omonatheydid | KBS New York Korea Festival

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For months, the KBS New York Korea Festival has been dominating headlines: on top of two full days of food and activities, KBS promised to present a K-Pop concert with an A-list lineup including TVXQ, 2PM, SHINee, 4minute, Kim Tae Woo, B2ST, G.NA, SISTAR as well as legendary singers like Insooni and Jang Sa Ik --all for free! While a concert of such substantial proportions seems too good to be true, KBS did indeed deliver a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for attendees on October 8th and 9th.

With attendees coming in from the Tri-State area, Pennsylvania, Florida and even from Peru, the KBS New York Korea Festival was solid evidence of the widespread influence of the Hallyu Wave.

A bustling weekend of rich foods and cultural festivities certainly brought its high points, but the one event everyone was waiting for finally kicked off at dusk. As twilight settled in, the stage lights burst to life, and the opening act made their way onto the stage.

Shrieks and catcalls were heard as ’70s disco group Village People performed their classic hit, “Macho Man“. They brought a sense of fun to the festival, but were superseded by 4minute, G.NA and SISTAR, who converged onto the stage in short black outfits to deliver a hot cover of Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies“.

The screams got louder as SHINee‘s Minho and Hwang Soo Kyung walked onstage together to introduce themselves as the hosts of the evening. Dressed in a gorgeous silver halter gown that twinkled in the bright light, Hwang Soo Hyung beamed as Minho greeted the audience and thanked everyone for attending.

To the delight of the Shawols in the audience, the remaining four members of SHINee (who were closely matched in black leather outfits) then joined Minho on stage as the familiar intro beats of “Ring Ding Dong” blasted through the speakers. Afterwards, they gave the screaming audience a spirited greeting. “It’s our first time performing in New York, so we’re really excited,” one member exclaimed. “Stay tuned as we’d like to have more performances here in the future!” They then wrapped up their act with “Lucifer“, and the crowd got to enjoy liberal amounts of ad-libs by leader Onew during the climax.

Following SHINee, 4minute continued with a high energy performance of “Mirror Mirror” and “Hot Issue“. While SHINee had the ladies going crazy, it’s safe to say this female quintet brought out the eye candy for the guys. Dressed in black blazers and shorts with metallic accessories, the five girls showed off a sexy, yet corporate-chic look for a hyped two-track performance that ended all too soon.

When Minho and Hwang Soo Kyung returned to the MC podium after their performance, the male idol decided to check out what his international fanbase was like. “So…. Where are you from? Do we have any SHINee fans here?” Minho curiously asked, and was promptly answered with another spasm of enthusiastic screams from the female members in the audience.

After back-to-back idol performances, rock vocalist Maya strode to the stage to perform her iconic track “Azalea” with a full orchestra playing behind her. Thanks to her husky voice and thick vibrato, Maya completely owned the performance, adding a rich lustre to the music festival that night.

Next up was B2ST, dressed in black and white with dashes of red. Although member Kikwang was missing (reportedly due to scheduling conflicts), the five members performed “Fiction” and “Beautiful“. ”Wassup New York!!” the five members greeted in unison, followed by Hyunseung‘s amusing exclamation, “Are you enjoy?!” Dongwoon continued by expressing the group’s gratitude to be performing in New York over the weekend. As the camera panned over the audience, the large number of B2ST signs bobbing in the crowd made it clear how many attendees had come out specifically to see this particular group.

Legendary singer Insooni then followed with her equally legendary songs, “Dear Friend” and “A Goose’s Dream“. She touched everyone’s hearts when she stepped back from her usual confident persona and looked up at the moon in silence. “I really wish your dreams all come true,” she murmured before launching into her final song, “I Have a Dream“. It’s a classic so well-known that Koreans of all ages chimed in at the chorus.

She was followed by fellow classic singer Jang Sa Ik, another incredibly famous singer whose presence had the elder fans raise large posters and began ecstatically banging their thundersticks together. He concluded with “Arirang“, an emotional 600-year-old Korean folk song that had the audience singing along from beginning to end.

After Insooni and Jang Sa Ik’s nostalgic performances, Kim Tae Woo brought everyone back to 2011 with his hit track “Love Rain“. He continued to charm the audience with a convincing cover of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” in dedication to the festival event.

Following the performances of gorgeous opera singer Hye Kyung Hong and ‘pansori‘-style singer Kim Young Im, Minho and Hwang Soo Kyung returned to the stage, with Soo Kyung in a dazzling gray silk dress studded with statement jewel pieces. They introduced Ryeo Hyung Goo, a classic baritone vocalist who delighted the audience with Korean opera as well as a tribute to ‘Figaro’.

When it was time for SISTAR to perform, the four ladies graced the stage in matching silver and black stops with black
shorts to perform their high-spirited hits, “So Cool” and “How Dare You“. When the familiar beats of SISTAR19‘s ”Ma Boy” played in the air, fanboys and fangirls alike melted as Hyorin and Bora were joined by Soyu and Dasom on stage.

Although fans were disappointed to see the four hotties exit the stage, G.NA more than made up for it as she walked onstage with a beaming smile. She promptly unleashed a performance of “Top Girl“. Thanks to the song’s feel-good melody and G.NA’s bubbly energy, the crowd felt revitalized and ready for the final set of acts.

As the final notes of “Top Girl” faded away, not one, but four male idol groups emerged from the sidelines. The crowd went berserk as the members of 2PM, TVXQ, SHINee and B2ST strode through the blue mist to the front of the platform. The presence of so many male idols together onstage inspired a flood of fans to stream down the aisles and converge into a crowd that was barely held back by a line of police officers.

The eye candy the boys provided by standing together was further accentuated by a smooth rendition of “New York, New York“. This rare collaboration was undeniably thrilling, not just for the audience members, but for the male idols as well, as they got to move around freely and interact warmly with one another.

The song ended all too soon, and TVXQ, SHINee and B2ST left 2PM to step forward with huge grins on their faces. The heavy dance beats of “Hands Up” immediately flowed from the bass speakers to the crowd, and Taecyeon‘s flashing LED jacket helped transformed the Park into an all-ages club. They followed with the equally hyped track, “10 out of 10“, to the enthusiastic screams of Hottests in the audience.

Suddenly, the tempo sizzled down to a slower bass beat, and the flashing red lights fizzled into blue. Yunho and Changmin coolly stepped forward, and everyone was left speechless as the sheer charisma these two exuded. “I felt ripples, like a chill when I saw them come out,” one audience member gushed later on.

TVXQ took their time to bask in everyone’s screams, before leaping into their fierce choreography of “Keep Your Head Down“. The sharpness of their moves, the edge in their powerful voices and their mastery in stage charisma easily confirmed why TVXQ has been hailed as the ‘Kings of K-Pop’ all these years. The duo then showed off their impressive vocal pipes with “Before U Go“, then spoiled everyone with their classic, ”Rising Sun“, to wrap up a crackling act.

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Like all good things, the show came to an end, and the crowd eventually trickled home. The amazing performances from both legendary icons of Korea to K-Pop’s top idols today truly encapsulated the essence of what the KBS New York Korea Festival was striving for — fusing tradition with modernity for a cultural event that truly encompassed the best that Korea has to offer.