music Chart.
[53] The music video for "Fantastic Baby" was uploaded to BigBang's official YouTube channel on March 7, 2012,[10] and was directed by Seo Hyun-seung.
[56] The members are seen wearing futuristic helmets, metal shoulder embellishments and jewelled crowns, among other accessories, while sporting dark make-up.
[59] The images of a frozen Taeyang, a scarred Seungri, and a seemingly silenced G-Dragon, portray the number of publicity blows the members have faced in the past year.
[12] While commenting on the success of labelmate Psy's "Gangnam Style", the staff of The Daily Telegraph recommended "Fantastic Baby" to its readers, highlighting the video's "fashionista eccentricity and excess.
[69] At the annual SBS Gayo Daejeon festival on December 29, BigBang performed a remix rendition of the song, incorporating parts and dance moves from Psy's "Gangnam Style".
[70] They additionally performed the song live at the MBC Gayo Daejejeon on December 31,[71] and at the 22nd Seoul Music Awards on January 31, 2013 along with "Bad Boy".
[73] At the following year's ceremony on December 3, 2014, G-Dragon and Taeyang performed it along with the duo's single "Good Boy", which was released the previous week.
[76][77] On November 7, 2015, the group performed a medley of their songs at the 2015 Melon Music Awards, which included several of their singles released in that year along with "Fantastic Baby".
In November 2012, "Fantastic Baby" was featured in an episode of American TV show Glee,[10] and was included in the trailer for the movie Pitch Perfect 2 in April 2015, where Jeff Benjamin of Billboard referred to the song as "one of the biggest K-pop hits ever" and considered it a "win for Korean music that has seemingly penetrated yet another traditional media source.
