Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
What a way we get to start off the new year, with one of the most anticipated reunions in K-pop, GFRIEND had a eight-minute performance at the Golden Disc Awards debuting their new song ‘Season of Memories‘ in front of the crowd. I’ve been waiting for this comeback since I was issued my refund of my Buddy Membership back in 2020 and Gfriend do not disappoint in my opinion having the best performance of the entire award show.
As of the time of this writing no official release is available for the performance, it actually feels like I’m back in 2015 looking up blurry fancams to catch the live from any angle possible trying to see the nuance of their knife like choreography and all the easter eggs the background dancers are performing throughout the new song.
Opening with a lookback at memory lane of their title tracks and snapshots of their first win and prior golden disc awards they already knew what they were doing. Starting the melody off with Glass Beads iconic bell ring and quickly shifting into ‘Rough’s‘ iconic intro however a sudden shift to Yuju’s high note transitioning into the ending of the song while I would’ve loved to see more of both ‘Rough’ and ‘Glass Bead‘ they captured the most iconic parts of ‘Rough’s’ performance. Next we shift into ‘Time for the Moon Night‘ which we know is a favorite of the girls, this performance looks like no time has passed at all, their synchronization and bubbly personalities showing through the cute crowd interaction thrown in.
Finally as time stops at 5:22 (The day their contracts were terminated) and slowly forwards itself to 1:06 and background dancers rush the stage, Gfriend finally debut ‘Season of Memories’ now right off the rip this struck me as something you’d hear in the credits to a Shin Megami Persona game. While it has a warm comfort to it, its still struck me with a slight melancholic feeling thinking of the times past with Gfriend. I couldn’t help but smile, that soft guitar that instantly felt like a core Gfriend track we didn’t get.
All the hallmarks are here, addicting chorus, intricate choreography that they make look smooth and simple. Seriously I can’t get over how this sounds like something off Labyrinth EP I want to say almost Jpop feel but its sound is distinctly Gfriend. As for the choreography again seeing main dancer SinB take center stage again to Yuju giving us another iconic high note ‘Season of Memories’ has all the trappings of a Gfriend song. Even down to the melancholy verses only to be brought back up with a quick dance break or Eunha high note. One of my favorite touches that you might not notice at first viewing is the background dancers doing ‘Me Gustas Tu‘ and ‘Rough’ choreo while the song crescendo’s to its strong finish. Ending with the Iconic Rough slow step out with a alternate formation as every member impersonates the Yakuza 3 Cover art.
I always have high expectations Gfriend and they absolutely shattered them with this performance, I thought the Dingo video was making me emotional on first viewing but seeing them be given the recognition they deserve after having their contracts terminated on a stage like the Golden Disc Awards warmed my heart. Gfriend have always gone above and beyond in their performances, ‘Season of Memories” is no exception as it showcases all the hallmarks of their classic songs with a dash of nostalgia but putting forth Gfriends new mature look while giving us a song that would fit snuggly in the middle of their discography.
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It only took sacrifices to a few other groups to bring back Gfriend, but this new comeback is shaping up to be everything I wanted from them. Now we still have another song on the album ‘Always’ which after hearing Season of Memories I assume is going to be a melancholic ballad that is sure to be a banger. As Lil Uzi said GFRIEND the streets remember; I’m glad the kpop world hasn’t forgotten about that girl group slaving away in that small practice room with the drive to be what they’re today.
Update
Not sure why HYBE is dropping all these at weird times *cough*surelynotsabotageormismanagement*cough* but here it is.
