It’s the final year-end competition of 2025! MBC’s Gayo Daejejeon is synonymous with the brand new 12 months, because it additionally acts as a brand new 12 months’s eve celebration (apart from final 12 months when it was postponed). As I all the time say, this provides a welcome sense of ceremony to the proceedings and makes it a particular I sit up for.
The theme tonight was “cool,” utilizing the clunky acronym “MUT” (which I collect is a synonym for the Korean phrase) to face for “Meet Ur Twenty.” It’s the 20th anniversary of the competition, as effectively. There’s loads happening between these two concepts, however I admire the honoring of legacy and custom.
I’m so glad that MBC by no means actually adjustments up the venue for this present. The gang is tremendous near the twin phases. This lends the printed a way of intimacy and interplay that the opposite festivals don’t actually have. Plus, this 12 months they’ve a stay band! That’s an enormous YES from me. I can’t let you know how glad this determination makes me. It’s additionally an actual check of the idol teams’ mettle. It’s not simple to carry out with a stay band, which was evident from among the evening’s phases, however the try alone earns additional factors from me.
One factor I didn’t like was that the present launched the thought of “voting to your favourite efficiency of the evening.” I do know that is wealthy coming from somebody who’s actually rating his favourite performances of the evening proper now, however should we flip every thing right into a fan competitors?
As all the time, this rating represents my very own ideas, which means it’s going to closely favor music I loved this 12 months in addition to performances that re-arrange or remix present songs.
There’s loads to spotlight this 12 months, so I’ll begin with some honorable mentions:
LE SSERAFIM – Sizzling + Come Over
I don’t really feel like I can actually embody this within the rating as a result of it was a pre-recorded efficiency video with no viewers moderately than a stay stage, nevertheless it was cool anyway so I wished to say it. It really jogged my memory of that superior covid-era Studio 2054 video that Dua Lipa filmed.
Treasure – Paradise + All the pieces
These have been as nice as they all the time are, however performing a “band” model of a track with out with the ability to make the most of the precise stay band was fairly humorous.
Ian + Jeemin + Wonhee – Cowl Levels
The plain lipsyncing prevents this from being on the record, however these three actually have charisma and I really like two out of the three songs they lined. (you may in all probability guess which two)
ITZY – Focus + Tunnel Imaginative and prescient
I want I loved Tunnel Imaginative and prescient extra as a result of this was a fairly cool combine. The track continues to do nothing for me, although (and it kinda dragged on, right here).
Hearts2Hearts – Model
Vocal and mic points maintain this from being on the record, however I admire the rearrangement and I’m so glad they lastly carried out Model for certainly one of these festivals.
15. KiiiKiii – Strawberry Cheesegame + Dancing Alone
At first, I wasn’t certain in regards to the band association for Dancing Alone since the perfect components of the instrumental contain synth and that was absent right here. Nevertheless, it acquired higher because it went on and I liked the climax.
14. BOYNEXTDOOR – As Time Goes By + If I Say, I Love You
If ever there was a track calling for a stay band association, it’s If I Say, I Love You. They didn’t do a lot to it, however the efficiency was as secure and charming as ever.
13. NCT Dream – Beat It Up + Chiller
Beat It Up was nice, however I actually loved the brand new mixture of Chiller. It added oomph in all the correct locations, bringing the chugging electro to the forefront. I’d’ve liked a climactic dance break.
12. YB & Seungmin (Stray Youngsters) – Peppermint Sweet
Wow, it’s so good to listen to Seungmin get to sing on a track like this! I really feel like he by no means will get to indicate this off and he sounded fantastic right here. The linked video features a track by simply YB first, which I wasn’t as eager on.
11. KickFlip – Mama Stated + My First Love Track
The staging for Mama Stated was very intelligent (I really like how JYP is like their headmaster/dad, mainly) and the beefed up rock mixture of My First Love Track was very satisfying. Too unhealthy they didn’t use the stay band, although! (not less than so far as I can inform).
10. IDID – CHAN-RAN
That is the place a stay band association actually enhances a track. The power simply feels a lot extra alive. I liked the brass touches.
9. ZEROBASEONE – Iconik + Star Eyes
Okay, why doesn’t the studio model of Iconik sound like this? Significantly, this combine had a lot extra punch and funk. However whoever determined to show Star Eyes right into a ballad has my everlasting wrath. I’ve been ready for this track to be carried out for months and we get half of it slowed down? Sure, a strings part is all the time good and nostalgic, however this might have been an actual second. So irritating. No less than the instrumental picked up midway by way of. The vocals have been everywhere, although. It’s up this far on the record as a result of I’ve a smooth spot for the track.
8. “Again to 2005” Cowl Levels
Cowl phases like this are quite common through the year-end festivals, however what I appreciated right here was the number of idols performing and the novelty of those songs all being twenty years previous. A few of them (Anymotion!) felt like extra left-field decisions too.
IDID did a pleasant job with a really tough basic (Rising Solar).
7. IVE – Gotcha + Insurgent Coronary heart
Gotcha sounded superior with a band association and the dance break earlier than Insurgent Coronary heart was very placing. The rock-meets-marching-band rearrangement of the track labored fairly effectively, too.
6. Group 20’s – Journey For Myself
I simply love this type of tacky stuff. A bunch of idols turning twenty this 12 months singing their hearts out collectively. I felt unhealthy for those who didn’t have a teammate to face subsequent to. No less than Kyungmin and Yujin clung onto one another!
5. ATEEZ – The Actual
Positively not my favourite ATEEZ track, however this was an amazing, energetic solution to kick off the night. What a spectacle! (That ARRIBA track they carried out later within the evening was SO not my factor, although…)
4. Dohoon, Jihoon & Youngjae (TWS) – Love Shot
I’ve this pet peeve about idols all the time masking Love Shot as a result of there are such a lot of higher EXO songs and I don’t suppose this one is pretty much as good as folks make it out to be, however this was a superb cowl. The added dance break was unbelievable and it’s so enjoyable to see them deal with such a distinct idea.
3. NEXZ – Beat-Boxer
This was a really cool remix of the track. A bit uneven in locations, however they actually deliver the power and have been a spotlight of this 12 months’s year-end festivals.
2. MEOVV – Drop High + Arms Up
What nice singing! The stripped again, stay band model of Drop High labored so effectively. Arms Up was rather more simple (till it reached its thrilling conclusion!), however these ladies are so gifted.
1. TWS – Countdown! + Go Again
Look, I’ll shout this till I’m blue within the face. They’re so freaking gifted. That’s stay singing with insanely demanding choreo backed by a stay band. I liked the film musical, jazzy feeling of those preparations. The group is simply providing a distinct kind of showmanship than their friends in the mean time and I discover them extremely enjoyable to look at. There’s such a way of pleasure emanating from the stage.
(Sadly, for some purpose that is the ONLY efficiency MBC has not but uploaded to YouTube so we’ll need to do with a fan add for now. WTF, MBC??)