"Sober" () is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BigBang. It was released digitally on July 1, 2015 by

YG Entertainment YG Entertainment () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and conce ...

, as the third single from ''

Made Made or MADE may refer to: Entertainment Film * ''Made'' (1972 film), United Kingdom * ''Made'' (2001 film), United States Music * ''Made'' (Big Bang album), 2016 * ''Made'' (Hawk Nelson album), 2013 * ''Made'' (Scarface album), 2007 *'' M.A.D.E. ...

'', being included in the single album '' D''. "Sober" was written by Teddy,

G-Dragon Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), best known as G-Dragon (), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur, known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of K-pop". Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, G-Drag ...

and

T.O.P Choi Seung-hyun (; born November 4, 1987), known professionally as T.O.P, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He performed as an underground rapper before joining the record label YG Entertainment and debuted as the lead ...

, and was produced by the first two with

Choice37 Robin Cho, better known as Choice37, is an American record producer, songwriter, and DJ based in South Korea. He joined YG Entertainment as a producer in 2009, and has since produced songs for K-pop artists including Big Bang, Blackpink, G-Dragon ...

Background

The first poster of "Sober" was released on June 27, 2015, revealing the name of the song and the production credits. The single was released on July 1. The release was supported by a live countdown on

Naver Naver (; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment. History Naver was the first Korean web provide ...

Starcast on June 30, 11 pm. An exact verse that

sings towards the end of "Sober" was actually first performed during the

2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards The 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards took place on November 22, 2013, at AsiaWorld-Arena in Hong Kong. The ceremony was the fourth consecutive Mnet Asian Music Awards to occur outside of South Korea Nominations were announced on October 23, 2013. L ...

as a prelude to his song "

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". The music video was directed by Han Sa Min, who worked before with Bigbang on "Loser", "Bad Boy" and "Blue".

Composition and reception

"Sober" has a "more rock-driven sound", an unusual genre for BigBang, who usually go for electronic and hip hop-based sounds. The track shows off lush guitars mixed with banging percussion, and incorporates a "very high energy rock vibe" with a spunk delivery.

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

said that the song fits on alternative radio and it's something you can hear on the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

, that is famous of alternative and punk rock music. The Korean website ''Osen'' called it "an exciting summer song that perfectly fits the

eason Eason is a surname of English and Scottish origin. In the case of English, it may be a variant of Eastham (disambiguation), Eastham or Easton (surname), Easton; in the case of Scottish, it is a variant of Esson (disambiguation), Esson. A variant of ...

" The music video was described by ''Billboard'' as "going mad in a colorful world." ''China Topix'' noted that "Sober" was filmed in a unique style, keeping the summer mood in mind.

Chart performance

"Sober" sold 276,180 downloads in its first week on the

Gaon Chart Gaon may refer to * Gaon (Hebrew), a non-formal title given to certain Jewish Rabbis ** Geonim, presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita ** Vilna Gaon, known as ''the'' Gaon of Vilnius * Gaon Music Chart, record cha ...

, and debuted at number two in the

Digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

and Download charts, seven on both the BGM and Streaming charts with over 3.9 million streams. The song charted at number three on ''Billboard'' World Digital Songs, The song ranked at eleven on the most popular Korean singles of 2015 in Taiwan by music streaming service

KKBOX KKBox, stylized as KKBOX is a music streaming service developed in 2005 by KKBox Inc., a software company in Taipei, Taiwan. It is a part of Japanese Telecom Group, KDDI. The service mainly targets the music markets of East and Southeast Asia, f ...

Accolades

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Sales

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control BigBang (South Korean band) songs 2015 singles 2015 songs Songs in Korean Songs written by Teddy Park Songs written by G-Dragon Songs written by T.O.P