Welcome back to another week of Best of Weekly Music Shows! This week saw a round of great comebacks — to name a few, Infinite’s Sunggyu released his solo album 10 Stories, BTS’ J-Hope dropped his mixtape Hope World, and Jooyoung made his first comeback after his military discharge with Fountain. Yang Yoseob took home a win for “Where I Am Gone” on SBS The Show, while iKON continued to win for their major hit “Love Scenario” on Mnet M! Countdown, KBS Music Bank, MBC Show! Music Core, and SBS Inkigayo.
Without further ado, here were some of our favourite stages of the week!
WJSN’s “Dreams Come True”, Mnet M! Countdown, March 01, 2018
Even in just the first few seconds of the performance, I could tell that this was going to be an amazing visual overload. With so many members in the group, it can be easy to simply fall back on generic stage formations that ultimately put the focus on only a few, but it was impressive how WJSN had very intricate choreography that highlighted all the members. I particularly enjoyed the bridge section, which featured them gracefully dropping down row by row — the sequential choreography matched extremely well with the repetition during that part of the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnBkxFqY2l4
Kim Sunggyu’s “True Love”, KBS Yu Huiyeol’s Sketchbook, March 03, 2018
Sunggyu has long been raved about for his vocal skills, and this performance shows that he is worthy of all that praise and more. In a purely live rendition of his latest track “True Love”, he not only effortlessly showcases his rich vocal color, but also delivers the emotional depth of the song as a true artist and musician.
NCT U’s “Baby Don’t Stop”, MBC Show! Music Core, March 03, 2018
NCT is bringing it hard this year! Ten has returned to the rotational NCT U lineup for his duet with Taeyong titled “Baby Don’t Stop”. At this point, keeping up with the member lineup is a bit of a lost cause — there are too many changes and releases to keep up, but rest assured, all of NCT will get their turn to shine as they make a full return. “Baby Don’t Stop” has a style along the lines of “Boss” — edgy, dark, and crazily addictive to jam to. As a duo, both Ten and Taeyong really get their chance to shine: Ten with his significant improved vocals, and Taeyong with his low, charismatic raps. Of course, as both are lead dancers of the group (and deservedly so!), this deadly combination makes for an enticing performance that you won’t be able to take your eyes away from.
Cheetah’s “I’ll Be There”, MBC Show! Music Core, March 03, 2018
I have only heard of Cheetah on Show Me The Money, and was intrigued when her name popped up as one of the performers for this week’s Show! Music Core. The stage for her newest release “I’ll Be There” is simple and understated, making use of the classic black-and-white color scheme, dimmed lights, and fog to complement the sultry vibe of the track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q25laLglY8M
SF9’s “Mamma Mia”, SBS Inkigayo, March 04, 2018
Adopting a more retro style for their recent release “Mamma Mia”, SF9 amp it up with a wild and bright performance. There is a lot going on onstage, from the colourful backdrop to their vivid outfits (and hair!), but it works in their favour and adds to the overall theatrics of this musical genre.
