Welcome to this week’s recap of performances on the weekly music shows. To change things up a bit, Mnet devoted M! Countdown to celebrate their 10th anniversary, filling the show with several special stages. Block B, Sistar, Homme, HyunA, and more held comeback stages while Play the Siren, from the SM Entertainment-affiliated Baljunso label, made their debut. Wins were split between B1A4 and Girl’s Day, with the former taking Show Champion, M! Countdown, and Music Bank for “Solo Day” while the latter won Music Core and Inkigayo with “Darling.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAFQkO1DmQ]Infinite‘s “Diamond” + “Back,” Mnet M! Countdown 10th Anniversary, July 24, 2014
This repackaged comeback is miles better than “Last Romeo.” The stage for “Diamond” was nicely done, with simple switches in position. The best part was actually how the song approached its end. Having the members leave one by one until Woohyun was the only one left kept the progression interesting and made the end more impactful. In “Back,” I particularly liked the fluid mirroring motions near the beginning. Also, I couldn’t stop staring at L because I can’t figure out if I like this hair color or not.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsA1qeuD8_0]
Sistar’s “Touch My Body,” Mnet M! Countdown 10th Anniversary, July 24, 2014
I think we all dread the hip/leg wiggle-thing, but putting that aside, this song is super fun, and Sistar sells it well. The girls suit the summery fun so much.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9vVgrQnaV4]HyunA feat. EXID‘s LE‘s “Blacklist,” KBS Music Bank, July 25, 2014
HyunA and LE is the combination I never knew I wanted. This song works for both of them both in the rapping department and in presentation. I do recommend a look at HyunA’s “Red” too. It’s this whirlwind mess but HyunA is pure stage presence and looks like she has fun doing the performance.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3_kbGZroqo]B1A4’s “Solo Day,” KBS Music Bank, July 25, 2014
Honestly, these outfits are what made me put this stage up here. I’ve been enjoying “Solo Day” and the fancy footwork routine, but these clothes made me think of five schoolboys playing hooky in their uniforms or something similar. And as always, B1A4 manages to make a performance that seems so uniquely them. I don’t know what exactly it is about their choreography, but it always fits their music and current image so well.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tg5DjURLI0]Block B’s “H.E.R,” KBS Music Bank, July 25, 2014
Talk about wow. Any Block B performance from this week could have gone here. Their continuous high energy is wonderful to watch and infectious. Whoever (Zico) decided to put P.O. on the chorus has made my summer because he sound so good there.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgq-u89oEZY]Song So-hee‘s cover of Cho Young-nam‘s “Can’t Live Without Love,” KBS Immortal Song 2, July 26, 2014
Traditional Korean singing isn’t highlighted much in K-pop, so to see it on Immortal Song 2 was fascinating. The whole image Song So-hee presented is so elegant and eye-catching.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clpN_6aB07k]Lucky J‘s cover of Cho Young-nam’s “Hard to be Humble,” KBS Immortal Song 2, July 26, 2014
Watching this trio’s cover propelled me to check out their debut single. These three are clearly comfortable on stage and gave a pretty good show for their first appearance. All of them balance each other out and present an energetic performance.
