[October 12, 2012] KBS Music Bank Highlights + Commentary

Today's show was literally drowning in idol groups, though majority of them rookies/unknowns. Absent from the broadcast (at least who I'm aware of) were U-Kiss, BTOB, Stephanie (MY QUEEN) and 15&. Although big names like Secret, Ga In, T-Ara, Orange Caramel and DBSK were all in attendance. Like last week, DBSK's "Catch Me" failed to win today's show, losing to "Gangnam Style".

Video credit goes to shu35150510 and lokyan64 @ YT, other videos to follow.

84LY - "Girl Talk"
I have no idea who some of these acts on today are, 84LY included. From the performance alone, which was lip-synched (BOO KBS), they remind me of Rania's "POP POP POP" era without the intensity and slightly more obvious class that Rania have (even if "POP POP POP" was super cheap). It's okay for what it is, but too generic wit nothing

A.cian - "Stuck"
Another act I don't know, who have horrible vocals even if it's lip-synched. Yes, it's that bad. It's one thing to only sound good on a recording, but to sound painful on it? How that happened is beyond me. The instrumental is boring not because it's bare, but because the elements are generic when they need to cover up those horrible vocals more than anything. Horrid song, horrid vocals, sloppy performance. Who are these guys and why were they even let on stage?

BBde Girl - "Messing Around"
Well, at least they're singing live? This string of bad unknown group performances continues though, because these girls sound so tired, making their already non-existent vocals even more painful. You know they're trying at least a bit, but their movements don't translate well on stage, neither do they look convincing.

Mr. Mr. - "Who's That Girl"
This kind of rookie/unknown performance was more along the lines of what I was expecting from the previous acts. I mean it's not spectacular or anything and the song is pretty mediocre, but the vocals are stable where you'd expect them to be (slipping here and there, yeah) and they look convincing enough. It's just okay, but considering what came before, I'll take what I can get.

Be Bop - "offroad"
Well, they look promising. Their vocals could use serious work, especially that guy in the red plaid shirt, but for once they actually look like they enjoy being on stage, which is something that's a lot harder to learn than vocal technique. It's a mediocre song, and their vocals are painful for half the performance, but the melody matches them, and manages to mask a bit of the pain on their voices. Not bad, not bad at all. I'll keep my eye on them.

EXID - "Every Night"
Usually songs like "Every Night" tend to bore me, but surprisingly (even for me!), they managed to catch my attention with their performance. It's lip-synched and they aren't amazing performers, but they have presence. I'll be waiting for a real live performance.

Rania - "Style"
I think it helps that I actually kind of enjoy the song (no matter how YG-generic it is), but this performance was pretty good. The vocals were as on-point as they could get for majority of the song, and the attitude was there. My only complaint though is that this performance lacked emotions in their movements -- they were dancing all the right things and they look enthusiastic, but the emotion wasn't there.

AOA - "Get Out"
I still don't know how to feel about this song, whether I like it or not because it sounds like a DaVichi song-turned-drama OST sung by people from a gazillion other girl groups. And if they really did play the instruments in the recording, because you guys know how much I hate instruments being treated like props. (AND THE FAKE DRUMMER BEING SO FAR FROM EVERYONE AGAIN) It was a pretty boring performance, because no matter how the blonde girl emoted while lip-synching, they just don't have enough presence to just stand there while doing an uptempo and actually pull it off. Try again, AOA.

ChAOS - "Kiss Kiss"
Just because you're smiling/smirking on stage, doesn't mean you're enthusiastic about the performance. The song is extremely generic, and their movements mirror that. NEXT.

100% - "Bad Guy"
I remember listening to their debut release a few weeks ago, but the fact that it's a really vague memory should mean that it was't that good. The performance has put things into perspective for me though, and it's not half bad! They're clearly pretty okay performers, their group dynamic is great for a group this new, and are they singing live? I can't tell (!!). Because if they are, those are some pretty strong vocals.

SPICA - "I'll Be There"
After all the mediocre groups that came before, this is like a breath of fresh air, even if there's really only one girl who can actually sing it decently. The margin of painfulness between the most painful in SPICA and the least painful in at least half of the previous groups is huge, which in itself is a huge achievement. It's an amazing song, done with strong vocals and the right amount of attitude and enthusiasm.

Big Star - "Think of you"
Okay so maybe the dancing at the chorus was a little too enthusiastic -- it just looked like they were flailing their arms in random directions and didn't really look like an organized performance. They were pretty okay for the rest of the song though. Not brilliant, but if they work on their stage deportment, they have potential.

Jewelry - "Rhythm Ha + Look At Me"
Before anything, I'd just like to profess my love for the lead single. It has that funk that old-school Jewelry (as in original line-up) had, but upgraded - it's exactly what I would've imagined Jewelry the group (regardless of members) to do in 2012. And they pull it off. Not as strong as I would've wanted it to be, but strong enough, and ever so classy.

Orange Caramel - "Lipstick"
Words cannot describe how much I despise this song. I mean, it has three of the things I hate the most -- cheaper than cheap synth loops, cuteness, and non-existent vocals. I only started acknowledging the fact that Raina has a voice, but that all went down the drain with this song. I mean they're enthusiastic about this horrible song and all, but the ship has sunk too deep for enthusiasm to save it.

T-Ara - "Sexy Love"
Contrary to popular opinion, I don't entirely dislike "Sexy Love". Today's performance was standard T-Ara, which means they were okay performers but the song carried them so it makes everything seem better than it actually is. Which is okay, because that's what works for T-Ara, and really, the point of a performance is to make people look better than they actually are.

Ga-In - "Bloom"
IU comparisons aside, I love this song! And to make things better, I don't have to complain about bad vocals (even if the choruses are heavily overdubbed BOO) or sloppy performances because Ga-In is a demigoddess and she knows how to not only hold the audience in the palm of her hand, but control them at the same time. A strong performance of a brilliant song.

Secret - "Poison"
"Poison" is basically a rehash of "Madonna" and "Magic", which is a bore, but their live vocals for this are really good. Add that to their always-present grace and intensity, and you have a really strong performance.

DBSK/HoMin - "Catch Me"
This performance was basically a slap in the face to all the mortals who came before them. I mean really, flawless live high notes while lying down on your stomach and being raised up in the air, equally flawless vocals while break-dancing, and overpowering the already overpowering backing track? If that's not outstanding I don't know what is. Conviction, conviction, and more conviction, laced with truckloads of talent and years of experience give us a stunning performance. Best performance of "Catch Me" yet, although the only other live performance was last week's Music Bank. BUT STILL.

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Guess who's back? I've been officially free from school since Tuesday, but after I finished all my requirements I just collapsed and got sick again, which is why I haven't posted anything. A few small "announcements". First, I assume you've all noticed the sparkly new layout! yay! Second, I'm going to try and get as many posts out over the weekend, which means single of the week/weekly rundown, complete music show recaps, and maybe a few full single/album reviews. It's been so long, and I have so much catching up to do! That's all for now, I guess. See you guys tomorrow for Music Core!