Taeyang QUINTESSENCE Trailer Opens Fourth Full-Length Album Rollout Ahead of May 18 Release

Taeyang has opened the rollout for his fourth full-length album, QUINTESSENCE, with an official trailer released through THEBLACKLABEL’s social channels on May 4, 2026. The album is scheduled for release on May 18, 2026 at 6 p.m., marking a major solo return centered on the new project and its visual introduction. ¹

The trailer positions Taeyang QUINTESSENCE as a comeback built around scale, symbolism, and a clearly defined release date. Reports from Korean entertainment outlets describe the clip as a preview of the album’s atmosphere rather than a conventional performance video, with imagery that moves from small impact-like visuals into wider scenes of civilization and a large city. ²

Taeyang QUINTESSENCE Trailer Released Through Official Channels

The trailer was released by THEBLACKLABEL on May 4 through official social media channels, introducing Taeyang’s fourth studio album before the full project arrives later in the month. StarNews reported that the video includes views of civilization and city landscapes, as well as crowds that gather and scatter in the shape of the letter Q. ¹

The same report also described imagery of two angels formed around the letter Q, tying the visual language directly to the album title. ¹ Maeil Business Newspaper’s English-language report similarly described the clip as beginning from a small collision before expanding into images of civilization and a massive city, emphasizing the trailer’s movement from a compact visual idea to a larger world. ²

YTN characterized the trailer as a visualization of Taeyang’s new musical world and reported that it previews his return with the fourth full-length album. ³ The available source material does not provide a full concept statement from Taeyang or THEBLACKLABEL, but the repeated descriptions across reports point to a trailer built around the album’s title motif and a broad visual scale.

The trailer’s release also gives the comeback a confirmed public starting point. Rather than leading with a full track list or detailed song-by-song description, the first wave of coverage centers on the official trailer, the album title, and the May 18 release schedule.

A Fourth Studio Album After WHITE NIGHT

QUINTESSENCE is Taeyang’s fourth studio album and his first full-length album since WHITE NIGHT, which was released in August 2017. YTN and Sports Kyunghyang both reported that the new album arrives about nine years after that previous full-length release. ⁴ ³

The timing gives the project significance within Taeyang’s solo discography. While he has released music in the years between the two studio albums, the sources identify QUINTESSENCE specifically as the first regular album in roughly nine years. Sports Kyunghyang reported that track and title-song information would be revealed later, based on the information available in its May 4 report. ⁴

The album also follows Taeyang’s 2023 EP Down to Earth. Maeil Business Newspaper described QUINTESSENCE as a new release arriving about three years after that EP, while YTN also reported that the album marks a comeback about three years after Down to Earth, released in April 2023. ² ³

Those timelines place the new album in two contexts at once: it is a full-length follow-up to WHITE NIGHT, and it is also Taeyang’s next solo project after Down to Earth. The source material does not provide broader production credits, album packaging details from THEBLACKLABEL, or an official explanation of the title beyond the trailer’s visual references.

Release Date, Track Mentions, and Pre-Order Details

The confirmed release time for QUINTESSENCE is May 18, 2026 at 6 p.m. Several reports state the same schedule, with YTN specifying that the album will be released through various music platforms. ³

allkpop reported that the album includes the title track Live Fast Die Slow, along with Open Up featuring The Kid LAROI and Would You featuring ALLDAY PROJECT’s Tarzzan and Woochan. ⁵ Because other listed Korean reports say detailed track and title-song information would be released later, the article can only state that these track details are reported by allkpop, while the common confirmed facts across sources remain the trailer release, album title, and May 18 release date.

A separate official sales page from MAKESTAR lists a TAEYANG QUINTESSENCE pre-order special benefit event running from May 4 to May 17, 2026. The page states that buyers of one general version copy receive one unreleased selfie photo card at random, and that eligible purchases are reflected in Hanteo Chart, Circle Chart, and Music Bank chart sales counts. ⁶

Taeyang QUINTESSENCE May 18 release album rollout concept

The May 4 trailer release sets the public timeline for Taeyang’s fourth studio album before the full release on May 18. Based on the available sources, QUINTESSENCE is being introduced first through its official visual trailer, with the release schedule and full-length comeback status serving as the central confirmed details of the rollout.