Prior to the group's debut, a few of the members were already exposed to the entertainment industry. G-Dragon and Taeyang were the first ones to receive training under YG Entertainment at the age of eleven. T.O.P was an underground rapper[15] under the stage name "Tempo." One of his most popular track was "Buckwild" with NBK Gray.[16] After G-Dragon was approached by YG-Entertainment for possible candidates to start a boy group, G-Dragon contacted T.O.P, with whom he was a childhood friend with, leading to the latter to audition in.[17] Seungri first appeared on the reality television series Let's Cokeplay: Mnet Battle Shinhwa, a show in which idol group Shinhwa search for members to make up the "second-generation Shinhwa." The original lineup consisted of 6 members: the aforementioned ones along with Daesung and So-1, who were both auditioned in. Their formation was documented on television; prior to their official debut, So-1 was dropped.[18][19]
Big Bang held their official debut on August 19, 2006 at the Gymnastics Arena in Seoul Olympic Park during the YG Family 10th Year Concert.[20] On September 23, 2006, the group had their debut performance on television broadcast. Following the performance, the group's first single, "Bigbang," was released. It contained the songs "We Belong Together", featuring label mate Park Bom; "A Fool's Only Tears" (Korean: 눈물뿐인 바보; Revised Romanization: Nunmulppunin Babo); and "This Love", an adaptation of the American rock band Maroon 5 song, rewritten and performed by G-Dragon.[18][21] The single went on to sell nearly 40,000 copies.[22] The second single, "BigBang Is V.I.P," was released in September, eventually topping 32,000 copies sold.[22] Their last single, "Bigbang 03," followed, with final sales nearing 40,000 copies.[22] At the end of December 2006, Big Bang held their very first concert, The Real. The following month, their debut album, BigBang Vol. 1 – Since 2007, was released, selling 48,000 copies by the end of February 2007