Music Bank Highlight: Trouble Maker Wins # 1 on the November 8, 2013 Episode + Performance Recap

Music Bank is back this week with fantastic stage performances as well as your favorite stars all in one night! Last night's episode had numerous comebacks which were Miss A by singing "Hush", BTS with "The Rise of Bangtan", Fiestar with "I Don't Know", Yoo Seung Eun made an "Healing" return, Trouble Maker with "Now", Untouchable with "Vain", A - JAX saw a "Snake", and MR.MR made their return by saying "Do You Feel Me."

Nominees for first place last night were Trouble Maker and JYJ's Jaejoong. Though in the end, it was Trouble Maker who won for their song "Now." Congrats!!

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NC.A and Davichi makes their comeback on Music Bank next week!!

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With all these being said, here is the performance recap from last night.

Performance Recaps

Block B had a "Very Good" performance by coming out explosive as well as full of charisma on-stage last night. The crowd screamed as well as fan chanted and truly loved their performance. 

Trouble Maker came out explosive as always due to HyunA being the sexy one and Hyun Seung the serious and aggressive person. These two are always great on-stage and it shows by the crowd screaming when they perform. The duo sang "Now" and the audience loved their performance. 

Miss A are saying "Hush" while they entertain you. The ladies came out beautiful as they made their comeback last night on Music Bank. This is a different side to them and one that fans did not thought they will see. Though it shows that the ladies came perform sexy when they need to.

BTS came out to play baseball as they performed "The Rise of Bangtan." The guys came out with energy as well as charisma which the crowd loved. 

Jung Joon Young had "A Sense of Ending" last night has he brought his great voice on-stage. Jung Joon has great charisma as he shows his emotion by telling the audience that he wants a few seconds with his fans.

Tae 1 sang a really "Sad Song" as he set the ambience last night by having rain imagery in the background. Also, with his orchestra females playing the violin with him, this truly set the mood more depressing. Hopefully no one cried last night due to Tae 1's performance.

N - Sonic are saying "Run & Run" as they brought energy last night. M.Pire said "I'm Better" last night as they came out explosive by having energy as well as charisma last night. A - JAX are saying watch out as there is a "Snake" which is a beautiful one that will poison you as she makes her move through enticement. The guys set the stage last night by having a jungle ambience as well as wore the proper wardrobe.

Yoo Seung Eun had a "Healing" comeback as she brought her great vocals on-stage last night. Great comeback as the audience were entertained by her performance. Great job Yoo Seung Eun! The nine ladies of Nine Muses came out beautiful for their performance for "Gun." 

Topp Dogg told the audience to "Say It" as they brought energy as well as charisma on-stage last night. These guys are young like Teen Top which is why they are great to watch. BESTie came out with a sky blue dress for their wardrobe last night for "Love Options." Ladies, try not to make your options regarding about love to difficult; there is someone out there for you. 

Fiestar says "I Don't Know" as they came out with their cute song for the night. The stage setting was nice and colorful which the crowd loved.

K.Will is saying "You Don't Know Love" as he brought his great voice on-stage last night which the ladies loved. MR.MR made their comeback last night by asking "Do You Feel Me" which the crowd responded by screaming in the end. Looks like the females do feel you guys. Welcome back MR.MR!

Lim Chang Jung said "Open The Door" as he brought entertainment last night with him and his colorful backup dancers for their wardrobe chosen. Crowd truly loved his performance and were entertained. Fun was brought by Lim last night! Also, does the song remind you of Psy with the black shades on? This is truly a catching tune.

Untouchable made their comeback last night by singing "Vain." The guys brought they great rapping skills which the audience watched entertainingly. Great performance overall guys!

Videos

Block B

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Trouble Maker

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Miss A

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BTS

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Jung Joon Young

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Tae 1

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N – Sonic

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M.Pire

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A – JAX

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Yoo Seung Eun

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Nine Muses

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Topp Dogg

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BESTie

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Fiestar

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K. Will

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MR.MR

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Lim Chang Jung

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Untouchable

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Other performances for the night were Boys Republic and Baek Seung Hoon which they performed great by keeping the crowd entertained.

Great job to all the performers last night!!

Teen Top Invited to Become Gangwon Province Honorary Ambassadors of Economy; Teen Top & Girl’s Day to Hold Joint Concert

Teen Top Invited to Become Gangwon Province Honorary Ambassadors of Economy; Teen Top & Girl’s Day to Hold Joint Concert

by KPOPPlanet Team(kpop@khan.co.kr) | Nov 1, 2013

The popular K-pop idol group Teen Top received an invitation from the Gangwon provincial governor to become Honorary Ambassadors of Economy for the province.

Also, Teen Top will hold a joint talent-donation concert with the girl group Girl’s Day on November 1. Starting at 18:00 (GMT+9) and expected to end at 21:00, the concert is part of a campaign to vitalize Gangwon province’s traditional markets.

 (Photo: Economic Policy Division, Gangwon Provincial Office)

Idol of Idols Justin Bieber Visits Korea

Idol of Idols Justin Bieber Visits Korea

by Kang Soo Jin(kanti@khan.co.kr) | Oct 11, 2013

“Hello Seoul!”

The world-famous pop star Justin Bieber held his first Korean concert in the evening of October 10 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. The audience numbered over 8000, many of them girl fans whose shrieks of delight continued all throughout the concert. The popular Korean artist G-Dragon of Big Bang also appeared on-stage as a guest.

Other K-pop stars showed up, as well, as fans of Justin. They included Super Junior, Girl’s Generation, Miss A, 2NE1, Wonder Girls, 2AM, and Teen Top.

Before the concert, Justin tweeted, “Show day in Korea. I got some surprises.” This appeared to refer to a performance of his new song “Heartbreaker”.

Justin arrived at the Arena 40 minutes late; the concert was scheduled to begin at 2000 (GMT+9). He slowly came down the stairs on-stage, dressed fashionably in all-white calf-length jacket, T-shirt, pants, and sneakers. On top of all this he had on black sunglasses.

First up was the hit song “All Around The World”. The audience stirred at the gay rhythm of the electronic dance music. When Justin shouted “Jump!” at the climax, they did just that.

Following this, he tossed his jacket away and sang “Take You”, and the quieter rhythm and blues song “Catching Feelings”.
In the middle of it all there was a short video introducing Justin’s rise to stardom. He became famous on YouTube at just 14 before he followed Stevie Wonder’s lead in becoming the youngest singer to top a Billboard chart.

As aforementioned, G-Dragon was a special guest, appearing to sing “Crayon”. Actually there were some hopes that Psy would show up, since they were labelmates through their mutual manager Scooter Braun’s School Boy Records. He didn’t show up, but instead Psy’s Korean labelmate G-Dragon took his place.

As the two-hour-long concert wound down, the audience screamed for an encore, and Justin sang his best hit songs “Boyfriend” and “Baby”. And so, regrettably, Justin Bieber’s first Korean concert ended.

Justin made some tweets on what he thought of the concert after it ended. He wrote, “Korea that was amazing. Thank u for the love. Shout out to my friend @IBGDRGN for coming out on stage tonight. They went crazy.”

(All photos except the last, courtesy of Access Entertainment)

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[Special Feature] Song Hits when Dance Hits?

[Special Feature] Song Hits when Dance Hits?

by Park Hyo-Jae(mann616@kyunghyang.com) | Sep 20, 2013

Idol group’s code for success has changed.

A ‘hook song,’ song with short chorus with repetitive melody, is not enough, but the choreography needs to make an imprint on the public.

The wind of dance that has been calm for a while since Wonder Girls’ “Tell Me,” is blowing again. In fact, it started when Kara’s hip dance made a sensational hit in the summer of 2009 from their song, “Mister.” In the same year, Brown Eyed Girls continued the heat with the ‘arrogance dance’ from “Abracadabra,” which this year received attention again when Psy borrowed the move for “Gentleman.”

Left: Wonder Girls “Tell Me” / Right: Kara “Mister”

Choreography of idol groups has been much more diverse in recent years. T-ara lead the retro dance fever with hustle and disco from “Roly Poly” and “Lovey Dovey,” while After School performed high technique pole dance in “First Love.” Rookie girl group Wassup grabbed attention by grafting twerking, an African-American street dance, into their choreography. Twerking or a ‘hip shaking dance,’ is a type of dancing in which the dancer, shakes one’s hips in an up-and-down bouncing motion. Wassup’s music video as well as their practice clip was quite a topic on You Tube when it was released.

Left: Teen Top “Rocking”/ Right: T-ara “Roly Poly”

Boy group Teen Top adopted ‘free step,’ a b-boy dance where you move your feet ceaselessly, in their newest track “Rocking.” A formal Wonder Girls member Sunmi combined modern dance moves in her new solo single, “24 Hours.”

As such, it appears that the focus of popular music is expanding from ‘listening’ to ‘performing.’ There’s an analysis that the means of embracing music has been changed since the development of video-sharing website You Tube or SNS, etc. Han Dongyoon, a public music critic, commented, “There are many video clips that copy idol group’s dance, to the point that there’s ‘K-pop cover dance,’ which is almost a kind of a genre overseas.”

Such flow is in mesh with Idol group’s preference to retro disco music or electronic dance music. Han added, “Idols usually perform dance music. They have tendency to perform difficult choreography to appeal to the public by differentiating them from other singers.”

Entertainment agencies grapple with creating distinguished choreography as much as producing good music. Thus attempts to differentiate from standard idol dance routines of perfectly angled choreography can be visible. Baek Soo-Won, public relations manager of TOP Media, agency for Teen Top, stated, “Characteristic of Teen Top’s performance, also known as the levitation dance, is the ‘busy’ choreography that offers no time to rest. We thought that a flashy foot movement of free step would make a different impression than other idol’s ‘knife-like’ perfectly angled choreography.”

Orange Caramel, a unit from After School steer passed the knife-like dance routine by creating a new character. Their strong point is the concept that suggests characters from animations through comic hand motions and exaggerated face expressions.

“There are many video clips that copy idol group’s dance, to the point that there’s ‘K-pop cover dance,’ which is almost a kind of a genre overseas.”

EXO “Wolf”

Public’s eye-level heightened with more variety of dance moves. Bae YoonJung, the leader of Yama & Hot Chicks choreographers said, “You can’t compete with just point choreography that makes certain motions stand.” Choi Sun Hee, the leader of Switch choreographers, and who designed Wassup’s choreography said, “Not only point choreography, but the routine needs to fit with the whole flow of the song naturally. It is also important to define the group’s characteristics.” The two selected choreography from EXOs “Wolf,” which projected a tree, and Teen Tops free steps, as one of the best choreography with high degree of perfection.

However, emphasizing differentiation can cause side effects, such as injuries and suggestiveness of sexuality. It took 7 months for After School members to learn basic pole dance techniques. And it was common for them to have bruises on their thighs and legs. Public relations director Woo Young-Seung from their agency Pledis said, “The members went through a lot and it took a long time to create the choreography. There was also a lot of pressure because After School was known as the performer group from showing marching band, tap dance, etc. since their debut.”

Sexually suggestive content is also an old controversial issue to solve. For example, pole dance has a strong impression of being an American strip dancers dance in Korea, which is why there were disputes of right and wrong when After School first presented it.

Particularly, twerking has been regarded as a degrading dance that’s sexually provocative in America. There was a case where dozens of students were suspended from high school for creating a clip of them twerking in San Diego.

On this, Bae YoonJung commented, “There’s a tendency to perceive dances sexually when you spread your legs or shake your bottoms even just a little bit. But if that’s the case you can’t express dance freely. I hope people see dance as a form of a genre.” Regarding Wassup for attempting twerking she said, “I believe that the attempt itself is meaningful because it’s difficult to make the bounce happen with a physically different structured body from the African-Americans.”

K-Pop Workout Play List: 'Ringa Linga' And Other Dance Hits Will Help You Keep Up The Pace With Your Exercise Routine

Taeyang has the perfect example of chocolate abs.

K-Pop is known for guys with perfectly defined, chocolate abs and girls whose perfectly curved S-Line bodies are considered the industry standard. While it does require strict management of dietary intake, much of the perfect visuals K-Pop is known for comes from regular exercise. As a fitness trainer, I understand it is difficult to motivate yourself to exercise, especially when the holiday season arrives. Most people do not have the time scheduled in for fitness or the top personal trainers and give up on maintaining a routine.

While mastering the intricate dance moves that are displayed in K-Pop videos can be difficult and time consuming, adding K-Pop songs to a workout playlist is not. If you are a natural dancer and pick up on the moves from videos quickly, those moves can be incorporated into workouts either at the gym or at home. Whether you enjoy dancing or running, K-Pop can provide the absolute best music to be the soundtrack for your exercise.

Why Choose Dance Music For Your Workout?

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In order to achieve success in a cardio workout, you should have music that is between 135-145 BPMs (beats per minute). Most dubstep and dance music songs fall within this guideline, which will help to keep you moving at an appropriate pace. The infectious beat of Taeyang's Ringa Linga is wonderful for those who enjoy dance workouts, as well as those who enjoy running on a treadmill. Similarly, the grime infused dance tune that is G-Dragon's Shake The World will not fail to get you up from the couch and moving. The drop or interruption in the tempo that occurs within both songs allow for recovery if you are just beginning to start a workout routine.

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While Miss A's Hush provides a more appropriate backdrop for time spent after a night at the club, the Party Version of Hush is perfect for dance fitness routines such as Zumba or for the gym. The tempo is hard hitting, with little interruptions, which is appropriate for those who have more experience with exercise. SHINee's Everybody provides a similar beat structure, which is intended for nightclubs, but just as comfortable in the gym.

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If You Love To Dance, But Hate Working Out

If you avoid the gym at all costs, but love to dance around your living room, then learning K-Pop dances in the comfort of your home may be more your speed. Teen Top's choreography for Rocking may be difficult, but the pay off for learning the dance steps is the fact that the footwork is excellent for building stamina and exercising your legs. Loen Entertainment's Let's Dance series provides an interesting breakdown of the dance steps for Rocking.

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The choreography for Crayon Pop's Bar Bar Bar provides an opportunity similar to Teen Top's Rocking in that it is a dance which emphasizes cardio activity and provides a great leg workout. After the second instruction to begin jumping, you will definitely feel the burn.

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The next time you are seeking motivation to get and move, look no further than some of your favorite new K-Pop songs. As K-Pop fuses as a genre with electronic music and dubstep, the result is that there are songs which will definitely make you move. What K-Pop songs are you listening to, while exercising?

[News] Teen Top’s Changjo and 100%’s Rockhyun hold a dance showdown

[News] Teen Top’s Changjo and 100%’s Rockhyun hold a dance showdown

 Teen Top’s Changjo and 100%’s Rockhyun showcase their powerful moves in a special dance showdown!

On November 7th, Changjo tweeted, “Please watch this! It's my present for the Angels for my upcoming birthday!!”, and shared a link of a dance showdown video.

Titled “TOP MEDIA TEEN TOP&100% - THE FIRST PRESENT”, the video features Teen Top’s Changjo and 100%’s Rockhyun showing off their graceful and powerful moves for a special fierce dance battle.

Check out the video below:

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Teen Top Reveals Encouraging Video for Korean SAT-Takers

Idol group Teen Top encouraged everyone taking the Korean SATs.

Yesterday, Teen Top uploaded an encouraging video clip on YouTube for all high school students taking the SATs tomorrow.

In the video, Changjo said, "All SAT takers in the nation. The test is coming up soon. I hope you control your condition well and do well on the test."

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Ricky also said, "Teen Top supports everyone taking the SATs," and all the Teen Top members threw a fist in the air.

Photo Credit: YouTube

MBC Korean Music Wave In Singapore 2013 Cancelled 10 Days Before Scheduled Date Over Contract Dispute

Less than two weeks before it's Nov. 16 scheduled date, the event producers of the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Korean Music Wave in Singapore 2013 have pulled the plug on the three-hour concert, which would have featured an A-list lineup of performers like EXO, Sistar and 4Minute.

In a statement posted to the company's Facebook page on Tuesday, concert promoter Fatfish Entertainment explained the decision to cancel what had been billed as Singapore's largest-ever K-pop concert, according to the publication Today.

"We regret to announce that the MBC Korean Music Wave in Singapore 2013 has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances including contractual difficulties with our co-producer MBC," the Fatfish statement read.

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"This is an unexpected turn of events and we are ascertaining how this cancellation will affect our financial position. We are currently seeking professional advice to see how we can best refund our ticket holders and other creditors. We will need some time for this and seek your patience and understanding during this difficult time."

The decision comes one week after the company reportedly posted another statement to the social networking site, asking fans to help fund other aspects of the performance like the artists' transportation and food in addition to the ticket price.

That Facebook post has since been deleted.

Wang Li Na, head of consumer marketing for would-be MBC Korean Music Wave In Singapore 2013 sponsor StarHub, claims she is unsure exactly what led to the move to axe the concert.

"We were very disappointed to learn this evening, from the concert promoter, Fatfish Entertainment, that the MBC Korean Music Wave concert has been cancelled," Wang said. "We are currently in talks with them to find out more."

K-pop fan Mira Jamil can't believe the incompetence.

"It's so unprofessional of you to announce at such a short notice when the event is just 10 days away," Jamil wrote on Starfish Entertainment's Facebook page.

"Ticket prices were unreasonably sky high, which caused you guys to have poor sales."

Ticket prices for the concert, which was slated to take place at Singapore's Gardens By The Bay, ranged from $140 to $550.

Other acts on the MBC Korean Music Wave In Singapore 2013 bill included the groups SHINee, 2PM, 2AM, F.T. Island, B1A4, Teen Top, B.A.P, Kara and Miss A and solo singer IU.

Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun of Girls' Generation were scheduled to host the event.

MBC 'Korean Music Wave in Singapore' Confirms Cancellation

MBC 'Korean Music Wave in Singapore 2013' has been canceled.

This concert was originally supposed to be held on November 16 in Singapore and include a hot lineup of guests including EXO, SISTAR, 2PM, B.A.P, TEEN TOP and more.

This concert was to be Singapore's biggest K-pop festival to date, but unfortunately, it has officially been canceled.

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It was revealed by Fat Fish Entertainment online that they had to cancel the show due to unpredicted problems with MBC.

They are currently working on finding the best way to refund tickets for those that purchased them.

They hope that everyone can understand them for this inconvenience.

M! Countdown Highlight: Shinee Stomps On K.Will as They Win #1 on the October 31, 2013 Episode + Performance Recap

M! Countdown is back for another week and on this episode, Yoo Seung Woo returned with "U Who?", M.Pire with "New Born", Baek Seung Heon with "Wait a Minute", U-KISS with "She's Money", Topp Dogg made their debut with "Say It", and Park Ji Yoon with "Mr.Lee."

First place nominees for the night were K.Will and Shinee. Though it was Shinee who won this episode for their song "Everybody." Congratulations!!

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Also, since it was Halloween yesterday, some of the stars dressed up.

Happy Halloween!

Performance Recap

Nine Muses dressed for the night by wearing bunny ears as well as had a bunny tail. So the ladies were both sexy as well as cute for the night. The ladies sang "Gun" and as usual, kept the crowd entertained by them screaming. Happy Halloween ladies and great job last night as the girls are number 16 this week.

Kahi came out to sing "It's Me" and with her sexy S-line as usual, she kept the crowd entertained which the audience screamed. Kahi ranked number 19 for this week on the M Countdown chart. Great job Kahi!

Beautiful Park Ji Yoon came out singing "Mr. Lee." The crowd enjoyed her performance by screaming. Great job Park Ji Yoon as you looked gorgeous last night. Park Ji Yoon ranks number 3 this week.

"Wait a Minute" girl is what Baek Seung Hoon to the ladies in the audience. With his comeback stage performance last night, the crowd welcomed his return. Baek has great moves and the music is an awesome R&B style. Great comeback!

Shinee said "Everybody" wake up because it is Halloween. The guys brought great energy as well as charisma on-stage last night. Crowd cheered as well as screamed while fan chanting. Great job guys for doing an awesome performance as always as they rank number one this week.

Say Yes are bringing a "Virus" on-stage. With their great energy as well as charisma, the audience were entertained. Great job guys and keep on rocking as they rank 28th this week!

Everyone's favorite idol IU brought fun as well as energy on-stage last night by singing "The Red Shoes." Crowd fan chanted as well as screamed for their young artist. Great job IU as she ranked number four as well as got a short haircut for her goodbye stage performance.

AOA are you still "Confused" even on Halloween? The ladies looked fabulous as always and the crowd was entertained. Great job ladies as you looked cute with your cat ears and tail. The girls ranked number 15 this week.

M.Pire made their comeback stage performance last night with "New Born." While the crowd screamed a little, the guys did not really make an awesome return. There has to be potential on this group and probably their songs are not really this boring. Come on guys, fans are expecting more from all of you.

Yoo Seung Woo made his comeback with "U Who" which the crowd truly loved. With his great guitar and vocal skills, Yoo made a great return. Great welcome Yoo Seung and nice stage setting as well!

U-KISS are saying "She's Mine"; so do not touch her by each of the guys having a woman. U-KISS made their return last night and with their great choreography, the crowd screamed all throughout their performance. Welcome back guys! Your fans love your comeback!

Lim Chang Jung made his comeback special for "Open the Door." The song is a catchy Halloween special which brought fun on-stage. The audience screamed and truly loved his performance. Great performance Lim by setting the stage with Halloween decorations.

Topp Dogg made their debut last night by performing "Say It." This guys have so much energy as well as charisma on-stage. They are almost like Teen Top due to the energy they have since they are a young group. Crowd screamed and enjoyed their performance. Great job guys!

T-ara came out beautiful for their song "Number 9." With their techno style music, the crowd was alive by fan chanting as well as screaming. Great job T-ara has you are number seven for this week!

Videos

Nine Muses

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Kahi

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Park Ji Yoon

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Baek Seung Hoon

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Shinee

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Say Yes

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IU

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AOA

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M.Pire

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Yoo Seung Woo

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U-KISS

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Lim Chang Jung

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Topp Dogg

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T-ara

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Other performances for the night were Rhythm Power, Block B, Jaurim, Jung Joon Young, and 2EYES and all kept the crowd entertained as always.

Great job to all the performers last night!!