The Woes Of 2011 SBS Gayo Daejun: Ho-Hum Performances + Dubstep Infiltrates K-pop

Every year, Korean networks SBS, KBS, and MBC broadcast the always anticipated and supposedly prestigious year-end music festivals known as Gayo Daejun. To the noobs, think of a Gayo Daejun as a fancier version of a typical weekly music program without the award deliverables at the end.

Like the three weekly music programs, there are three super-sized Gayo Daejun shows to watch. Seeing as 2011 was a pretty decent year in K-pop music, far better than 2010, this year’s festivities were on my must-watch list, if not for the good music and special stages then at least for the mediocrity that tends to ensue at one point or another. And let’s be honest, there’s more of that than anything.

SBS was first in broadcasting their Gayo Daejun, and for the most part, it fell pretty flat for some obvious reasons.

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As mentioned previously, the Gayo shows are basically up-scale versions of the Inkigayo/M! Countdown/Music Bank/Music Core programs with the addition of several special stages for shits and giggles.

Unless you’ve never watched a single K-pop performance ever, which I doubt, then you’ve already seen 3/4 of the show. Nevertheless, artists are inclined to tweak and/or remix their original songs at least a little for these things, but as you’ll see below, many arrangements did very little to enhance their performances. In fact, most sucked the life right out of the original music.

Same Old, Same Old

I get that it’s an exciting thing to see everyone’s favorite idols perform their 2011 hits again, especially those idols who are inactive at the moment, but when the performance and the overall production remains unchanged, for a special occasion no less, it kind of ruins the moment.

2NE1

SNSD

f(x)

Dubstep In My K-pop

While watching the same shit in a different setting was a low point in the show, nothing came close to the mind-numbing trend of the night – the obsession with dubstep.

Super Junior‘s Eunhyuk + SHINee‘s Taemin + EXO Member Kai – Dubstep Tribute Dance Thingy

Listen, I understand dubstep has found its place in the hearts of hipsters everywhere, but how everybody placed it in the context of SBS Gayo Daejun came across extremely forced to me. Dubstep is an earful, that much I think we can agree on, but hearing it being overused in one single concert raised a red flag, not just because it’s dubstep, but because K-pop tends to jump the shark extremely early on these popular trends in music.

Dubstep Ruining An Otherwise Fabulous “Sixth Sense” Performance By Brown Eyed Girls

Dubstep Fucking Up miss A‘s “Good Bye Baby”

Honestly, dubstep doesn’t appeal to me, but considering how terrible K-pop can be at interpreting genres, I will passionately hate it very soon if K-pop can’t calm its tits over this trend.