The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 526

Beanie, shades and face mask will never retract from this guy’s omnipresent swag and stylish good looks. G.O proved just that back on 24 April 2012 as he glided through Gimpo Airport en route to Japan drenched in masculine shades of grey and black that coordinated like perfect pieces of a fashion puzzle. Haute airport couture. I felt like another Airport Style offering for today because sometimes watching G.O walk through an airport is like seeing him take flight from a different kind of runway altogether.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 484

I know it seems like it was just yesterday that I posted a Vocal Virtuosity moment here on the Countdown but in reality, it has been a week. This is how fast time is moving. It is ridiculous, but I am not complaining. Before we know it, it will be February and discharge day. I hope everyone is preparing for the celebration but more importantly, having G.O back. We still have some time here to ruminate over the treasures he has given us these past ten years so I will take a deep breath, calm my excitement and go deep into the vault today for a perfect throwback moment where G.O took the stage on 6 December 2009 at Rain’s Fan Meeting in Japan, and sang one of Rain’s most iconic songs, Love Story*Melt*

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 475

Every day, I find myself saying a prayer for G.O. I don’t ask for much outside of his health and happiness. But, I do pray that he not dwell on the past nor worry about the future. The crazy thing is, the bulk of this countdown series has been an exercise of dwelling on the past. Well, maybe it is a different kind of dwell. It is more of a revival or revisiting of moments in time G.O has shared with us from the very beginning of his career to today. Yes, some of the memories are tinged with sadness. The majority of them however are treasures. Today is the anniversary of MBLAQ’s first stage as a trio when they appeared at the Omiya Super Live Show in Japan back on 6 June 2015. Nostalgia once again sets in, and I must go back.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 468

I adore a demonstrative singer. I love to watch a song invade the very psyche of a vocalist and render him helpless to its melody, lyrics and emotion. The kind of connect with a song that makes it become the absolute control center of every nerve ending in his body. So much so that the song moves through a vocalist at will controlling all senses. This is what I believe a song does to G.O. I have written about it often here because it is something that I find fascinating about him as vocalist. I love that he lets a song in, and lets it have its way with him. We have reached the letter D in my quirky sub-category of this countdown and my choice for the fourth letter of the alphabet is demonstrative.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 438

The more I dig into the background of the music that shaped the story of 광화문 연가 [Gwanghwamun Sonata], the more I understand the level of reverence paid to composer/writer Lee Young Hoon. Gwanghwamun Sonata fascinates me because of the unique way in which the musical was born. To build a story around well-established ballads made popular by singer Lee Moon Sae and turn it into a musical was brilliant. Today, I want to revisit a moment from the Gwanghwamun stage where G.O’s rebellious and charismatic Kang Hyun Woo sings an excerpt from the incredibly poetic, 시를위한시 [A Poem for a Poem].

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 415

There is just something about 열쇠 [Key]. It seems to be one of those songs that digs deep into G.O and takes ahold of every fiber of emotion welling inside of him. From the Broken promotions to the final performances of the song into late 2014, you see it in his eyes when he sings it and without question, hear it in his voice. 열쇠 [Key] is a somber song filled with pleas to help ease the pain of a broken or closed heart and probably has one of the most poetic and touching choruses of any of MBLAQ’s songs. And yes, G.O is the commander of that chorus. Today’s Fan-Camming Friday moment is a G.O- focused cam taken during the performance of  the lyrically beautiful 열쇠 [Key] at MBLAQ’s July 2014 Summer Vacation in Tokyo.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 328

Any time you stand G.O on a stage and let him sing with someone I am automatically going to label that a Heavenly Collaboration. His voice and presence added any time, any where, in any genre, with any vocalist is going to be magical. The angelic presence of G.O joining Nichkhun, Minah, Risako, and P.O for a special stage performance of Let It Go at the M Countdown No. 1 Artist of Spring 2014 in Yokohama may not have seen him with a whole lot of vocal time, but his gentle vocals were sweet perfection in any event. And he was a complete vision in white.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 308

In looking back over the 308 posts in this series thus far, I have come to the conclusion that I really can babble on quite a bit about G.O. It’s funny. When I decided to take this journey, I told myself I was going to keep it simple. A picture, a video, a small commemoration, so long as I was consistent and posted something daily. But now, this series has become very much a labor of love for me and I find that I just cannot keep it simple when it involves G.O. I will do my best today however to try and contain the feels as I honor the absolute vocal virtuosity captured in 말하지 말걸 [I Shouldn’t Speak] at MBLAQ’s performance in Yokohama during the Blaq% Tour, 9 September 2012.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 202

When I sat down to write this post, it was midnight and I had had a glass of wine. For those reasons (and probably others) I found G.O’s saunter through Gimpo Airport on 4 December 2011 rather sensuous. Maybe it was the beanie/hoodie combination with the dark glasses. Or perhaps it was just the way he seemed to be gliding as he walked. Or, how about the soft smile on his perfect lips? Whatever the reason, G.O makes a simple walk through the airport a seismic event for the senses and the perfect choice for a Fan-Camming day here on the blog.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 180

It has been 180 days. One hundred and eighty days served. I wonder if G.O is as diligent as his loving fans in monitoring days served since he entered training camp back on February 18th. I suppose he really doesn’t have to in that we are keeping pinpointed track of each day served and how many days remain. For some reason today (which is actually just a few days shy of the six month mark of his service), I found myself trying to seek out his performance of Yutaka Ozaki’s I Love You because I just felt like revisiting perhaps one his more romantic performances.

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