[Gayo Daejun 2012] Part 2: The Consolation Prizes

Like I said yesterday, Gayo Daejuns allow for a wide variety of performances. With the sheer number of acts, the most relevant of which show up on all three shows, there are bound to be performances of all kinds. Like any year, there were performances that were boring, there were those that were really bad and painful, there were those that completely blew everyone else out of the water, but there were also performances that were somewhere in between. Performances that could have been good, performances that had good ideas, execution, or staging, but which didn't have everything. They were good, but not good enough.

Which is why this year, aside from picking my over-all favorites, I'm handing out two kinds of "consolation prizes" so to say, to the performances that had their moments, but were outshone by better ones. First, with so many special arrangements done over the course of three shows, there were bound to be those which really brought something new to the table. And second, I'll be listing the five performances that I saw so much potential in, but which didn't really completely pull through.

Shall we?

The Best Arrangements

KARA - "Pandora" (SBS)
I really liked "Pandora" to start with, so I really liked how they kept this re-arrangement simple, adding some more oomph to the song, but retaining the elements that are both familiar and likable. It's probably the most simple rearrangement on the list, but the thing with this is that you know the simplicity wasn't because of laziness or lack of time. It makes sense, and it gives the song something as opposed to just adding to the chaos. I also really like the dance break -- there's substance to it, but it's also very graceful. If they had delivered this better, it would've been a stand-out performance of the night, really.

Super Junior - "Sexy, Free and Single" (SBS)
After their KBS performance, honestly I was put-off Super Junior's Gayo appearances this year. Every year we get some sort of retrospective of everything they put out since "Sorry Sorry". I know "Sorry Sorry" was a really good song, because it was and it opened so many doors, and I'd take it over "Sexy, Free and Single" any day, but it's not 2009 anymore, plus they've incorporated it in later performances already -- can we move on? This is a 2012 Gayo Daejun, not a 2009 or 2010 or 2011 one. Which is why I liked their SBS arrangement much more. It was pretty sloppily sung, but I liked the arrangement because it gave the song a different kind of dimension, and it's fitting for a group of Super Junior's seniority/stature. You can tell they prepared for this, and you can tell that people made an effort to make this arrangement work. It also made the hook a lot less annoying that it is, for which I'm forever grateful.

Ga-In - "Bloom" (MBC)
This was a nice change from the original performance, which is really perky in a kind of innocent way (but still really good), but I wouldn't really say it's unexpected. The arrangement matches Ga-In and her personality as a performer really well because it gives the song this more mature kind of sexy that you didn't see in the original arrangement. What I really liked about this though was the fact that even if the nature of the elements they chose mass it easy for the song to just stay in one place and not go anywhere else, this performance still has dynamics to it -- verses are ever so slightly urgent, and the chorus has a very graceful, but confident explosion. This is the kind of lie-low arrangement that wouldn't have worked if one, the arranger was lazy, and two, Ga-In couldn't sing. And thankfully, neither happened.

Potentially Good Performances

Teen Top - "Be My Girl" + "Going Crazy" (KBS)
This could have been a good performance, because the song choice was really good -- perky enough to liven up the atmosphere -- and I kind of liked the remix of "Going Crazy", but the delivery fell short. I was reading through my notes from when I first watched this performance, and after watching it a few more times, I still think the same:

The vocals were going back and forth between sloppy and painful, the only reason why the belting was successful was because it was more of screaming than singing. And underneath all the jumping and movement, their presence was pretty mediocre and more manic than energetic.

I'm all for graceful performances, and being too stiff on stage is bad too, but when you perform you need to put some guts into it as well, no matter how fluid the movements. I get the feeling that they were going for that effortless fun vibe, but all I got from the choreographed parts were limbs flailing around with little purpose, and sub-par vocals. Which is really a pity.

SM The Performance - "Spectrum" (SBS)
To tell you the truth, I was actually pretty bored throughout the SBS Gayo, more than I was during the KBS. There was so much going on, but hardly anyone actually delivered, so I ended up just "leafing through" majority of the show at first. But then SM The Performance showed up and they literally made me peel my eyes away from my computer and on to the TV. Which is surprising considering the fact that this is supposed to be more of a dance group and I'm more of a music person. However, two things made me notice this performance (aside from Yunho, of course) -- the song, and the delivery.

"Spectrum" is an amazing, glorious song to start with -- you have all these beautiful elements that really make the song soar, and then you have this melody that lies low during the verses but does the soaring at the chorus. Beautiful. It's the kind of song that you really can't not dance to. Believe me, the only reason why I can stay still is because I'm too busy concentrating on the performance. And then, you have these SM dancers, most of which you hardly notice in their respective groups because they're too busy trying to make up for the weaknesses of their bandmates. Of course some of the people in this project group are significantly weaker than others, but the ratio of useful to less useful/useless is much, much better. These are people who know how to carry themselves on stage, and people who know how to carry even more people than they do here, so naturally they'd do a good job performing. As far as the vocal distribution goes, SM hit the nail on the head for the third time -- people like Taemin and Yunho, people with actual voices, got the solos, and everyone else was multi-tracked. If this had been sung live, and done just as well as it was, this would be on my list of best Gayo performances, but since it wasn't it'll have to settle for potentially one of the best.

Mystic White - "Mermaid Princess" (SBS)
Like I said yesterday, the only project group song I liked was the Mystic White one, because it was fresher than the others, and the production was really good. It had substance as a recording, but it fell short as a performance. It was okay, but the vocals were weak, and the chorus, which I really liked, was delivered sloppily. The entire performance was boring and frail, which is the complete opposite of the characteristics that made me like the song in the first place. The substance was gone, and it's like the entire performance was watered down. In a bad way. Which is really a pity because it was a really good song.

KARA - "Pandora" (MBC)
When I first saw this performance I was still high off the amazing SISTAR one, and even then I thought this had a fighting chance against that gorgeous rock version of "Alone". The remix was confident and I really liked it, and the staging was great (despite the dancing guy) with the crowd of backup dancers that they really made use of. It was a fun way to present a song as good as "Pandora", so obviously I was on board. But then they started singing and they weren't singing live. I guess my ears are partially thankful that I didn't have to hear their sub-par vocals, but honestly, I hate that they didn't even get the chance to try and do it well. What if they had done it well? Even if I doubt it'll happen, KARA is bound to hit it right some time. There were so many good elements, and they were all disregarded by the fact that this ended up only half a performance.

*Note: So apparently, KARA were not lip-synching, but to me that just means that this was even worse than I initially thought it was. Usually, when vocals are too perfect to be humanly possible, at least without studio tricks, or when less obvious auto tune becomes obvious, or when the shape of their mouths don't correspond to the note they're hitting, the performance is lip-synched. Which kind of makes this "live singing" even worse because the only reason I found out that they were singing live was one, someone commented below, and two, I heard them breathing. Yeah sure the backing track makes everything nice and even, but both KARA and the sound guys are at fault -- the sound guys for turning the backing track too high, and KARA for not making an effort to sing over it when it's pretty clear that the backing track is ridiculously loud.

DBSK - "Catch Me" (MBC)
I was really disappointed that DBSK didn't get anything new for this year's Gayo Daejuns, because this is the first year they spent closing all three shows and yet all they had with them was some random intro and the same backing track they've been using since September. Their performances this year were a total waste, not only of their talent, but of "Catch Me" and everything that could've happened. Here you have two performers who literally jump through hoops and fire for a living, and do it well, with a song that's elaborate enough to spruce up even more, and nothing was done. I mean they sang and performed really well, with presence and conviction, but they did that on smaller music shows too -- Gayo Daejuns are supposed to be special. I chose their MBC appearance because it started out really, really good, and when I heard the opening bars of "O - Jung. Ban. Hap." play, my jaw dropped in surprise and awe. That's the kind of reaction I wanted to have for the entirety of the all three performances, but then "Catch Me" came on and things were normal again. This could've been so much better because if anyone can carry a challenging arrangement, it's these two.

And I'm two days late, but that's it for 2012! Again, thank you so much for sticking around despite the rocky start last December. Time to concentrate on 2013!

[Gayo Daejun 2012] Part 1: The 10 Best Performances

Year-End Festival season is the time of the year when everyone, or at least, everyone who mattered even just a little bit, comes out bringing the songs that made them relevant during the past year. Remixes are made, special stages held, dance breaks added -- anything to make those songs special for what is quite possibly their last hurrah. Gayo Daejuns have become places where acts come out in all their musical finery and show off.

They're like marketplaces -- you have practically the entire idol industry for the picking, so the performances come in a variety of qualities. Thankfully, that wide spectrum of quality translates into pretty tough competition, making acts really step up their game. Every year, a select few rise to the challenge, and succeed, or set bars, only to surpass existing expectations.

The performances I chose are some of the most creative, most confident, and best-executed performances -- they're strong from top to bottom and side to side. These are the performances that bring out some of the best talent in K-Pop, and that really do a good job of showing it off. They aren't flawless, because that's humanly impossible, but the flaws on these performances are either minuscule, or contribute something good to the entirety. It's those kinds of performances that are on this year's list -- performances I would gladly watch over and over and over again.

KBS

The non-idol groups

The KBS Gayo Daejun had very little spectacle compared to the other two networks' offerings, but at least the stage looked more elaborate than it did last year. Still, majority of the performances either felt too much like regular music show ones, or tried to do something and failed because of a number of different factors. However, the circumstances managed to bring out the performers, and performances, who are really good to begin with. I swear I didn't even know none of my choices were idols until I looked over the list again earlier!

Ailee - "Halo" / "Heaven" / "Just Dance"
Her "Halo" cover was part of a suite called "Idol & Artist", and with her Hyorin and K. Will also covered "Sway" and "Ribbon In the Sky", respectively. Honestly the only cover I really liked was Ailee's because Hyorin's "Sway" was way too heavy and didn't have that effortlessness that a song like "Sway" really, really needs, and K. Will's was boring until he started belting more, which means it was pretty boring throughout. Ailee, however, not only chose only a newer song that brought out her strengths, but also delivered it with conviction and effortlessness. It's not really the language barrier, to be honest, because Hyorin has had some beautiful English covers, it's really the song choice and the delivery. Which just goes to show that Ailee really does have what it takes to be a soloist because she knows how to carry herself, regardless of the song.

The first thing that surprised me about Ailee's KBS appearance was the fact that she was placed to late in the show, something usually reserved for more senior acts. But honestly, she gave a better performance than a lot of other seniors that night. The song choice was correct, "Heaven" has the possibility to be that epic, big-performance song with the class and sophistication you should associate with Ailee, and she delivered it with mastery and so much conviction. I like that she lowered the high note at the climax, because it shows that she has a performer's mindset -- there's no room for hesitation on stage, so if she felt that she couldn't hit the higher note, it was the right decision to lower it.

The other thing that surprised me was that she did a "Just Dance" cover, which reminded me a lot of past Gayo Daejuns when they'd do special covers of newer songs. Most of the old covers weren't really any good, but it was something to look forward to and get curious about when it came to Gayos. To see Ailee do that, and pretty much slay everyone else who covered "Just Dance" before (didn't someone do that in 2009? SHINee? I think), was one of my favorite moments from all three Gayo Daejuns.

But above all, Ailee's performance showed me that it's possible for one act to have everything I talked about last year (!!) and said that other rookies needed. She has talent, she has presence, but she also has very, very good stage manners. She was singing live on this performance, overpowering her backing track, she showed how much she wanted to be on stage, she was enthusiastic and she didn't count on her "hard work" to show it for her, she went and showed it herself. And finally, once it was time to jump around on stage and have fun, she did just that with so much effortlessness, but she never, ever forgot what got her on stage in the first place -- to sing. So many other acts forget that, but not Ailee. With this performance, she proved that she is, without a doubt, rookie of the year.

Brave Guys - "Wait and Get Ready" (With K. Will, Kang Kyun Sung and Secret's Sunhwa)
Given my limited knowledge of Brave Guys (I'd seen a few gag concert cuts and some other stuff they did), I was extremely surprised when Shin Bora started singing, because she did it so well. She has a gorgeous timbre, the song was right for her, and there was this effortlessness that you don't see in majority of many female idols, who have probably trained for much, much longer. I think it's safe to say that she out-sung almost all the female acts that night. And that this performance, despite not being a "conventional" one, outdid majority of the others.

And this one performance showed me that Brave Guys as a musical act is actually really, really good, so when I found out that they're not doing music anymore, I was disappointed. I mean they're not ridiculously amazing, but they're solid, entertaining performers, with good, catchy songs. That's better than a lot of what we get from other acts. But what angered me was the reason why they decided to quit. Apparently since they're comedians, they "can't do music and comedy", which is probably one of the most stupid criticisms I've heard, and also one of the most ironic, coming from an industry that promotes a "jack of all trades, master of few/none" mindset in idols. You see all these idols trying to go into acting or comedy or anything other than singing (which some of them aren't even that good at in the first place), and while some of them are actually pretty okay, the majority aren't. Meanwhile, you have Brave Guys, who are good comedians to start with, and good performers and musicians as well, and you tell them they can't be all that? I'm sorry but I can't accept that reasoning, and this performance is why.

K. Will - "I Need You"
I loved this performance so much, and it really was one of the most memorable moments of the otherwise boring KBS show. The song choice was on-point -- it wasn't a ballad, but it still shows off K. Will's gorgeous and stable voice. It's also a lot more interesting than his "Ribbon In The Sky" version because it really took advantage of his very clear belting in contrast to his otherwise husky, rich middle range. The dance/instrumental break kept it fresh, but it didn't overpower the rest of the song. This is just one of those performances that are so effortlessly good I want to watch them over and over and over again.

SBS

The Boybands

Last year's SBS Gayo Daejun was my favorite out of the three, but I'm afraid I can't say the same about this year's show. I initially really liked the idea of them forming project groups just for that night, because it was a good way to present not only songs from the year that was about to end, but something fresh -- it set the SBS show apart from other shows. But once we got the songs I was extremely underwhelmed by them -- either they weren't any good, or they sounded too much like something else. The only song I really liked was Mystic White's, but the performance was boring. Actually, all four performances weren't that good. So when it came down to choosing the best performances from that night, none of them were even on my shortlist. And, again, I just happened to choose all the boy band performances.

Big Bang - "One Of a Kind" + "Crayon" + "Fantastic Baby"
And this, my friends, is how you do a Gayo Daejun performance -- you take advantage of the fact that the stage is bigger, and you take advantage of the fact that the audience is much better. If there's one more thing to add to my (rather long) list of "Reasons Why I Have THE Utmost Respect for Big Bang", it's that they know exactly how to please a crowd with their music. They know how to balance all these fancy gimmicks and the delivery of their music, so much better than anyone. Groups like BEAST and maybe Teen Top now, they try, and to a certain extent it works, but they haven't yet captured that level of effortlessness that Big Bang put into their playful performances. Like, TOP may be deadpan in terms of movement, but he knows other ways of how to play with the crowd, and GD is just a fireball, really. Also, I wasn't really convinced with a lot of the "Gangnam Style" incorporations this year, save for this one. It wasn't a direct copy, and I really liked that. I really liked the entire performance, and it was one of the few that put a genuine smile on my face without me having to force it.

BEAST - "Beautiful Night"
If the Big Bang performance was something to have fun with, the BEAST performance brought out the anthemic quality of "Beautiful Night". Despite the fact that, like I said earlier, they don't have the music that's as effortless as Big Bang, they bring a different kind of performance to the table. "Beautiful Night" isn't something you subconsciously play along with like a Big Bang song, it's really that anthemic kind of performance that you sit back and appreciate. They're different, really. (So I should stop comparing them!) Stable vocals, strong yet humble stage presence, good stage manners -- it's good over-all, all while being above a music show performance. They played the crowd well, and I like how they succeeded without all those bells and whistles. It's hard to find a balance between the two, but it's also hard to do without the bells and whistles, just like what BEAST did.

Infinite - "The Chaser"
This is probably my favorite remix of "The Chaser", not really because of the presence of the orchestra alone, but because it made the song even more epic than it already is. Because this was truly a Gayo Daejun-worthy performance. The arrangers really made an effort to make it special for the Gayos -- it wasn't just some random new synth line put on top of the original arrangement. And unlike other orchestra versions that have been done in the past, this one wasn't some boring attempt to do "classical" music under a pop melody. You have your strings, but then you also have these electric guitars running around, I loved that part. That's another thing I really like about this arrangement -- it's not pretentious, it's confident. And to top it all off, this was also the best-sung and most stable of Infinite's three Gayo performances. It was a lot more stable vocally, and I liked the friction between their vocals and the instrumental. It was, all-around, one of the best performances of the night.

MBC

The Fierce Battles

Finally, a relatively vague categorization. It's not my fault the best from the other shows had striking similarities! To me, the MBC show has always been the messiest of the three -- you have a "battle" thing going on with blue and white teams, but then you have these random special stages stuck in between them, with little to no relation with the main "battle". This year was a bit more organized than last year's though, which is good. And if there's one thing I like about the format, it's that there's a lot to talk about, and a good point to make regarding the battles. In a perfect world, the battles exist so acts can push themselves -- if they want to win, they have to be good. I tried to look for those kinds of battles, but I only found one, so the other pair of performances that I'll feature is sort of my "dream team" -- the two acts that I think would've made for a really, really fierce battle.

(Note: Despite the fact that they're paired up, each act accounts for one performance -- which means the MBC section features four performances ;D)

Epik High - "Don't Hate Me" / "Up" (with Park Bom) vs. MBLAQ - "It's War"
And that, my friends, is how you do a performance. Both groups did the right songs, and they carried themselves extremely well. This was honestly the only battle that night where both acts presented really strong fronts, and made it hard for me to mentally declare a "winner".

Epik High was brilliant, and I really like that instead of doing a whole performance of "Don't Hate Me", they did "Up" as well. It was ridiculously fun, but also fresh and Gayo-worthy. Watching their performance earlier was kind of a culmination of my want to understand rap, because they did it so well and they made me want to do more than just passively listen and passively like it. Park Bom was surprisingly stable, like she should be, but I also really like how even if she got center stage during her solos, it remained an Epik High song and not a Park Bom song, something that I noticed some songs turn into.

Honestly I wasn't so surprised that Epik High did such a good job because well, they're Epik High. I was more surprised with MBLAQ actually, because they exceeded my expectations a thousand times over. That was really one of their best-sung performances ever, one of the most stable, and also over-all one of the best-delivered. This was what I meant when I said that "It's War" truly takes what I used to think as MBLAQ's weakness, their over-performing that oftentimes translates into arrogance, and makes it a good thing. It's a song that will rise to the challenge of over performance, and that's really what MBLAQ has always needed. It's strong enough to overpower their bad points, while bringing out their strengths. And also, I love the re-arrangement. It's gorgeous and not the least bit less epic than the original, but it's something new.

Epik High vs. MBLAQ was really the fiercest battle on that show, and probably one of my favorites out of all the Gayo Daejun performances. They were that good.

SISTAR - "Alone" vs Miss A - "I Don't Need A Man"
A few hours ago I was really frustrated, because I really wanted the MBC section of this post to be centered around the "battle" concept of the show, but other than the Epik High/MBLAQ one, none of the other pairings matched up, to each other or to my standards. There were acts who did well in relation to each other, but outside of that they weren't that good all-around. In Miss A and SISTAR's case, they were both really, really good, but their partners were the opposite. The 4Minute performance was badly sung and the arrangement wasn't really that great, and the KARA one had an interesting arrangement, but they didn't even bother singing it live. However, the Miss A and SISTAR performances stood out too much for me not to include them here.

I really, really, REALLY liked the arrangement of "I Don't Need A Man", because as much as it sounded new and fresh (we'll get to that later), they also retained the original feel of it, better than any of the other remixes that tried. Hardly any of the original elements were retained, and yet it managed to channel a sense of familiarity. The most unfamiliar-feeling element of this performance is the dance break, but I love it. I love how it's so unexpected at first, but when you watch it again it makes sense in the greater scheme of things. And when you look at the elements themselves and how they relate to the song proper, it's actually really, really cohesive. I love it, it gives the song sass. This version was still as fun and tongue-in-cheek as the original one, and actually slightly more playful because there were more things to play around with. But at the same time, I like how the song has a different kind of substance, and how it's clear that this was approached with a musical mindset. The melody was tweaked to match, but not too much that it would become impossible to sing live. And actually, their vocals on this were quite good, and stable in general, save for a few slips and a fraction of the song being really breathy. But all things considered this is one of the most creative performances this year.

It's also a slightly similar case with SISTAR -- the arrangement is really creative and musical. But unlike Miss A, I didn't expect this to even just happen at all. But it did, and then I was surprised at how well it worked. One of the main reasons why I didn't like the original version of "Alone" was because it didn't do a good job of carrying SISTAR and hiding their flaws. And because I found it boring. Well, this arrangement was anything but. From the beginning all the way to the end it's overflowing with confidence, and it has so much spunk it almost hurts. The delivery was really good as well -- they really sold the song. Even if that one girl's voice cracked, it was a tiny miss in a sea of direct hits. In terms of their movements, this really worked too because they finally found somewhere to channel the roughness of their stage presence. This was one of the best things SISTAR ever did, probably the most well-rounded performance of their careers, actually.

Phew. That was long. Watch out for part 2 tomorrow! ^_^