On October 3, YG Entertainment's new boy group iKON held its debut concert 'SHOWTIME'
at the Gymnastics Stadium in Olympic Park in Seoul. As the concert was aired through Naver V app, some of you might have watched the show. It is very exceptional that a rookie idol group like iKON holds its "debut concert" at the Gymnastics Stadium which is the biggest indoor concert hall in Korea.
I went to the concert, and it was good. iKON electrified 13,000 audience by showing high quality performance. The rookie group showed as great performance as top class idol groups such as Big Bang. Of course, it's hard to say iKON can rank with Big Bang, but the iKON members' singing and rapping ability was great. They were better than ordinary kpop idols.
After the concert, I could have a conversation with the iKON members and Yang Hyun Suk, who has been giving full support to his new boy group. As it was first time for iKON to hold a concert and talk with journalists, the members looked very shy. They were cute, though. And I was surprised because Kim Jinhwan's face was too small. Anyway, here are the members' notable comments.
B.I - about debut concert and his song writing
As it was our first ever concert, I was so excited. I feel something lacking, but it was so happy to be with our fans. Before holding the concert, I was worried if I feel the lack of physical strength during the 2 and half hours of concert, but it was OK. I wanted to impress our fans who have waited for us for a long time. At the end of the concert, I had a lump in my throat because I was filled with emotion. And when I write songs, I try to keep a balance between hip hop based music and easy listening music. Just like Yang Hyun Suk always says, writing "Good Song" is most important.
Koo Junhoe - about WIN and Mix & Match
It was really frustrating when we fell behind in the competition. However, I think we could be more prepared to debut thanks to our experience of failure. Through WIN and Mix & Match, we could discipline ourselves. Actually, I felt hurt that Yang Hyun Suk didn't choose us when we appeared on WIN, (he stole a glance at Yang Hyun Suk at the moment) but I'm very thankful to him now.
When Yang Hyun Suk appeared with the iKON members, he took a
hoary old joke, "Hi, I'm the 8th member of iKON." Anyway, it seemed that he expects much of iKON. Let's see what he talked about the rookie group.
Yang Hyun Suk - about iKON's debut concert
Big Bang made a debut 9 years ago, and iKON's debut concert reminded me of Big Bang's debut. I watched the concert in the shoes of their parents. As the Gymnastics Stadium which is the biggest indoor concert hall in Korea, I was worried if they make mistakes. However, they were less nervous than I thought and I'm so proud of them. I hope iKON will be able to continue to grow up like Big Bang, and I will provide help to them.
Yang Hyun Suk - about iKON's strength
Big Bang took part in writing their songs when they debuted too. However, it is notable that the iKON members took part in writing all the tracks of their debut album. iKON has little experience in performing on the stages, but I hope they will be able to do better if they become experienced. And they're good at designing a choreography too. They can do everything themselves including song writing and choreography. I think iKON is the best dancing idol group among all the teams of YG. For example, the Big Bang members focus on expressing feelings of their songs when they dance. TOP sometimes doesn't dance at all.(laugh) What the YG idol groups aim at is to receive recognition not only in the major music scene but also in the underground hip hop scene.
