Taeyang released his fourth studio solo album, Quintessence, on May 18, 2026, coinciding with his 38th birthday and BigBang’s 20th anniversary [1, 2]. It is his first solo album in almost a decade since 2017’s White Night [1, 2].

Quintessence includes 10 tracks and features collaborations with producers beyond Taeyang’s usual team at The Black Label [1, 2]. The album opens with "Bad," created with American producers The Stereotypes. Taeyang described the track as capturing who he is: "The title is Bad, but throughout the song it says ‘still bad,’ meaning I am still the same… The lyrics are about the path I have walked, the things I have fought against and the life I have lived" [1]. He said, "While writing the lyrics, I thought this was the song that explains Taeyang the best" [1].

The main track, "Live Fast Die Slow," is the fastest-tempo song of his career [1, 2]. The album also features "Would You," with AllDay Project members Woochan and Tarzzan [3, 2]. Former labelmate Tablo contributed lyrics to three songs, including "Movie" [2]. Taeyang spent nearly a year on the album, balancing familiarity with new artistic challenges [1, 2]. He said, "Since this year marks BigBang’s 20th anniversary, the most important thing for me when I started working on this album was figuring out what felt the most like myself while also being something new" [1]. He noted, "I realised what matters is the attitude with which I pursue those values. Even if I feel like I have found the answer, it is not something I can simply define" [2].

Earlier this year, Taeyang and BigBang performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April [1, 3, 2]. Taeyang previewed Quintessence with listening sessions in Seoul on its release day and at the Grammy Museum earlier [3].

In its first week, Quintessence sold 56,985 physical copies worldwide, marking Taeyang’s career-best sales [3]. First-day sales hit 26,657 copies, surpassing his previous records [3]. According to Hanteo, Taeyang’s solo albums have sold over 220,000 copies in total to date [3].

Taeyang’s work on Quintessence continues this month with ongoing promotions following the May 18 release [1, 2].