Hitman Bang



  • I. Introduction


    Bang Si-hyuk, known professionally as "Hitman" Bang, is a South Korean lyricist, composer, producer, and record executive. He is the founder of Big Hit Music (formerly Big Hit Entertainment) and Hybe Corporation, and chairman of the latter.


    II. Career


    Bang debuted as a composer while in college. He met Park Jin-young during the mid-1990s, and the pair often partnered together as a songwriting duo. When Park founded his company JYP Entertainment, Bang joined him as a composer, arranger and producer. One of their early successes was the first-generation group g.o.d. They were largely responsible for the production of g.o.d's debut album Chapter 1, with Park serving as the producer and primary songwriter while Bang arranged the instrumentation and music. Some of g.o.d's most famous songs arranged by Bang include "One Candle" and "Road". Bang's stage name "Hitman" originated from this period, when g.o.d enjoyed success as one of the country's best-selling and most popular boy bands of the early 2000s, earning himself and Park the reputation as "hit makers". Besides g.o.d, Bang has also produced or composed for artists such as veterans Im Chang-jung and Park Ji-yoon, singer-actor Rain, groups Wonder Girls, 2AM and Teen Top, R&B singer Baek Ji-young, and many others.


    In 2005, Bang left JYP Entertainment and founded his own company, Big Hit Entertainment, where he continued to write, compose and produce for Big Hit artists—he co-wrote six songs on BTS' critically acclaimed Wings (2016) album. The success of Wings garnered Bang the Best Producer Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards and the Songwriter Award at the Melon Music Awards that year. In June 2018, he was named one of Variety's International Music Leaders due to BTS' achievements.


    In April 2019, Bloomberg estimated Bang's worth to be about $770 million. The BigHit IPO filed in October 2020 was the largest seen in South Korea in three years and skyrocketed Bang's net worth to $2.8 billion, making him the only billionaire in South Korea's entertainment industry and the sixth-richest person in the country. The success of the IPO, together with the commercial success of BTS that year, Bang's steps into diversification with apps like Weverse, and acquisitions of companies like Source Music and Pledis Entertainment among others, landed him on the 2020 edition of Variety's Variety500, an annual index of the 500 most influential business leaders in the global media industry.


    In June 2021, Forbes Asia published its annual list of Korea's 50 Richest People. One of only two newcomers to the ranking, Bang was listed as the 16th richest person in South Korea. On July 1, following an organizational restructuring, Hybe Corporation announced Bang's resignation as CEO of the company to return his focus to music production. He was replaced by Park Ji-won, but retained his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bang is worth an estimated $3.2 billion as of July 2021.


    III. Production Discography


    Year Artist Album
    2007 Wonder Girls The Wonder Years
    2009 Taegoon 1st Mini Album
    2010 2AM Saint o'Clock
    2011 Lee Hyun You Are the Best of My Life
    2011 Homme Homme by Hitman Bang
    2011 Lee Seung-gi Tonight
    2011 Teen Top Roman
    2012 Lee Hyun The Healing Echo
    2013 BTS 2 Cool 4 Skool
    2013 BTS O!RUL8,2?
    2014 BTS Skool Luv Affair
    2014 BTS Skool Luv Affair Special Addition
    2014 BTS 1st Japan Single Album: No More Dream
    2014 BTS 2nd Japan Single Album: Boy In Luv
    2014 BTS Dark & Wild
    2014 BTS 3rd Japan Single Album: Danger
    2014 BTS 1st Japanese Album: Wake Up
    2015 BTS The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1
    2015 BTS 4th Japan Single Album: For You
    2015 BTS The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2
    2015 BTS 5th Japan Single Album: I NEED U
    2015 BTS 6th Japan Single Album: RUN
    2016 BTS The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever
    2016 BTS 2nd Japanese Album: Youth
    2016 BTS WINGS
    2017 BTS WINGS: You Never Walk Alone
    2017 BTS Love Yourself 承 Her
    2018 BTS Love Yourself 轉 Tear
    2018 BTS Love Yourself 結 Answer
    2018 IZ Angel
    2019 TXT The Dream Chapter: Star
    2019 BTS Map of the Soul: Persona
    2019 BTS BTS World: Original Soundtrack
    2019 TXT The Dream Chapter: Magic
    2020 GFriend 回:Labyrinth
    2020 BTS Map of the Soul: 7
    2020 TXT The Dream Chapter: Eternity
    2020 GFriend 回:Song of the Sirens
    2020 BTS Map of the Soul: 7 ~The Journey~
    2020 TXT Minisode1: Blue Hour
    2020 GFriend 回:Walpurgis Night
    2020 Enhypen Border: Day One
    2020 Enhypen Border: Carnival
    2021 TXT The Chaos Chapter: Freeze
    2021 Seventeen Your Choice


    IV. Awards


    Year Award Ceremony Category
    2009 Melon Music Awards Songwriter Award
    2010 Mnet 20's Choice Awards 20's Most Influential Stars Award
    2011 Korea Music Copyright Awards Best Lyricist (Ballad)
    2011 Korea Music Copyright Awards Best Songwriter (Ballad)
    2011 Korea Music Copyright Awards Masterpiece Award
    2016 Asia Artist Awards Best Producer Award
    2016 Melon Music Awards Songwriter Award
    2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards Special Awards – Best Executive Producer
    2017 Golden Disc Awards Best Producer
    2017 Gaon Chart Music Awards Producer of the Year
    2017 Korea Content Awards Presidential Commendation
    2018 Seoul Music Awards Producer Award
    2018 Genie Music Awards Producer Award
    2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards Producer of the Year
    2018 Edaily Culture Awards Frontier Award
    2020 Pony Chung Innovation Awards Innovation Award
    2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Executive Producer of the Year

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