iKON may be new but its members have plenty of experience, as proven at its concert recently, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli
MY friend could hardly believe it when she learned that South Korean hip-hop group iKON was holding a concert here as she said the group is so new.
“Their repertoire isn’t that large anyway. It would make more sense if they do a showcase instead,” she said.
The seven-member male group made its official debut in September last year with the 10-track album Welcome Back.
However, the members of iKON were known to fans long before last year, after participating in the reality survival programmes, WIN: Who Is Next and Mix & Match.
The shows made them popular and helped improve their skills and stage presence, which was evident during the recent iKoncert 2016 (Showtime) Tour at Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur.
Bobby, B.I, Jinhwan, Yunhyeong, Donghyuk, Junhoe and Chanwoo, certainly owned the stage, performing as if they had done this millions of times before.
Knowing that iKON came from the top talent agency YG Entertainment, which also produced globally-known South Korean music groups BigBang and 2NE1, fans expected the concert to be phenomenal.
YG artistes’ concerts are always the bomb! They are world-class productions with a high-quality sound and lighting systems and stunning visuals.
The iKoncert was no different, complete with pyrotechnics and fireworks. iKON complemented the visual and aural spectacle with its amazing showmanship. The members sang mostly loud, upbeat hip-hop tracks, with lots of gusto and swagger.
The choreography wasn’t that tricky, but the boys hardly stayed in one spot when they were not dancing. They either walked, ran or jumped all over the stage but didn’t show any sign of fatigue.
It made me wonder where they got the energy from, because amid all that moving, they were also singing live!
Bobby and B.I are the rappers, and they’re known for their prowess. They were on the reality rap competition, Show Me The Money Season 3, which Bobby eventually won.
At the concert, the duo were so energetic and enthusiastic that their performance hyped up the show even more.
The rest didn’t disappoint either, singing lively with good vocals. The most notable was Junhoe, whose raspy vocals just blew me away.
The boys’ interactions with the crowd were hilarious! They confidently spoke in English, quite clearly, I might add.
It was obvious that whatever they said came from a script, but the fans (who are aptly called iKonic) lapped it up nonetheless.
“Thank you for coming out to see us tonight,” group leader B.I said excitedly.
To the fans, Yunhyeong shouted, “Bagus!”, prompting the others to follow suit. It quickly became a popular catchphrase that night.
The fans laughed heartily and screamed because the boys had cutely yet confidently pronounced it as “Bagoos!”
Junhoe began his introduction by screaming “Malaysia!” like a rockstar. The others told him off jokingly that it was “Too much”.
Donghyuk said: “We have so much prepared for you tonight. This will be your best night ever.”
When the script ran dry, the members turned to Yunhyeong, who apparently was the most confident English-speaker among them.
Asking him to come up with something to say, they told him: “Do your freestyle English!” That cracked me up!
There were more than 20 songs performed in the set list, including tracks from Welcome Back, and songs which they performed for the TV shows they were in.
The show began with the super-energetic performance of Rhythm Ta and Dumb & Dumber (from the album) and Sinosijak (from Mix & Match).
The uptempo beats got the crowd going wild, as they waved iKON’s official red lightsticks (called Konbat for its mini baseball bat shape) in the air.
That was followed by the smooth and slow hip-hop track My Type, and the catchy mid-tempo number, Today, all of which got the fans singing along.
The house lights then dimmed to give the stadium a red glow as Bobby took to the stage next with his solo, Go.
B.I was on next and sang his self-composed solo track, Be I.
Both hip hop-heavy tracks, originally performed during their time on Show Me The Money, were delivered with charismatic charm by the two.
After the duo performed Anthem, yet another upbeat track, IKON slowed the tempo down with Apology, a heartwrenching ballad that showcased their vocals.
I couldn’t help but swoon at Junhoe’s voice because he conveyed the melancholic theme of the song so well.
Up next were slow-tempo songs Airplane, Wait For Me, M.U.P and the upbeat I Miss You So Bad.
A video was then played, showing the boys excitedly discussing their plans to perform cover songs.
Suddenly they appeared on stage to perform an inspired rendition of BigBang’s hit, Bang Bang Bang, all wearing strange outfits that resembled the style of the BigBang members.
Jinhwan then dressed up as a girl with long hair (he introduced himself as Jenny) to perform girl group GFriend’s song, Me Gustas Tu.
Of course, the crowd went wild when he said: “I know I’m cute but you girls are prettier.”
The rest of the boys, who also dressed up as girls (Bobby was called Barbie), performed the catchy hit Up Down by the girl group EXID.
Another hilarious video was shown next, which had the boys portraying different types of boyfriends. These included the jealous type, indecisive type, and one who was too pretentious. The rest consisted of a complainer, a mummy’s boy, a cassanova and a coward. Very funny!
Up next were performances of What’s Wrong, Just Another Boy and Climax. The latter was their moving song from Win.
The song portrayed their strength and perseverance on their turbulent journey to achieving their dreams of becoming artistes.
Here, B.I showed off his stunning rap skills. Those who watched the heart-breaking performance in Win would know how much this song meant to the boys.
For the encore, iKON performed Long Time No See, #WYD, Dumb & Dumber and Rythm Ta (rock remix version).
Actually, there was more running around the stage and jumping than singing. It was one crazy party!
The boys clearly didn’t hold anything back as they encouraged the fans to do the same, making it a perfect ending to a perfect show.
In the end, it wasn’t a question of how many songs iKON had but how it had done so well with what it had. The boys surely made it a night to remember.
The iKoncert 2016 (Showtime) Tour in Kuala Lumpur was organised by IME Productions.