Mumbai sways to the beats of K-Pop at regional

rounds of All India K-Pop Contest 2024

Active Times, 8.18

K-pop fans in Mumbai converged at the famed St. Andrews Auditorium in Bandra West this week to witness the regional round of the All India K-Pop Contest 2024. A total of 64 participants were selected for the round after 1,062 registrations – the third-highest after New Delhi and Kolkata – were received for the online round competition in the region. There were 34 teams in the regional round with 17 teams performing in the dance category, while another 17 teams took part in the vocal category of the contest.

It was amongst this splendid display of performance that eight-member group  'We Unite' performed to Ateez’s 'Bouncy' and went on to take the top prize in the Dance category. Similarly, Samhita Kagal mesmerized the crowds with Crush's 'Love You With All My Heart' and earned the top prize in the Vocal category of the Mumbai regional round. Both of these participants will now perform in the semi-finals that is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 19th October. 

The other participants who performed exceptionally well at the Mumbai regional round include the two-member group 'Future Ninja' who were the first runners-up in the dance category. The group danced to the popular track, 'Baby Don’t Stop' by NCT. 'Axiom' was the second runners-up in the dance category after performing to 'Fearless' by Le Sserafim.

The competition in the vocal category was extremely intense, with Kavya Karir taking the first runners-up prize by crooning to 'I Will Hold You' by Ailee. Rutuja More was the second runners-up after performing to 'Eraser' by Taeyeon. 

At the famed St. Andrews Auditorium in Bandra West, where numerous Bollywood actors have participated in theatre and talk shows over the years, it was Korean pop music that ruled the evening. The most popular songs on which the participants performed in the Mumbai regional round were Wendy’s ‘Like Water’, Ailee’s ‘I Will Go To You Like The First Snow’, Aespa’s ‘Black Mamba’ and Viviz’s ‘Maniac’. 

With each performance, the crowd at the venue, only seemed to be cheering harder for the participants. For the duration of the event, it seemed as if one was not in Mumbai, but in Korea. Speaking about her love for K-Pop and what made her six-member group Axiom take part in the Mumbai regional round of All India K-Pop Contest 2024, Aparna said, “Our love for K-Pop and dancing together as a team has been a major driving force behind our participation in the contest. K-Pop offers a lot of diverse and fun choreography which really appeals to us. Over the years, this contest has been a great platform to showcase our dedication and talent. We see this contest as an opportunity to share our passion with others and, hopefully, inspire fellow enthusiasts and dancers to embrace their own interest in K-Pop.” 

After the successful completion of the Mumbai regional round of the All India K-Pop Contest 2024, four out of a total of 11 cities have now completed the regional round of the contest. Earlier, the regional rounds were organised in Bengaluru, Kohima and Kolkata. The regional round caravan will continue to pass through Itanagar (August 11th), Chennai (August 11th), Hyderabad (August 18th), New Delhi (August 18th), Ahmedabad (August 25th), Bhopal (September 1st) and Lucknow (September 1st). More than 300 teams are expected to showcase their talent in the regional rounds that spans across India. The Grand Finale of ‘All India K-POP Contest 2024 presented by LG’ will be held at the state-of-the-art exhibition and convention centre, 'Yashobhoomi', in New Delhi on November 23rd, 2024. The winners of the Grand Finale will get an opportunity to visit Korea. 

Hwang Il Yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre India said, “Mumbai is a city associated with the world-famous Bollywood music of India. The Mumbai regional round of the All India K-Pop Contest 2024 was a celebration of K-Pop in this beautiful land of Bollywood music. It was wonderful to see so many participants and their family members come out to celebrate this grand event. I would also like to thank all the participants who practiced hard, displayed great performances, and made this event so successful.”