[ROUNDUP] Concerts (KNK, WONHO, ATEEZ + NU'EST fan meeting) and music awards - MAMA, The Fact Music Awards
What I have watched over the past months. I won't lie, there was a lot to absorb and in the current climate versus work stress and many other shenanigans this escapism was appreciated.
I finished watching Produce 101 season 2 to see how Wanna One came to be and I really appreciated so many of the trainees. I thought was I only going to watch this to see how the eventual winners formed together but I ended up liking a lot of other trainees who worked hard to get far. I did indeed become a real "LO/\E" / NU'EST fan but also enjoyed many others' talents. There are of course so many people who participated that I can't remember all their names but the performances are memorable.
As for online concerts or special events that I paid for - often there was difficulty to watch live because of the time zones so I made good use of the VOD function on the purchase.
ATEEZ Air Con Zero comeback show (via MMT): Promoting their latest album Zero Fever: Part 1 with a special comeback show that could only be viewed when you buy a ticket, ATEEZ performed their earlier hits but also announced what was going to be their main title track from the voting poll involving THANXX and Inception. The latter was the eventual winner and I admit I chose that song too. There was also an online audience which I didn't know about. Perhaps forgot the memo when it was announced on the fancafe, otherwise I would have tried my luck to apply. Unless it was reserved for ATINY fanclub members only.
ATEEZ Port Of Call - 2nd anniversary concert (via MMT): To celebrate their 2nd anniversary since debuting, ATEEZ continue their strong path to showing the world what they are made of and present an exclusive online concert for ATINY. They take the fans back to the beginning of their Treasure series before transiting into the Zero Fever era. They also performed their mighty cover of Black Cat Nero as shown on Immortal Songs (this was not in the VOD unfortunately but I saw snippets online).
NU'EST Love Page - fan meeting: My first fan meeting purchase online and I watched this when it first streamed. The guys are pretending to be university students and are showing new students their special departments that they are heads of. They performed a few songs which brought the young student vibe to life and that included older songs such as Introduce Me To Your Noona/Girl Next Door (still a guilty pleasure!). They then switched to their NU'EST idol group counterparts and performed I'm In Trouble, Shadow (NU'EST W track this time with Minhyun) plus the Korean version of Drive. Wow I did not expect that.
NU'EST ON:CLIP Unboxing (via vlive): Every Sunday from September to October, NU'EST members showed special stages of their songs and also "unboxed" their feelings, their past stories from their trainee days till present. It was worth the purchase on V Live. I learnt many things about them as a newer fan.
Wonho - I Wonho You (via LivexLive): It has been a while since I've seen Wonho perform and I have missed his singing and all round dorkiness. I'll be sure to check his other Youtube channel which has his daily vlogs and behind the scenes.
KNK Online Live "Remember" (via Fancafe.jp): I was gutted I missed the previous FC JP live on 15 November due to the ungodly time zone difference and was so surprised there was going to be another one in the works the following month. I didn't hold back this time since it was at a more convenient time on my end and tried my luck with the bonus tickets to see if I could get a video call. Out of the two bonus tickets I managed one minute with Seoham after the concert. He still recognised me from the previous fansign via MyMusicTaste. Given we didn't have much he asked which songs I liked the best and I had to think up an answer quickly amidst my nerves.
KNK had short breaks in between 4-5 songs during the concert that lasted just over an hour and added some of their earlier songs. Included in the setlist was U, Back Again and their debut Knock. Dongwon was able to share some of the rap in the second part of the song with Heejun and it was something I never thought would happen. It had been a very long time since I heard Knock. The only time I experienced it was at Feel Korea 2017.
The Fact Music Awards: I missed the red carpet but went back and forth with the main performances as I was still not quite awake yet. I saw the adverts on Youtube and perhaps missed the memo in emails on buying a ticket for the stream. This ended up being a last minute purchase and I managed to watch the latter half of the event with my main favourites performing 2-3 songs.
As for MAMA 2020, this was on at the same time as KNK's Remember concert so I missed a lot of performances. However I always watch for the epic stages and collaborations. Say what you will about the rigged results (and also for the likes of the survival shows), those stages are to die for when they are fantastically done. I still need to catch up with Road To Kingdom before embarking on the journey to Kingdom when it starts next year. The mind-blowing stages between three groups who are in the line up are just incredible. I'm not sure if I'm ready for their performances when the time comes (but I'm not keen on the fandom wars - love and peace in this situation would be handy folks).
The triangular fight between San, Hyunjin and Juyeon may be short but it will surely prepare all the fans and competitors for an action-packed show in 2021. There is so much to react to but from the highlights I saw, everyone performed well. I also appreciate the fact every idol at these aware ceremonies wore a mask when they held their acceptance speeches.