Best of Weekly Music Shows: 12/3 - 12/9

And we’re back with another set of the best of the week’s music shows. This week, Mnet‘s M! Countdown was cancelled. MBC‘s Music Core aired a slew of performances from its Vietnam special, which brought back songs released earlier in the year from groups such as Infinite, Sistar, and B.A.P. In addition, SBS Inkigayo had two special MCs, CNBLUE‘s Yonghwa and BEAST‘s Kikwang, to accompany IU this week. Next week begins the next set of MCs for the music show: actor Lee Hyun-woo and ZE:A‘s Kwanghee along with the already present IU. Below are my picks for the week, but don’t forget to comment with your favorites!

B1A4‘s “Tried to Walk,” MBC Music Show! Champion, December 4th, 2012

WM Entertainment wields a harsh banhammer on B1A4’s performances; it’s difficult to find one that still has its audio. Luckily, it seems this Show! Champion performance slipped through. Their stage is as good as ever, taking on a darker aesthetic for the day, though Gongchan‘s styling has seen better days. Whoever thought a skirt/apron thing was a good idea needs to be stopped.

C-Clown‘s “Far Away…Young Love,” MBC Music Show! Champion, December 4th, 2012

C-Clown has returned with a catchy song and choreography that incorporates some jacket moves. Some members–mainly Rome–over-perform their parts, and I’m not sure how I feel about the ’97 line’s Maru doing a hip thrust during one of his parts, but overall, the movements and singing are good enough to keep me watching and interested.

Nell‘s “White Night,” KBS Music Bank, December 7th, 2012

Nell holds their comeback stage this week for their title track, “White Night,” from Holding onto Gravity. It’s one of the quieter stages of the week, and thank goodness for that. This is a song I want to hear performed by itself, without additional fanchants, despite how supportive they may be.

Brave Guys‘ “Farther Away,” KBS Music Bank, December 7th, 2012

This is also the Brave Guys’ comeback stage, and their last one. The gag group recently released their first and last album, A to Z, choosing to remain true to themselves as comedians rather than pursuing a music career. The crew is all serious here: there are few, if any, smiles. Shin Bo-ra seems the most comfortable on stage as she powers through the song with her beautiful voice.

Yang Yoseob‘s “Caffeine,” SBS Inkigayo, December 9th, 2012

BEAST has a tendency towards great choreography, and that apparently carries over into solo endeavors. Even the simpler, deliberate steps during the chorus are just a pleasure to watch. The use of the backup dancers is very well done, always keeping Yoseob in the spotlight with their fluid moves. It’s a performance that helps invigorate the song.

Secret‘s “Talk That,” SBS Inkigayo, December 9th, 2012

Last up is Secret’s comeback with their latest single. Most of the dancing here is done by the backup dancers, Secret themselves having the more sensual moves during the chorus and dance break. The number of people allows for a rather dynamic performance with physical sliding of members backwards and rather intricate movements at the start and end. Depending on how it’s shot, the number of dancers can come off as too much, but I think Inkigayo did a good job of highlighting the girls and downplaying the number of people on stage. Also, did anyone else catch the male dancers just swaying side to side in the back during the chorus?

(MBC Music, MBC, SBS, KBS, atnNG90HD, Kpoplivehdhd2, KMusicLiveMBC, TanVuSBS)