2009 MNet Asian music awards performances

2009 MNet Asian music awards performances
With the 2009 MNet Asian music awards having kicked off; the super popular promotionally active idols of the K-Pop world treated guests and fans to some performances. All of which are for your viewing pleasure after the jump! T'was an interesting night I tells ya...


Miryo, Jiyoon, Hyuna, Baby J and T - Lip gloss / Pay day / Touch it

All the girls did a great job. But it was T who did it for me. Her entrance just cemented why she gets so much love and is held in high regard as one of Korea's illest female rappers. That flow was tight. And the way she just commanded everybody's attention was sick as hell. The others girls did a great job too. The 4 minute girls surprised me the most. I've not been too hot on 4 minute, but Jiyoon did great and Hyuna have got some serious swagger goin' on. Hyuna was looking pretty damn hot. She was gettin' it at the 6:10 mark. This was one of the hottest performances of the night. The ladies definitely represented.



G-Dragon - Heartbreaker

G-Dragon looked like a member of the KKK on stunt wires at the start. I did have to give the side eye at that. But because of his hair, I guess the hood had to be high - so I'll let that slide. Surely the dude can't be racist. He loves black music way too much! This was the best performance of "Heartbreaker" I've seen. I felt it was much more striking than the music video because of its simplicity. It would have been a good idea if he'd performed "Breathe" as well. "Heartbreaker" is such a monotonous song, and "Breathe" would have helped break that - and also get people bubbling in the crowd. Everybody looked bored stiff! 2PM did not look impressed, aside from Junsu who was smiling and bopping his head in support of his friend (he and G-Dragon go way back). And even CL looked like she was only bubbling out of sympathy. I have to ask: What was with the choreography near the end that looked like the guys were beating up defenceless women on the floor? Rest assured Chris Brown saved this shit to his YouTube favourites.



Brown eyed girls & Kara - Abracadabra / Mister (mash-up)

Two of K-Pop's most infectious and hottest dances of 2009: The "Abracadabra" hip swing and the "Mister" booty sway together, done on one stage. What is there for a guy not to like!? The Brown eyed girls and Kara looked great together . It's a shame they didn't do more with the choreography. It literally was just booty sway, hip swing, strut. Booty sway, hip swing, strut. Wait... Why the hell am I complaining?!



G-Dragon featuring Taeyang - Korean dream

The guy sure knows how to make a bit of a spectacle - ya gotta give him that. I'm not keen on the song. It sounds like a lazy mix of "Heartbreaker" and "Breathe". But this was a thoroughly entertaining performance. You could feel the energy between Taeyang and G-dragon. And they compliment each other brilliantly. Taeyang has the hot moves, but lacks that stage presence and energy of G-Dragon. Whilst G-Dragon can't lock down the moves how Taeyang does, but has that infectious energy. Together, they did a great job.



2NE1 musical - 21st street

A great concept, but it was far too long. The whole time I was watching the girls knock out "I don't care", Dara try and hustle with "Kiss" and Bom bore me to death with "You and I", I was just wanting them to just shut up and exit left so I could see CL and Minzy work it out to "Please don't go" - which just stole the whole entire performance. It was nice for each member to get their own moment to shine, but it dragged the performance out and just made for a long slog to the main attraction: which (for me) was CL and Minzy. I love these girls. Their confidence, their swagger and their energy is great to watch. Minzy was dressed a n***a ass mess, and she wasn't as heavy on the dancing as I would have liked - but she did good. Even on a bad day Minzy is still the shit. CL did as CL always does. Shut it down! She looked cute with the long pigtails, and I want that jumper she was wearing too! "Please don't go" was a hot song from the day it dropped, but this performance just made it better. The 21st street musical concept was good, but it was always about CL and Minzy in the end. It always is.



Brown eyed girls - Sign

This was a really nice, under stated performance. The ladies all looked amazing, and I love the version of "Sign" they performed. The live instrumentations and the orchestrations really gave the song a whole new feel and edge. I always liked the song "Sign", but I like it more and more with each performance of it I see. Completely different from "Abracadabra", but just as great and catchy a song. These ladies continue to show how they are in a completely different lane to every other girl group in Korea.



Taeyang - Where U at / Wedding dress

I'm not feeling "Where U at" or "Wedding dress". I find both songs boring and a little samey. Taeyang's performance didn't make me like the songs one bit. But his dancing was awesome, and despite all the movement and intense choreography, his vocals managed to stay pretty stable throughout. His showmanship was undeniable. He could have done with some form of set though. I'm talking chandeliers, a white grand piano and some chick in a wedding dress with pearls and a train for "Wedding dress". And some brick walls, a Bentley and some trash cans up on the stage for "Where U at". Once again, 2PM sat looking unimpressed. With Junsu once again checking for a homie of his. (Junsu and Taeyang also go WAY back).



4minute - Muzik

Why did these girls even bother performing? They didn't even stay on the stage for the duration of their own stage name. I didn't see the point in this performance. But the girls looked great, and Hyuna was working it out. I'm growing to like how she handles herself. She definitely outshone the other girls in the whole minute she was on stage.



2PM - Heartbeat / Again & again

I don't know what it is with 2PM, but they're losing it. I've tried to justify, and say that it's not purely because of Jay's absence: but perhaps it really is. The 2PM fellas just don't seem to own the stage and perform like their hearts are in it any more. The charisma they once had just seems to be fading with each and every performance they do. 2PM usually make a spectacle, but they didn't on this occasion, which was really disappointing. Even the orchestra and JYP's impromptu conducting didn't help. Shit... JYP conducting in his glowing glasses and the orchestra playing with their glowing stringing bows was more entertaining than the guys themselves! The moves weren't that tight, and something was up with Junsu and Chansung's mics to make matters worse. The guys need to be given a new song to perform, because "Heartbeat" is becoming heart breaking to watch. I say JYP starts making them perform "Tired of waiting". The light hearted energy of that song is bound to infuse the boys with some sort of spark. Right!?

Overall the performance of the night were decent. Some were better than others, but there was no one performance I felt was completely rubbish. (Although 2PM's came close). I think the performances may have suffered a little because of the stage set-up. The set-up was great in that it meant everybody in the audience had a good view of the on-stage antics. And it also forced the performers to really work the stage and be aware of the space. But it also meant that the spectacles had to be kept to a minimum. A performance should always be about the artist. But an on stage set, some screens and shit can really help. And because of the setup, none of the performers got to really play with all that.

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