Best Of Weekly Music Shows: 8/26 To 9/1

A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month, and welcome back to another “Best of Weekly Music Shows”! This week is special, because not only do we see comebacks from the likes of Teen Top and SPICA, but Mnet‘s usual M! Countdown aired the special “What’s Up LA”, broadcasting performances from KCON held a few days prior. While I’m sure the entirety of KCON would serve as a highlight for those of you who were lucky enough to attend, here are some select highlights from this week’s Music Shows!

G-Dragon‘s “Niliria” ft. Missy Elliot, Mnet M!Countdown – What’s Up LA, Thursday the 29th of August 2013

Needless to say why this is a highlight. How often does this happen? Missy Elliot collaborating with K-Pop’s very own G-Dragon. Forthose of you who were able to attend to witness the performance live at KCON on the 25th of August, know I’m extremely envious. Not even going to lie, Missy pretty much dominated this song. When she was on stage, G-Dragon was almost invisible. That’s not exactly a discredit to G-Dragon either, because he does have a lot of credibility as a performer. This kind of song, though, isn’t the kind that does him favours. It leans a lot towards wanting to be the kind of serious business hip hop which causes G-Dragon to take himself a bit too seriously on stage. Don’t get me wrong, this was definite fun to watch because both Missy and G-Dragon are great performers, and how often does something like this even happen? But I can’t say I’m too hot on the song.

Teen Top‘s “Rocking, KBS Music Bank, Friday the 30th of August 2013

Teen Top is so tragically underrated as a dance group, and I am all over “Rocking” like white on rice. As a song, “Rocking” although being the biggest earworm this month, didn’t really win me over when it first came out. But watching them execute that choreography together on stage? With that crazy leg work and clean synch? Sign me up for this comeback. Teen Top isn’t the best group out there, but ever since “Crazy,” I’ve always been in awe of their dancing, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s their main selling point, and definitely the highlight of this crazy fun song. I mean Changjo, that footwork. Let me swoon.

Seungri‘s “Gotta Talk To U”, MBC Music Core, Saturday the 31st of August 2013

Seungri has transitioned so nicely into this mature and classy performer, it’s amazing to witness. And this song is still my favourite YG release of the year. If I could throw in a few pointers, then he needs to loosen up a lot more on stage, inject some of his staple cockiness back in. Plus, his voice which sounded like velvet when recorded, sounds choked and breathless when trying to achieve the same effect on stage. Regardless, it seems like the maknae has finally actually grown up into a man, and that’s always great to watch (well, at least on stage).

Sunmi‘s “24 Hours”, MBC Music Core, Saturday the 31st of August 2013

This comeback was thought through so well. “24 Hours” is a really great choice for Sunmi’s voice and just a really pleasant listen in general. It’s also weirdly engaging to watch in a more softer way. Sunmi isn’t really solo material, there’s something about the way she expresses herself that’s just too quiet and doesn’t make much of a statement. 24 Hours though, is perfect for her, and she pulls it off perfectly. The song relies on a very passive kind of sensual, not in a degrading way, but in a gentle and indulging way. The broadcast could do without Music Core‘s weird attempt at making Sunmi stand out through desaturating everything else, but otherwise the camera work and outfits were nice.

Bada‘s “Sparks”, KBS Immortal Song 2, Saturday the 31st of August 2013

Hot damn, Bada was on fire. Singing a cover of Jun Young-Rok‘s “Sparks”, she certainly does the song a literal justice. The enthusiasm injected into the performance was palpable. Although the choreography isn’t particularly demanding or complicated, the fact she can put on such a high-energy show, dancing and jumping around, and still belt out those notes like they’re effortless is a mark of an accomplished and experienced performer. Sure, I wish she had on a nicer outfit, this one was kind of gaudy, but when you get an audience reaction like that, there’s really little to fault with this performance.

(YouTube [1] [2] [3] [4])