BILLBOARD: BIG BANG ARE AT THEIR MOST TENDER ON ‘LET’S NOT FALL IN LOVE,’ WHILE GD&T.O.P ARE AT THEIR CRAZIEST ON ‘ZUTTER’

The summer of BIG BANG is almost at a close as the K-pop phenoms unveil the final two singles of their Made EP series after three, two-song EPs released earlier this season. “Let’s Not Fall in Love” showcases the boy band at their most sentimental while a collaboration between members G-Dragon and T.O.P “Zutter” shows them at their wildest for a range of emotions and sounds embraced for this final release.

“Let’s Not Fall in Love” brings the quintet’s signature mix of melancholy and dance beats back as the guys rap and belt their complicated reservations and fears of diving into romance. Despite it sounding like classic BIG BANG, the track is unique for its lack of a definitive chorus and T.O.P and G-Dragon showing off new vocal colors instead of their usual personality-driven raps. Its accompanying video continues the sentimental mood as we watch bittersweet moments of the boys with their ladies before telling glances and darkening eyes reveal an inner turmoil — particularly felt from T.O.P, who should have no issue with a future acting career.

The second track “Zutter” (which translates to “awesome” or “dope” in Korean) brings together BIG BANG leader G-Dragon and T.O.P (a.ka. GD&T.O.P) for a minimal, hip-hop cut peppered with trappy snares, knocking percussion and woozy synths to emphasize both dudes’ distinctive spitting styles.

Meanwhile, its video spotlights the pair at their most uninhibited. Playing like a trailer for what would be the most ridiculous Hollywood film ever, the guys move through wacky scenarios of being tied up in chairs or trapped in a freezer closet while T.O.P chills at a pig farm as GD makes it rain at a bar. More bizarrely, there’s also a significant amount of time in the video dedicated to the guys in bathrooms, mostly showing them at urinals to dance and get, um, spray happy together. If you thought the video for “Bae Bae” was cray, just wait until you watch “Zutter.”

It’s not the first time G-Dragon and T.O.P have collaborated professionally. They two came together for their 2010 duo album GD & TOP, that included the Diplo-produced cut “Knockout.”

To date, all of the singles from BIG BANG’s Made EP series (titled M, A, D and, now, E) have hit the Top 3 of Billboard’s World Digital Songs with huge sales numbers not seen by a Korean artist since PSY. “Let’s Not Fall in Love” and “Zutter” will likely bow high on next week’s chart, which will be revealed on Tuesday, August 11, marking fans’ last chance to see if BIG BANG can occupy the Top 2 slots again, which would break PSY’s record for K-pop acts. Meanwhile, the band’s upcoming full-length Made album will be released at top of September.