Welcome back, readers, to the Best of Weekly Music Shows. This week was fairly busy for the weekly music shows, with the glut of spring comebacks expanding in number. Miss A and Exo made their long-awaited comebacks, accompanied by smaller groups Mamamoo and Blady. Red Velvet was the big winner of the week, with “Ice Cream Cake” taking the wins on The Show, Show! Music Core, Show Champion, and M!Countdown, while FT Island managed to snag Music Bank and Exo Inkigayo.
“Pray,” FT Island, The Show, SBS MTV, March 31, 2015
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENIONzwn_Ac]I’ve never been much of an FT Island fan, but “Pray” is a punch to the gut every time I hear it. Hongki‘s killer vocals are filled with pain, desperation, and loneliness. What truly sets it above everything is that those emotions are carried through the instrumentation just as much, if not more so, than the vocals. The pain of all five is near-tangible, and the end result is wondrous.
“Ahh Oop!”, Mamamoo featuring Esna, Music Bank, KBS, April 3, 2015
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi1J-TSh4_M]The fabulous quartet Mamamoo have returned alongside labelmate Esna with the amazing “Ahh Oop!” The retro-soul song enhances the fact that all of them amazing singers who make performing look easy. These five ladies are incredible to watch because their stage presence and charisma is off the charts.
“Apple,” Ga-in featuring Jay Park, Show! Music Core, MBC, April 4, 2015
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1eFI6wSr4U]Sometimes, you need to just sit back and watch the master work, and the “Apple” stage is one of those times. Everything about this is one-hundred percent on-point. Ga-in’s vocal delivery is flawless, and her sass level is perfect. Seeing Jay and Ga-in on stage together is just the cherry on top.
“Pepe,” CLC, M!Countdown, Mnet, April 2, 2015
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGkbUM-OJ6g]CLC are early contenders for this year’s They’re rookies? award. They have some very strong vocals and a comfort on the stage that one wouldn’t expect to see in a debut promotion cycle. More importantly, they function well as a group, feeding off each other to give a very strong performance.
“Bounce” Boyfriend, Simply K-pop, Arirang, April 3, 2015
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbh-b_vRm0Q]Though not a group well-known for their dance skills, that is exactly what landed Boyfriend a spot on this week’s list. Their in-sync ease and expressive movements make looking away from them almost impossible. The smooth sliding is very reminiscent of Justin Timberlake, and anything that warrants that comparison gets an automatic pass.
“I Am A Woman, Too,” Minah, Simply K-pop, Arirang, April 3, 2015
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk7AGwYysdY]“I Am A Woman, Too” has never managed to make much of an impression on me, but this performance is really bringing me around to the song. Maybe it’s because here, Minah actually seems like an adult woman. The emotion coming through her voice feels quite genuine, the pain and sorrow real.
“Only You,” Miss A, Inkigayo, SBS, April 5, 2015
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-44MfyeS-4]I really like this song. Maybe– okay, definitively– due to my blinding love of horns, but I don’t care. It’s a take-power love song, wherein falling in love doesn’t remove a woman’s spine, and Miss A doing it live makes me like it more. Miss A are performers first and foremost, and they perform “Only You” with aplomb. It’s clear that they don’t need this guy, and no disrespect will be taken by any one of them.
Those are the my highlights of the week, readers. Any that caught your eye?
