[news] Missy Elliott's Buzzed-About K-Pop Duet Released 8/29/2013
More than 20,000 fans gathered in Los Angeles for the K-Pop convention KCON 2013, which featured the premiere of Missy Elliott and Korean rapper G-Dragon's much-anticipated duet "Niliria."
(omitted non-GD info)
The only non-Asian artist to take the KCON stage, Missy Elliott, had much of the crowd on its feet for "Get Ur Freak On" and "Lose Control." The Grammy winner's musical output has been relatively sparse since her last studio album, 2005's The Cookbook. But last January she tweeted that she had recorded two songs with Korean superstar G-Dragon, the KCON headliner. The rapper-producer turned 25 last weekend but is already a K-pop industry vet as frontman of Big Bang, arguably Korea's most popular boy band. Cutting a slim and stylish figure onstage, G-Dragon seamlessly moved through his solo singles "One of a Kind," "MichiGO" and "Crayon" before bringing Elliott back onstage for the debut of their much-anticipated duet, "Niliria." The two emcees, with their combined corps of backup dancers, looked utterly comfortable onstage together. "Get your freak on, get your cray on," the two rappers chanted, mashing up the lyrics of their two respective hits as they made their way down the catwalk to close the show.
"Niliria" will be featured on G-Dragon's upcoming solo album Coup D'Etat. The full KCON concert, M! COUNTDOWN What's Up LA, will be broadcast online and in 14 countries, including the U.S., on cable network Mnet America tonight at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.
For those who saw the show in person, there were no regrets about skipping the VMAs for K-pop. Fifteen-year-old Courtney Wiseman and her sister, Jessica Mangrum, 26, were exposed to the genre via a foreign exchange student at Wiseman's school. The sisters, both Caucasian, flew to KCON from Tennessee with Mangrum's 3-year-old daughter, Akira, who was decked out in a G-Dragon T-shirt and mini bandana. When asked to choose between the hypothetical chance to attend the VMAs live or KCON, Wiseman didn't hesitate. "KCON. I don't even know what artists are popular here anymore."
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER