From electrifying performances, a K-Pop dance party, and a coveted £1,000 cash prize – Brixton Jamm was immersed in the best of K-Pop with the UK K-POP Competition.
Brought to London by Korean events organiser Wook Kim and Korean European newspaper The Euro Journal, the UK K-POP Competition brought the best of what London had to offer to the stage to showcase their talents.
The event was MC’d by singer and dancer JDog, who acted as presenter on this occasion. The stage exploded in a myriad of performances from dance mashups, to solo singers – each captivating the audience in their own way. The finalists were; Becca (vocalist), Taylor (vocalist), _mkk_e (vocalist), LVL19 (dance group), KONCEPT (dance group), Ian Lau (dancer), OFF/PRISM (dance group), ASTRAY (dance group), UJJN (dance group), WE ARE GOING HARD (dance group), Nick (dancer), Aaron (dancer), X93 (dance group), Jillian (dancer), Bella (dancer) and MyaTiffany (dancer).
The competition was then followed by a showcase of exciting talents – starting off with a dance performance of Aespa’s “Lucid”, choreographed by award-winning dancer and choreographer Holly. Girl group ATTI also took the stage to perform their latest song “Regeneration” for the first time! The audience was also blessed with the talents of amazing vocalists such as LIYVZ – a K-Pop singer-songwriter who hypnotised the audience with her unreleased song “Bloom”, and Sungjoon – a Korean singer-songwriter who spent his days busking in the streets of Europe, who performed his powerful song “You”.
With that the stage closed to performers, and the party started with a collaboration between Seoul/London DJ Espio, and violinist Echo. The duo played a dynamic series of K-Pop songs and remixes as guests turned to the dance floor – breaking out their long-awaited synchronised choreography, or just happily swayed along to their favourite songs in anticipation of the winners. Considering the fact that the audience was mainly comprised of actual performers – such as YouTuber Raffy, who you would find slaying the choreography in a winter suit better than any of us could in sweats – it’s safe to say that it was nothing short of epic.
After a night of dancing was the moment everybody had been waiting for. The judges, Wook, and a representative from The Euro Journal gathered on stage to announce the winners of the competition.
In 3rd place was solo dancer Nick, who won a prize of £300. In 2nd came dance group We Are Going Hard who won £500. And finally in 1st place was dance group UJJN, who won £1,000!
And thus the event came to a close. Congratulations to all the winners, and for those who didn’t – congratulations on making it to the final. The judges expressed how talented all participants were, and how impressive it was to even come this far. For those looking to improve, one main point of advice circulated around the judges. For all the dancers out there; there was a general consensus that there should be less focus on simply executing the dance moves, and more work should be done on the overall performance experience. They detailed how the energy should ebb and flow rather than come out in a continuous stream. They should also emphasise teamwork, and work on making sure that the performance tells a story, rather than just exploding on stage.
With those words, the party was over. We thank Wook and The Euro Journal for putting a fantastic night together, and thank them also for inviting us! Again, congratulations to all participants, and we can’t wait to see what they all get up to next.
Were you at the event? Be sure to let us know here at KpopWise!
