When isn’t a G.O-focused Mona Lisa fan cam a good thing? It is always a good thing. Whether on a Friday or any day, watching (and hearing) G.O during Mona Lisa is a tantalizing delight. I think it has been well over 100 days since I last honored a Mona Lisa performance, so time seems about right to have another. For this Fan-camming Friday, I am choosing a focused cam from the Cheong-gu Prime Concert on 8 August 2012.
It has been over a month since I offered a Windows To Your Soul ~ The G.O Eye Connect post here on the Countdown. It is not that I am slacking, it is just that I need to build up some resistance to G.O’s penetrating gaze. Back in April 2011, he all of about left a few hearts shipwrecked during MBLAQ’s performance at Kang Hwa Island. The wonderful A Lucky Day and SoulStar were successful in capturing his attention while pointing their cameras at him. Once he locked in, he let all kinds of flirtatious sweetness and charm invade their lenses.
One of the five million things I absolutely adore about G.O is how he is the perfect balance of fiercely masculine and achingly tender. On either side of those spectrums are numerous examples of each. Today I opt for a fiercely masculine moment which will always be best displayed during a performance of 저쟁이야 [This Is War]. Even at the fiercest moments of Run, Stay or even Oh Yeah, nothing matches the furious vocals, choreography or penetratingly intense gazes that This Is War brings. Couple that with black on black on black costumery and the performance becomes all that more powerful. There really is nothing that can remotely temper G.O’s intensity during any This Is War performance. It definitely was present at the Busan Catholic University show back in May 2012. In fact, that kind of intensity only amplified the charisma and handsomeness that oozed from the stage that day. It is Fan-Camming Friday and a blast of G.O intensity is the perfect way to usher in the weekend.
I often wonder when G.O became MBLAQ’s official main vocal if he realized how much dancing he was going to be required to do. Choreography is part of the Korean pop idol package but he is primarily a romantic balladeer. As we all know, ballads do not really require choreography. I can only hope G.O surprised himself with how well he could . . . move. I pretty much view dancing as a sport, and much of MBLAQ’s choreography was quite athletic, especially in aggressively intense dance tracks like Run. Along with its searing vocals and powerful rap, Run was designed to be visually spectacular. And indeed it was when our gorgeous men in black brought their fierce martial arts themed performance to the K-Collection Fashion Concert stage back on 11 March 2012.
When shuffling through your MBLAQ collection do you ever come to the Y album and get stuck there for awhile? I do. The reason I get stuck on Y is mostly because of the dreamy ballad Last Luv. Oh the feels that song gives me. But today, I want to focus a Vocal Virtuosity moment towards MBLAQ’s 8 June 2010 performance of What U Want on MNet’s The Pub Only You Concert. I am going to be a bit brazen here because I really wish to focus on the last minute or so of the performance, for obvious reasons.
I knew at some point in this countdown series that I would get a chance to completely love on one of my favorite performances of MBLAQ’s Smoky Girl . . . ever. The 26 June 2013 MBC Music Picnic Live performance was probably about as sultry and steamy as that summer day (it reach 86°F/30°C…I checked) itself. Once again a group effort back by a live band, there were still some delicious G.O standout moments nevertheless which give me rise to place the Picnic Live performance of Smoky Girl securely in the Vocal Virtuosity category. It is Day 410 and perhaps a bit sinful to get this steamy for Sunday, but I cannot help myself. And really, the steam comes early and cools off into an energetic and fun upbeat version of this killer song.~.^
My infatuation with G.O’s eyes continue, even if he dare only show us one. For some reason, showing only one eye during some of the Mona Lisa promotions and performances in the summer of 2011 proved to be ever mysterious and absolutely alluring, particularly at the MTV Cyworld Music Festival Dream 2011. Lucky were those who pointed their cams and cameras on him and were able to capture the attention of that one very lone soft and mesmerizing eye. I would like to ease into this Monday, this 397th day of G.O’s service, with the soft gaze of his eyes, the windows . . . or in this case, window to his soul.
I admit to not being well-versed in Korean popular music. I further admit that my vision and hearing have been focused on and tuned into MBLAQ since I discovered who they were and what they were about. I felt then that I was experiencing the cream of the crop. That there was no need to explore further because MBLAQ, and specifically G.O, were satisfying all of my Korean music needs and yes, I was hooked. I dabbled and listened to other Korean pop groups here and there, but I always found myself returning to MBLAQ. To me they sounded different. Better. Honest. And although I love so many of their songs – so much so that it is next to impossible to choose a favorite, I have to agree that Oh Yeah, 전쟁이야 [This Is War] and Mona Lisa are perhaps some of their most iconic ~ at least in the non-ballad category of their extensive catalog. There are many performances of these three songs worthy of revisiting. For today though, I am choosing the 21 October 2012 GS & Concert performances because in addition to sounding fierce and intense, G.O’s stage presence was equally powerful and disarming.
It is Fan-Camming Friday and time to submerge ourselves in a moment of pure G.O joy. So I will travel back to the Men in Blaq Tour of 2011 where there was nothing but pure happiness pouring out of G.O in the energetic moments captured during One Better Day. To be at the Jamsil Arena that sweet summer evening in August 2011 must have been like soaring through the magic land of G.O charm, sweet smiles and unimaginable delight.
Let me just cut to the chase for this Fan-Camming Friday by saying that anytime a fan cam features an accidental flash of otherwise covered up skin and a wink, along with outstanding vocals and provocative choreography, it easily reaches that gold standard of fan camming. This is my choice for Day 359 ~ one week from the year marker of G.O’s service. A cam from amazing masternim letsgoinho taken at the Human Target Awards on 22 November 2011.
