Kollaboration 9: The Review (ain't holding shit back)

Overall, the 9th Annual Kollaboration show was a huge success. It was entertaining with memorable moments laced throughout the show. With that established, let's get to the real mutha-fucking review...

The show opened up with a dance group called Team Millennia. Dance groups are always entertaining. Although Team Millennia was good, I'll be sooner to remember the green onions in my Thanksgiving salad before recalling anything from their routine. They took the stage and impressed me enough to check my program book. Unfortunately, I found myself spending more time interested in the pamphlet rather than the performance.

Curtains closed on the mildly warming opening act and on came an Oscar/Emmy-style introductory video. Following a journeying briefcase carried by Kollaboration's charming dog-fathers PK and Roy, the pre-recorded bit was the very welcomed first spark worth remembering largely due to one person...beautiful Moon Bloodgood. Her hilarious and down-to-earth appearance had me wishing we were old friends with an upcoming date at the nearest karaoke bar. Afterall, she can sing...well enough for an actor......."poker face...[clap]...poker face."

PK came bursting onto the stage with hard-hitting intrumentals from the under-applauded and under-appreciated talent of Peter Hong and the House Band. And in the way no other can, PK revamped today's popular tracks with rhyme after rhyme of titilating comedy lines. My one wish...I wish his mic was louder. Whoever did the sound certainly did not make it easy to clearly hear the words rapping from the host's mouth. But for those of us that were able to strain our ears, we were definitely treated to a sample platter of cool lines and funny rhymes.

Now for the guts, the meat, the core of the show...the seven competitors.

1. Kenichi Ebina - google the name and do the same on youtube because this man is pure fun for the eyes. With precise mechanical moves that put robots to shame, Kenichi set the bar high for the night by rousing the audience in a smooth "Matrix" fall and then a fluid hands-free rise to his feet.

2. Jazmin - I promised not to hold shit back, so here goes. The four sisters gave a performance the likes of which we've seen before...again, and again, and again before. Aside from giving newly pubescent boys fantasies of being the meat in a singing four sister sandwich, the magic of their moment seemed to have been left at the MTV stage. Don't get me wrong. They can sing - and a heck of a lot better than endearing Moon Bloodgood too. The problem was formula. It seemed like there was too much of the typical ingredients. For the Shrine Auditorium and a whole lot of lunch money on the line, I was expecting a little more.

3. Paul Dateh - Coooool. As we are too often safely fed from the same recipe of what music ought to be, Paul Dateh was a cool breeze of fresh sound. He showed the Kollaboration audience that music is more than what's on the radio...it's about feeling something. While everyone else was busy looking right, Paul Dateh boldly showed that there was something great at the left. My favorite aspect was that the spot wasn't about just Violin/Vocalist Paul - he shared the stage with his fellow talented friends DJ Inka One and Guitarist Ken Belcher.

4. Kina Grannis - ahhh, the youtube cutie... She's quite the charmer, but I found myself feeling like I was watching her via youtube rather than live with 6,000 friends. Where was the eye contact? Kina can sing. She can play guitar. And she's freaking cute. But she performed like she was alone in her room with a camera, and got me feeling like an adoring fan peering through her bedroom window.

5. Lilybeth Evardome - If there was an underdog competitor at Kollaboration, Lilybeth was absolutely it. She was the night's least popular with a cheering section made up of only the students from her day job. Although her name was tucked in the shadows throughout the promotions for the show, Lilybeth Evardome belted out vocals that demanded everyone take notice. Unfortunately, like the talents of American Idol that are often honored yet rarely advanced, she was clearly performing at the wrong show. Kollaboration doesn't exactly attract many wine connoisseurs after all.

6. Jane Lui – Blessed with my favorite vocals of the night, there’s just something about Jane Lui that says she’s the real thing. The texture of her voice comes with a soothing touch. Like a mother comforting you at night, the way Jane sings simply feels warm and good. The only criticism I have is that I didn’t understand her song. The entire performance started at a position and stayed there. Despite hitting the high notes near the end of her performance, there was absolutely no feeling of climax or even resolution. She teased us. Even if it was intentional, I was left feeling disappointed rather than yearning.

7. David Choi – When I close my eyes, I can imagine people hanging out to the sounds of David Choi on the radio. His youtube love song is fun, light, and catchy. It’s hard not to enjoy David’s pleasantly raspy vocals over an easy-going track. And to keep the enjoyment going, I had to keep my eyes closed because he put out zero stage presence. He sang well with his own accompanying guitar playing, but the fear of performing in front of thousands of people was the toilet paper tail he knew he walked into class with. Granted it was his second live performance ever, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. If he ever learns how to connect with his audience instead of merely singing into the stage lights, David Choi could very well become a household name.


And not to forget…

Kollaboration’s special guest performances have always been what made the show unique and incredibly entertaining. This year set a whole new bar. Norman the Magician deceived and humored us with bowling balls and Pringles cans. Fanny Pak and Kaba Modern danced with the flare and precision we’ve come to expect of America’s Best Dance Crews. And even though international superstar BoA closed the night as the headliner, Comedian Jo Koy was the one that truly stole the show. BoA’s performance was 6ft below what I’d expect from a professional of her caliber. She came on stage dead without much effort of hiding her lack of enthusiasm for the show. BoA sang and danced like she was there to claim a paycheck…burying any hopes of charming my adoration and broadening her fan-base.


Again, overall the show was spectacular. Kollaboration has become an event to look forward to every year for those in the audience and those behind the scenes. It’s hard to fully describe because the show is so dynamic and constantly evolving. The single premise is to Empower through Entertainment by finding the best talents every year.