B1A4 teases "seasonal" new music to Billboard + NYC concert recap

[in-noctem.livejournal.com]

California has got a healthy amount of B1A4 lately with the K-pop boy band recording their "Solo Day" music video in Los Angeles in May and then performing at KCON 2014 in downtown L.A. this summer. But the rest of the country got a chance to get close to Jinyoung, Baro, Sandeul, CNU and Gongchan via the just-wrapped U.S. leg of their Road Trip tour. And their New York audience sure seemed appreciative of the trip.

While concertgoers weren't fainting like they were at INFINITE and B.A.P's recent concerts, it was most remarkable how intense the fan support was inside NYC's Best Buy Theater.

There was the usual fan hysteria before the guys hit the stage -- like any show -- and it was kept high throughout performances of early singles "OK" and "Beautiful Target." It soon became clear the audience was filled with longtime, committed fans. Every member got huge screams when they sang their lines while the signature "sprout dance" move in the band's "Beautiful Target" choreography had attendees shrieking. B1A4 debuted in the K-pop scene in mid-2011, just as the music was gaining international traction, so these early songs very may have been the initial tracks in helping solidify a new generation of excited, American K-pop fans.

The enthusiasm stayed high with yelps and hollers seemingly from any type of slightly suggestive dance move -- whether it was a slight shimmie or a crotch grab -- to any time a member had a vocally challenging riff or rap section. The crowd even yelled supportive chants throughout certain singles. It was all likely comforting for the group who were not totally in-sync with each other during early numbers like "Oh My God" or "Because of You."

But nerves eased as the guys were allowed to get a little more free onstage. After performing "This Time Is Over," the quintet brought a video camera backstage where they showed fans their changing area in addition to a ton of kissy faces for the camera. The boys came back to perform an unexpected, sing-a-long cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," led by Jinyoung on guitar.

By the time the guys got to 2014 singles "Lonely" and "Solo Day," coming smack dab in the middle of the setlist, it was clear they were in their element with their sharpest performances up til that point. The "Lonely" number also let B1A4's backing band -- an expense usually not spent for K-pop acts touring the U.S. -- shine with additional live instrumentation added. The four piece (consisting of guitar, bass, drums and keys) was an awesome addition throughout the whole show, but the songs like "Lonely" and "Who Am I" stood out sonically for the added instrumental riffs.

While their backing band was the most striking technical difference between B1A4's concerts versus other recent K-pop showcases, the boys pinpointed to Billboard another reason their show stands out.

"We can't say that our concert is different from any other band," B1A4 leader Jinyoung says via translator. "But what we're trying to do is communicate more with the audience through our music and that's what we think is most special during our concert."

The guys didn't speak a ton of English to the U.S. audience -- though the band agrees that Baro has the best grasp on the language and is "always studying somewhere" -- the fivesome worked hard to make a connection with attendees; whether that was pulling a fan onstage to serenade during "Chu Chu Chu" or going into the camera pit to take selfies with them.

While fans can watch the guys' stateside adventures on Mnet America's Go! B1A4: Road Trip YouTube series, the boys told Billboard they're currently recording new music off-camera. While there is no concrete release dates, CNU says their next release will be related "to the season the album is released during" with Jinyoung adding they're looking to share the music "as soon as possible." They've discussed solo or sub-unit options within B1A4, but the group adds they're opting to keep those types of performances for their concert dates at the moment.

But whether as soloist, units or the full B1A4, it's clear B1A4 has done a fine job established a super-supportive fanbase that will cheer them on while the band pays them back, first and foremost, with performances of high musicality and the occasional selfie.

source: Billboard

This gif has no relevance to the post lol but I'm soooooo excited for a possible winter release - it seems like a lot of of i-fans found Lonely boring but it's one of my fave B1A4 songs so I'm hoping for something along that vein or TTW!

(c)

Comments

[turdferguson.livejournal.com]

yaaaaay new b1a4 music hopefully :D

[cooliosa.livejournal.com]

i c u sandeul

[cooliosa.livejournal.com]

urs tho <3

[mishiro-san.livejournal.com]

yes!!! I can't wait for new music *still has post concert syndrome* I can't wait to see them again.

[readyactiongo.livejournal.com]

thank you OP for that amazing gif. my day just got 100x better ;_;

[rawbabyoctopus.livejournal.com]

Lonely's one of my fav b1a4 song too, op
I am always here for new music from them <3

[turdferguson.livejournal.com]

i LOVE lonely too it is the perfect "sad" song and it makes me feel good that jinyoung did the lyrics & music for it. that boy knows how to write a pop song.

[missingmisnomer.livejournal.com]

Don't worry OP Lonely is my fav song by them too! Looking forward to another winter release!
Their summer album this year was really good but too summery~ to play at any other time of the year.

[jjang-intae.livejournal.com]

Oooo I can't wait for the release!! On another note, is B1A4 not planning on coming to Singapore or???

[chelamasen.livejournal.com]

Awww people thought Lonely was boring =(? It's the song that got me interested in them!

[in-noctem.livejournal.com]

There are fancams here (http://bethe1all4one.tumblr.com/tagged/fancam)!

And I guess people found it boring because b1a4's known for their upbeat songs but lonely was such a good song and it was a nice transition from their other stuff!

[in-noctem.livejournal.com]

Yeah I like that trend they seem to have of bouncing back and forth between slow and upbeat because it keeps things interesting imo!

[torontok.livejournal.com]

Who dares find Lonely boring? That song got me into them and the lives all slayed

[kayotic-01.livejournal.com]

man i love lonely! and at their concert it got so many screams.

[pbutterlion.livejournal.com]

lonely was so much better than solo day imo

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

I rarely like ballads but Lonely is such a great, beautiful song. I didn't have any idea that i-fans found it boring though, especially considering that it was pretty successful in Korea. Iirc it won like 8 awards and did really well both physically AND digitally. I think it definitely solidified their position as a 2nd tier group.

I wish they did a world tour and came to Europe btw.

[in-noctem.livejournal.com]

No lie I legit came across a fan's tumblr who said she almost dropped out of the fandom because she disliked Lonely and people were agreeing with her. And whenever they won lots of tweets called the song boring which was :\ If they came back with a similar song it's definitely gonna do better than Solo Day because Korea loves their ballads but B1A4 did such a good take on a slower song, it really is beautiful as opposed to being a boring and predictable ballad.

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

lol dropping out the fandom only because you disliked ONE song is a bit stupid tbh. By that standard then SM fans should have dropped out the fandom long time ago because most of their title tracks are a bit...eh.
I usually don't like ballads, but Lonely is far from being a boring ballad, and Korean public prefers slower songs anyway.

[shabirah.livejournal.com]

i did read similar sentiments while reading reviews after they released the song and i was like "okay, aren't you being so overreacting?" i know that maybe the song is not everyone's cup of tea but to think about leaving the fandom over one song is so stupid. i think that B1A4 has shown that they are good at producing both slower, ballad-ish songs and upbeat summer songs.

and one more thing, did you feel that some has become so critical over Jinyoung since the released Lonely? like i read comments and reviews about how they wish that Jinyoung shouldn't composed for the next comeback, saying that his songs has degrade B1A4 discography quality and there are people who agreed on that! i agree that it is not a must for Jinyoung to compose their title song since CNU is composing too, but to degrade his contribution to his group like that makes me feel sad and angry.

i'm sorry that i written so long to you OP but i just need to get this out...

[in-noctem.livejournal.com]

Yeah I have seen quite a number of comments about his songwriting and generally getting a lot of lines but I feel like at this point, he knows what sound works for them the most which is evident throughout the Who Am I album. He's obviously gonna have his highs and lows but just compare Wonderful Tonight with any of his latest songs. They're worlds apart in terms of production! If anything he's gotten better and helped improve the quality of their songs which were already pretty high to begin with. I like that CNU is slowly including his own work into their albums to sort of test the waters first, I'm okay with him never writing a title song for B1A4 tbh.

And it's okay! Omona's literally the only place I can rant about stuff like this too.

[shabirah.livejournal.com]

what? Lonely is my favourite winter song of B1A4 and i love watching their Lonely performances over and over again. the song is so perfect for winter.
but then again, all B1A4 songs are my favourite ^^


B1A4 doesn't need to dance in sync to make me spazz over them. just hearing their singing would already make me swoon. not that i've hear them singing live(my greatest wish as a fan huhuhu)

[blue_ant]

Lonely was the reason I got into B1A4 and I'm totally an international fan ... IDEK how people could find it boring. And I'm all for more B1A4 releases.

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

Beautiful Target was cute, Baby Goodnight, I liked the choreo, but I honestly didn't start paying too close attention until Lonely. Who Am I? that album just ♥

Looking fwd to a winter release from them...they are steadily working their way up my bias list.

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

the fact they had a backing band make this sound so cool
(after watching some of those fancams they sound so cool indeed)
I'm looking forward for the day i can see them performing