K-Pop Night Out with a twist

by Nur Fathiah Bte Razali

The Fountain stage in Clarke Quay transformed into a mini Korea for about three hours on May 21, 2015 with KPOP Night Out showcase as part of the Music Matters Live festival this year.

This year was a little different. Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) who presented the showcase focused more on indie music from their local region than K-pop.

Kingston Redieska kicked off the showcase with upbeat Caribbean genres including reggae. The nine-piece ska band is winning hearts of Korean fans with foreign music and has appeared on some of Korea’s biggest stages.

A trio act called Glen Check won over the hearts of the crowd with their electronic live music, singing primarily in English. This band did not limit the genre of their songs nor the visuals used during the show. The crowd could even follow the simple dance shown on the screen as the band played the music.

Idiotape came up next with another set of electronic music with an exception – there was no vocal. The trio’s synth-driven rhythms were influenced by Korean classic rock from the 1960s and 70s which had the crowd dancing that night.

The fourth and last act for that night was highly-anticipated by the teens in the crowd. Sonamoo, a K-pop girl group that just debuted five months back stole the show. Kicking off the act with their debut song, Déjà vu, the crowd began to hype up.

Sonamoo had more to offer. Members High.D, D.ana and Newsun did a cover of Becky G’s Can’t Get Enough. The main vocalists of the group, High.D and Minjae blew the crowd away when they belted a cover of Stand Up For Love by the Destiny’s Child. Their act ended on a cheerful note with their song, Just Go.

The fact the showcase had free admission was another factor that lured the crowd in and something existing fans were definitely appreciative of.

Wei Si, 19, an avid K-Pop fan, said, “Usually when they come, we need to pay about $200 in order to see them. But for this, it’s free and we can also get to know more people with fans of other acts.”