Welcome back to another week of Best of Weekly Music Shows! Red Velvet won big this week, taking home wins for “Red Flavour” on MBC Show Champion, Mnet M! Countdown, MBC Show! Music Core, KBS Music Bank, and SBS Inkigayo. There was no winner on SBS The Show. If you’re an SM stan, you might want to check out this week’s Inkigayo broadcast, since all three of the SM groups that came back for the summer — EXO, Red Velvet, and NCT 127 — performed!
EXO’s “The Eve”, MBC Show! Music Core, July 22, 2017
Although EXO’s comeback title track is “Ko Ko Bop”, I prefer “The Eve” a lot more. Musically, the song is a lot more powerful, with a strong bass line driving the smooth, dark chorus. Performance-wise, the choreography is smoking hot paired with the classic black and white colour scheme for their outfits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIGZUp_7j18
KARD’s “Hola Hola”, SBS Inkigayo, July 23, 2017
KARD has finally made their official debut with “Hola Hola”, and this stage is fun and hot, which is perfect for the summer season. It’s cool to see elements of their previous pre-debut tracks being incorporated into the performance. An example is the point dance move for “Oh Na Na” and a similar rocking choreography for “Don’t Recall” in the chorus. Most importantly, the group looks excited to be on stage, and we’re delighted for them!
Jung Yong Hwa’s “That Girl”, Mnet M! Countdown, July 20, 2017
CNBlue’s Yong Hwa has made his solo comeback with “Do Disturb”! Vocally, the title track “That Girl” is quite challenging with the abundance of high notes, but Yong Hwa pulls it off well. Not only that, he proves on stage that he is more than just a singer as he raps Loco’s parts as well! The stage gives off club vibes with the night-out outfits and the upbeat couple choreography.
Blackpink’s “As If It’s Your Last (Remix)”, SBS Inkigayo, July 23, 2017
In case you were bored of “As If It’s Your Last”, Blackpink changed things up with a remixed version. The structure and the parts of the song are still the same but with a more powerful bass driving the track. The reworked opening also adds interest and builds suspense to the first verse!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haFzJK2Z5H4
Zico’s “I Am You, You Are Me + Turtle Ship (Remix)”, KBS Yu Huiyeol’s Sketchbook, July 22, 2017
“I Am You, You Are Me” is one of my favourite songs of all time, and Zico’s recent performance only increased my love for this track! The band does a great job putting a jazzy spin to it with the soft cymbals and the addition of the prominent keyboard accompaniment. Zico’s clear vocals at the end of the song only add to the magic of the entire stage. He then spices things up with a transition to “Turtle Ship”, where he shows off his impressive rapping skills, hyping the crowd up!
