god captivates fans in late 20s and 30s
The five members of the K-pop group god hold their hands for their farewell at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Jamil, Seoul, on Dec. 16. From left are rappers Danny Ahn and Park Joon-hyung and singers Kim Tae-woo, Yoon Kye-sang and Son Ho-young. / Courtesy of s!dus HQ
By Kim Jae-heun
The five-member K-pop group god held its year-end concert series “godDAY” at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Jamsil, Seoul, from Dec. 16 to 20.
Each member took the role of emcee for one of the shows that went on for five consecutive days, performing some 20 hit songs from their “million-seller” albums.
The band, whose name is an acronym for Groove Over Dose, debuted in 1999 with their single “To Mother” on one of the nation’s biggest music labels, JYP Entertainment. Their fourth album “Chapter 4,” released in Nov. 2001, became a multi-million seller and won awards from all three of Korea’s major broadcasting companies. The band is now praised as “legends of K-pop” along with other groups from their time, such as boy bands Shinhwa, H.O.T and Sechs Kies, and girl groups Fin.K.L, and SES.
god opened the show with five songs including the tracks from “A Funny But Sad Day.” The members now in their late 30s did not dance as fiercely as a younger boy band throughout the performances. But the veterans knew how to enjoy the show with their fans in a leisurely manner.
The first hour of the concert focused on performing songs with a backing band playing music live. The members then gathered on stage in the second half to sing requests from their fans. The first pick was “134-14,” rapper Danny Ahn’s song for which he produced and wrote the lyrics. Ahn bashfully accepted the request amid the member’s persiflage. They went on to play more of god’s megahits like “After You Left Me,” and fifth album title track “Letter,” an audience favorite.
Kim Tae-woo, the main vocalist of the group, picked the song “After You Left Me,” because a fan had a sad story related to it. A woman had missed the K-pop band’s concert when she was 12, and her older sister, who attended the concert with their mother, called her at home so she could listen to the song live through the phone.
Kim also performed his successful solo track “Love Rain” at the request of his bandmate Yoon Kye-sang.
Between songs, giant LED screens on the sides of the main stage played videos of the five members wildly planning the performances.
The two-hour concert concluded with encore dance songs “Friday Night,” “Sky Blue Balloon” and “0%.”
The idol group will stage four more concerts at EXCO in Daegu Dec. 24 and 25 and BEXCO in Busan Dec. 30 and 31.