Love Beats hailed from all around were in Singapore for LC9’s very first overseas performance on Nov 30!
Despite being their maiden trip, members Rasa (leader and main vocalist), E.Den (main rapper), J-Hyo (lead vocalist and rapper), King (main vocalist), Jun (rapper, dancer) and AO (maknae and main dancer) had a whirlwind schedule in town – including a fansign shortly on arrival, before starting the next day with a press conference, followed by the showcase, a live performance on a local variety programme, as well as a dinner date with fans holding special passes.
Debuted in May this year with ‘MaMa Beat’ on Mnet M! Countdown, it is a feat that the sextet rookie group is already venturing abroad within such a short period of time. Well, LC9 did emerge strong into the K-pop scene with their powerful ‘C-walk’, catchy beats and a R-19 music video full of great fighting scenes for ‘MaMa Beat’ then. Apart from this title track, their first mini-album ‘Skirmish’ also features intriguing renditions of English pop songs such as Nelly’s ‘Just a Dream’ and One Direction’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’.
Looking funky in matching getups, the boys greeted the media warmly at the press conference held at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort. Meeting them for the first time, the boys certainly embody the chops of global stars. Over and above the good looks and talents of the unique individuals, the young idols are also good at engaging the crowd! Not to mention E.Den’s Canadian accent that charms us now and then, LC9 is definitely a rookie group to look out for.
Like most Korean celebrities, the plethora of trees and the legendary chilli crab left the boys a pretty great first impression of the sunny island – like how E.Den put it, “This is our first overseas performance as a group. It is definitely an honour to be here, and to be able to perform in front of all our fans! In terms of Singapore as a whole, it seems very natural and there are like a lot of trees, definitely a breath of fresh air for all of us.”
So what does LC9 stand for? Leader Rasa explained that LC9 is short for League of Competition 9, “Firstly, we were selected through stiff competition against the many other trainees in our company (Nega Network) and successfully debuted. Now, there are a lot of fellow K-pop idol groups rising in the industry, and we are set to brave the competition to not only measure up but to emerge as the be survivors.” In terms of the number 9, leader Rasa said that the initial plan was to debut with 9 members but the plan changed. That said, the group does not dismiss the possiblity of having new members in the future.
With age ranging from 17 to 24, the boys also shown their diverse taste in music as they talked about their source of inspiration. J-Hyo revealed his liking for Bruno Mars, “Through doing covers of his songs, I got to know more about pop songs and foreign singers.” For E.Den, “I have always been interested in rapping since young. I grew up in Canada, and the source of inspiration for me has always been Drake.”
On the other hand, Jun looks up to their sunbaenim SHINee as “they are good looking and good at singing live” while AO chose Monday Kiz and SG Wannabe from Korea who are great ballad groups.
King also shared how music genre is one important aspect that sets them apart from the other idol groups, “There are a few groups that debuted around the same time as us, such as Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) and History. We try to ensure our style is more appealing with the popular electro-pop genre.”
For next year, AO revealed that “We are going to Indonesia in January for another showcase, and we will be going overseas a lot more for performances. We are also preparing for our new album in Korea. At the moment, we are still choosing our songs for the comeback, and will probably drop the album before March. We might then come back to Singapore again with new songs!”
Rounding off, J-Hyo shared that LC9 will be performing with their talented label-mate LUNAFLY for a concert in Indonesia early next year. On top of that, there are also talks of a possible collaboration with their sunbaenims Brown Eyed Girls or LUNAFLY this holiday season. Love Beats could anticipate some Christmas carols coming your way!
Onwards to ‘LC9 Live Showcase in Singapore’, the boys certainly did not disappoint at their maiden gig with an impressive line-up of 7 songs and special stages prepared for the Singapore Love Beats.
Powerhouse vocalists J-Hyo and King opened the show with the beautiful ballad ‘Hold On’, setting the tone before all members joined the stage.
“Ayo, what’s good? LC9. Annyeonghaseyo!” Greeting the fans, leader Rasa said, “This is our first time here in Singapore, we are so happy to see many of you here! Since it is our first time, we will try our best to show you our best.”
“Hope you guys are ready?! Because we are going to put on a great show… our next song is ‘MaMa Beat’ ” E.Den called out, “Do you know ‘MaMa Beat’?” – roaring YEAH! – “Enjoy!”
Judging from the cheering and the grooving, the popping hit track is definitely fans’ hot favorite. One lucky soul even got to fetch home a purple LC9 cap that J-Hyo tossed down the stage! The boys continued the heat with the upbeat ‘Ready Set Go’ and a special stage ‘Bounce’. King explained that they have specially prepared it for the local Love Beats since many Singaporeans know this song, before teasing fans that “This is (a) cute stage”, with his aegyo voice!
Taking a breather, J-Hyo expressed how thankful he is to the beloved fans that even with the bad weather – it was pouring cats and dogs outside – many still turned up. On the other hand, E.Den shared that apart from chilli crab, members also tried this ‘dry ice’ dessert… This got fans super excited and suddenly, the whole place was filled with hollers of ‘Ice Kachang’!
The boys giggled when asked which member’s body do they want to swap with. Surprisingly, no one said they would rather keep their own body! Summing it up, it was a complicated affair where King wants E.Den’s body for the obvious reason – HANDSOME. J-Hyo in turn wants King’s body because ‘just in case no one chooses him’ as he put across cheekily. Jun wants AO’s cuteness, while E.Den wants Jun’s body because ‘he never gains weight no matter how much he eats’. Maknae AO blankly said Rasa because the leader was staring at him ‘fiercely’, and sure enough, Rasa wants AO’s body because he is young!
While the boys went for a change for the next set, fans were challenged to a ‘talent quest’ on stage for autographed CDs and an ultimate prize. Girls and boys showed off their dancing and singing to LC9’s songs and we got to say that one Malaysian fan’s performance of ‘Hold On’ absolutely captivated the crowd!
As promised, the winning fan was pampered with up, close and personal moments with the boys where they took turns to sing and dance around her on stage during their cover of ‘Guilty’! She is probably still deliriously high till now! LC9 then went on to perform their covers of One Direction’s ‘One Thing’, and Justin Bieber’s ‘Never Say Never’.
Without realizing, it came down to last song. Rasa, King and Jun said they are very grateful to be invited to such a beautiful city and performing here for the first time, while the youngest AO quipped, “This is my first time out of Korea. If given a chance, next time I want to be born a Singaporean!” causing an uproar of cheering!
Taking over, J-Hyo shared, “Rasa, E.Den and I went overseas on tour with Brown Eyed Girls before as dancers. But this is a total different experience since it is our own showcase!” “This being our first showcase in Singapore, it is such a pleasure to have you guys watch us,” added E.Den, “we have one more stage and hope you guys could cheer and sing it out real loud with us! And we promise we will be back with new songs next time.”
The atmosphere climaxed with the last song ‘Getting Over You’ and the astounding encore, One Direction’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’. Finally, with “One, two, three, I love you Singapore!” the boys bid adieu to their first performance in Singapore before proceeding to Love Beats’ much-anticipated photography session.
Well, LC9 did promise to return soon with new releases. Chin up!
Special thanks to Nega Network and East Entertainment for the great invitation.
Article By: Kathryn Zhang
Photography By: Hidayah Hamdan
Edited by: Alona
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