KCON 2018 LA Presented by Toyota is a weekend long event to experience multiple aspects of Korean Pop Culture. After the convention wraps up for the day on Saturday, the M Countdown Concert holds its first night next door at the Staples Center. The lineup was jam-packed with a variety of Kpop stars and there was something for everyone here.
Aside from being an event surrounding Kpop music, concert goers who arrive for the pre-show on day 1 are met with high-flying stunts. Taekwondo group, Kukkiwon lit up the stage with sharply choreographed routines, leaving no plank of wood safe. From synchronized movements, to breaking boards at death defying heights, this group definitely started the show off right.
With the show officially starting, we go from intense martial arts, to infectious rhythms. Momoland got the crowd moving, if not up on their feet dancing along. Opening the show with their smash hits “Baam” and “Bboom Bboom”, it was surely a great way to open the show. The light shoes were a great touch.
Survival show boy group In2it brought their own catchy tunes to the stage. The first boy group of the night brought high-energy with their songs, “Sorry for my English” and “Snapshot”, two songs that make singing along easy. Their set brought pop with a hint of disco.
Dynamic Duo slowed things down a bit with smooth hip-hop and RnB vibes. Accompanied by a DJ, the two got the crowd bumping their heads along. When the two performers walked out onto one of the catwalks, a surprise performer appeared out of the shadows, revealing to be none other than Chungha. The three closed out the set with “Hot Wings”, with Chungha in place of Hyolyn.
Dreams really do come true at Kcon. Mia went from attendee to performing in front of a stadium full of fans. The RnB singer performed a song from her debut album. In ode to her big performance, she sang “City of Stars” from the movie-musical, La La Land.
After a brief intermission, boy group Golden Child took to the stage. No matter how you were feeling during the break, they were sure to lift your spirits with their bright performance. With a song like “Let Me”, you were sure to imagine yourself going up and down the coast with the roof down.
To turn up the temperature, three members of girl group Twice showed off their girl crush side. Jihyo, Tzuyu, and Momo performed their version of Beyonce’s, “End of Time.” Don’t worry, because the rest of the group was set to perform a little later in the show.
Davichi brought their own power but in a different way. The duo, known for their ballads, performed a slower song, but packed with their powerful voices. To end their set, the performed 8282, a ballad that possesses a powerful and infectious chorus that’ll get anyone hyped.
Probably best known for his OST for the drama, Goblin, Crush brought a chill vibe to the stage. His smooth RnB songs helped slow things down. Dynamic Duo later joined him to hype the crown with an upbeat EDM song.
Now whole, Twice took to the stage to literally “Dance the Night Away.” Opening up their set with their song of the same name, the popular girl group made us all want to go have a luau. With songs like, “What is Love?”, “Likey”, and “Cheer Up”, the whole crowd must have been on their feet, dancing and singing along.
Despite being a solo performer, Ailee brought the house down with her powerful vocals. Watching her set was like watching the movie, “Chicago”, compressed down to 3 songs.
To close the night, survival show boy band, Wanna One, brought their sharp moves and catchy songs to the stage. They opened up with, “Light”, a mix of edm and ethereal pop vibes. If you watch Kpop at all, you’ve probably seen some of your favorite idols cover dancing their debut single, “Energetic.” “I Promise You (I.P.U.)” helped bring things down before lighting up the stage with “Burn it Up.”
The first night of KCON LA Concert was definitely a strong start to the two night event. The night ended in showers of confetti as the artists from tonight came back out to greet the fans. To think, fans who have tickets to night 2 get to see either their first, or second concert jam-packed with another lineup of great artists.
Photos Courtesy of CJ ENM