“IT WASN’T SIMPLY A CONCERT OF AN IDOL… IT WAS OF AN ARTIST; K-POP’S FUTURE WAS IN IT”

 

G-Dragon had his very first performance of his solo world tour ONE OF A KIND at the Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Arena on March 30 and 31. Amongst the audience was Professor Lee Dong Yeon of the Korean National University of the Arts, who has spent many years studying music of idol artists. He wrote to us about what he felt after seeing the concert, and the future direction of K-pop.

Storytelling, stage, props and visual aids

Could rival concerts of foreign artists

Creative talents of a singer-songwriter

Future’s bright for YG’s content-oriented performances

SM’s ‘idol union’ performance can only go so far

G-Dragon’s two-day concert in Seoul as part of his world tour ONE OF A KIND ended in an enormous success, attracting 6,000 fans. He was able to kick-start his first solo concert in four years triumphantly, but what I saw on stage was not simply a member of a huge idol group, but a lonely artist performing by himself.

This concert carries a significant meaning in terms of the development of G-Dragon’s music. The challenges that follow a solo world tour – the right attitude for performances, physical and psychological pressure and polishing every song – are the hurdles he needs to weather all on his own. G-Dragon is putting himself through a journey of ‘exciting torture’, since he, as an artist, has to fully exhibit what he has internally to the audience.

This concert could rival that of any world-renown artists in terms of the contents and the scale. G-Dragon’s performances consisted of: a story line divided into three categories, stage with pop-art feel, a horizontally split stage that reminded me of Soul Train, the American musical show that primarily featured R&B, soul, and hip-hop artists, detailed and unique props that were in line with the songs, and background visual aids of 3D screens. Every detail added excitement to the entire concert, and every feature allowed the soloist to mature through his music.

Travis Payne and Stacey Walker, choreographers and directors of the late Michael Jackson, have been working with BigBang for their world tour. The two extremely talented directors danced at G-Dragon’s concert and also played music live, and it was as though seeing a Korean version of the world-renown Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour. Starting from G-Dragon’s opening song MichiGo to Heartbreaker, In the End, and Crayon, the two-hour concert was filled with his self-composed and written songs, and that was what really set him apart from all the other K-Pop idols who usually perform in large groups.

Creativity and contents. These are the two keywords which determine the present and future of K-pop; the keywords that G-Dragon had shown me so clearly at his concert. Obviously I have to keep in mind that not all K-pop artists are blessed with such financial support, resources and time, but I must stress that the only way for K-pop to survive in the global market is to be equipped with concrete and competitive contents. Appearing on television and using Youtube to promote music on a global scale cannot be the fundamental answer to a sustainable development of K-pop.

Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour went on for two years since 2009, and she made a profit of 150 billion won from 201 performances. BigBang made 80 billion won from their world tour that took place in 12 different countries with 800,000 fans. Competitive contents surely require a massive financial assistance, but in the long run it can lead to higher profit, while allowing the artist to stay popular and keep working as an artist for longer. It creates a virtuous cycle in the long term. In that sense, YG Entertainment’s content-oriented performances look more realistic and suitable to penetrate the foreign entertainment market than SM Entertainment’s brand-oriented SM Town Concerts that puts all SM affiliated artists on one stage.

One aspect that could be improved was the sound quality, and this is an issue that needs to be solved for creating solid contents. Perhaps it was the sheer size of the arena, but the sound seemed to lack balance among chorus, sound effects, vocal and the instruments. In order to enhance the value of K-pop’s contents, we urgently need to construct large-scale stadiums specifically designed for concerts so the facilities can accommodate quality sound system. G-Dragon’s first solo world tour definitely provided food for thought – especially in terms of the future of K-pop and of G-Dragon himself as an artist.