KPOP Family by 김지린

A bustling weekend of rich foods and cultural festivities certainly brought its high points, but the one event everyone was waiting for finally kicked off at dusk. As twilight settled in, the stage lights burst to life, and the opening act made their way onto the stage.

Shrieks and catcalls were heard as ’70s disco group Village People performed their classic hit, “Macho Man“. They brought a sense of fun to the festival, but were superseded by 4minute, G.NA andSISTAR, who converged onto the stage in short black outfits to deliver a hot cover of Beyonce‘s “Single Ladies“.

The screams got louder as SHINee‘s Minho and Hwang Soo Kyung walked onstage together to introduce themselves as the hosts of the evening. Dressed in a gorgeous silver halter gown that twinkled in the bright light, Hwang Soo Hyung beamed as Minho greeted the audience and thanked everyone for attending.

To the delight of the Shawols in the audience, the remaining four members of SHINee (who were closely matched in black leather outfits) then joined Minho on stage as the familiar intro beats of “Ring Ding Dong” blasted through the speakers. Afterwards, they gave the screaming audience a spirited greeting. “It’s our first time performing in New York, so we’re really excited,” one member exclaimed. “Stay tuned as we’d like to have more performances here in the future!” They then wrapped up their act with “Lucifer“, and the crowd got to enjoy liberal amounts of ad-libs by leader Onew during the climax.

Following SHINee, 4minute continued with a high energy performance of “Mirror Mirror” and “Hot Issue“. While SHINee had the ladies going crazy, it’s safe to say this female quintet brought out the eye candy for the guys. Dressed in black blazers and shorts with metallic accessories, the five girls showed off a sexy, yet corporate-chic look for a hyped two-track performance that ended all too soon.

When Minho and Hwang Soo Kyung returned to the MC podium after their performance, the male idol decided to check out what his international fanbase was like. “So…. Where are you from? Do we have any SHINee fans here?” Minho curiously asked, and was promptly answered with another spasm of enthusiastic screams from the female members in the audience.

After back-to-back idol performances, rock vocalist Maya strode to the stage to perform her iconic track “Azalea” with a full orchestra playing behind her. Thanks to her husky voice and thick vibrato, Maya completely owned the performance, adding a rich lustre to the music festival that night.

Next up was B2ST, dressed in black and white with dashes of red. Although member Kikwang was missing (reportedly due to scheduling conflicts), the five members performed “Fiction” and “Beautiful“. ”Wassup New York!!” the five members greeted in unison, followed by Hyunseung‘s amusing exclamation, “Are you enjoy?!” Dongwoon continued by expressing the group’s gratitude to be performing in New York over the weekend. As the camera panned over the audience, the large number of B2ST signs bobbing in the crowd made it clear how many attendees had come out specifically to see this particular group.