012–2014: International breakthrough, first world tour, and hiatus

In January 2012, YG Entertainment began releasing teasers for Big Bang's fifth Korean EP Alive,
which was released in both digital and physical formats in February. Preorders for Alive amounted to
260,000 copies in two weeks.[96] Three singles were released to promote the album: "Blue", the lead
single, was released a week prior to the album and reached the number one position on all major
domestic charts;[97] the second single "Bad Boy" peaked at number two[98] and was the only K-Pop
song to be included in Fuse's best songs of 2012 list;[99] while the last, "Fantastic Baby", rounded at
number three.[100] The music video for the latter became the band's most popular, having received
more than 310 million views on YouTube, the most watched video by a Korean group, until it was
surpassed in 2018.[101] Internationally, Big Bang obtained five spots out of the top-ten on Billboard K-
pop's Hot 100 and charted at no. 150 on Billboard 200, making them the first Korean artist with a
Korean album to do so.[102] Their popularity also boosted them onto the Billboard Social 50, entering
at number twenty-four. They later received recognition from notable sites such as Time magazine,
[103]
 and a photo of the group was featured on the Grammy Awards homepage.[104]

Big Bang performing in March 2012

The album release coincided with their annual concert, Big Show 2012, held at Seoul Olympic Park
Stadium from March 2–4 to a sold-out crowd of 40,000 fans. [105] This marked the official kick off of
their first world tour, the Alive Galaxy Tour, in partnership with Live Nation.[106] It was directed by
renowned choreographer Laurieann Gibson, with Big Bang performing at 21 cities in over 13
countries,[107] with a total attendance of 800,000 people.[108] Concert footage from Big Show was
broadcast in 160 countries through MTV World Stage, which pushed the promotion for their world
tour.[109] The Alive Galaxy Tour marked the group's first ever concerts in the United States, Hong
Kong and Europe. Due to high demand, additional concerts were held in Los Angeles, New
Jersey and London.[110][111][112] The quintet also performed at three Japanese dome venues for the first
time, becoming the first Korean artist to perform at all three of these venues during its tour. [113] The
group concluded the tour with concerts in Osaka in mid-January along with a three night stint at the
Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul later that month.[112]
The Japanese version of Alive was released on March 28 both digitally and physically, with two
additional Japanese tracks. Included with the physical copy of their album was a bonus Japanese
version of their hit song "Haru Haru".[114] It sold over 23,000 copies on its first day of release and
peaked at number two on the Oricon charts,[115] eventually selling over 200,000 copies total[116] and
certified gold by the RIAJ.[115] Japanese promotions began with a performance at 2012's Springroove
Festival alongside top American and Japanese hip hop artists. Big Bang was the first Korean act to
be invited along with label-mates 2NE1.[117] Following the success of their comeback, Big Bang
released a special edition album titled Still Alive on June 3. It featured four new tracks including two
new Korean tracks of which their lead single was titled "Monster", as well as Korean remakes of the
two additional tracks in the Japanese version of Alive. The album sold over 100,000 copies in its first
month of release.[116] A special Monster edition of their Japanese Alive album was also released on
June 20, following its Korean counterpart.
The success of their special edition album further boosted the group's global recognition, peaking at
no. 11 on the Billboard Social 50.[118] On November 30, 2012, Big Bang received a total of three
awards at the 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards, including Best Male Group and Artist of the Year. G-
Dragon also took home Best Male Solo award at the event. [119] They also received the Best Fan
category award at the Italian TRL Awards.[120] After promotional activities wrapped up, the members
pursued individual activities for the majority of 2013 and 2014.
Big Bang reunited in November 2013 for their Japan Dome Tour, holding concerts in six different
dome arenas in Japan, being the first foreign act to do so. Gathering over 770,000 fans, the tour's
total revenue, including tickets sold and merchandising sales, totalled $94 million. [121][122] In October
2014, the group performed at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South
Korea, wrapping up the Congratulatory Performance. [123][124] A month later, the quintet embarked on
their second Japanese dome tour, which was the first time that any overseas artist performed in five
dome arenas of Japan for two consecutive years.[125] By the end of 2014, Big Bang was the Korean
artist that attracted the most concertgoers in Japan for the year and the second act overall. [126]