[SHOW REVIEW] Kollaboration Los Angeles 2013

Kollaboration LA did it once again; another event to remember!

On July 26, 2013, Kollaboration Los Angeles held their annual show at the Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles, California. With an amazing lineup of competitors, judges, guests, host, audience and staff, Kollaboration has found another artist to go onto the finals to compete at Kollaboration Star which will be held in November of this year.

The Kollaboration staff gave out buttons and guitar picks with their logo’s to the audience members who filled out a survey that helped the staff know what they were doing right and what they could improve on in their upcoming shows.

With a packed house, the show began at 8:30pm with comedian and Kollaboration founder, PK (Paul Kim). PK never fails to wow the crowd with his awesome jokes and great MC skills as he really had the audience participating the whole night.

PK went on to introduce the judges; choreographer Aimee Lee Lucas, music producer and engineer Mister Rocks, hip-hop soul musician Kero One, and lastly George Show, a composer who specializes in orchestral thematic music for film, TV, and video games.

Later, the MC announced the first competitor of the night, EVOKE, an awesome dance crew who gave it their all on stage and showed amazing stage presence, therefore taking home the 2013 Audience Choice Award that was brought to you by Verizon. Verizon also gave out free speakers to anyone who tweeted or instagramed a photo with #GiveMeVerizon.

Second to perform was hip-hop artist Verseatile who performed with a live band! He has been involved with music for approximately 10 years and has just now performed on the Kollaboration stage. He performed with his band showing off his great rap skills in English as well as Korean. With many cheers from the crowd, Verseatile performed with great confidence. (HypnoticAsia also interviewed Verseatile and reviewed his upcoming album “Good Mourning”. Check it out HERE and HERE.)

The next to perform was singer Priska, who has turned to music due to bullying. This Taiwanese-American singer and songwriter proved to the world she can be successful with her beautiful music. Her voice was flawless and her song was adorable. She told a story before beginning her song which had gotten many “Awww’s” and “Wow’s” from the crowd. With a round of applause, the singer left the stage with her head up and a smile on her face.

The fourth artist of the night was singer Hana Kim. She wowed the audience with her beautiful and soulful voice. She played the keyboard and her indie pop sound was creative and very addictive. With many people commenting on how great her voice is and how much they liked her stage, she exited the stage to allow PK to announce the next artist to compete.

“Dreamy eyed” Russell Curry took the stage as the next performer. PK had mentioned how you could get lost in his eyes, and as soon as the artist stepped on stage, the audience understood immediately. The rapper showed his great passion on stage and interacted with the audience well.

The last act before intermission was John & Daniel (The Rhee Brothers). The winners of the night completely took the audience by storm as they came out on stage and performed their original song “Brotherly Rivalry.” They amused the audience with their song explanation and later with their super awesome lyrics. Their fun lyrics complimented their voices and style. The crowd exploded in laughter with Daniel’s “trumpet solo.” This duo won Kollaboration and will be going on to compete at Kollaboration Star.

After intermission, they had their annual freestyle vocal and dance, each winner taking home $100. The vocals were great and had the crowd cheering but the freestyle dance did the trick. The winner of the freestyle dance competition was Butter who really had the crowd on their feet roaring and cheering for him. It felt like he was the winner of Kollaboration but the show was only half-way done.

Mike B then took the stage with his live band and did a great job rapping. This hip-hop artist showed his fun stage by moving around and interacting with the crowd. His lyrics show his constant passion for music and his battles through life.

Solo artist, Ashley Yoon was next to perform. Taking on vocals and rapping, she performed and had the guys in the crowd absolutely head over heels. She is known for her presence on the show, “Birth Of A Great Star” which was aired on MBC in Korea. With great training, she is in Los Angeles doing her thing and gave a good stage at Kollaboration Los Angeles.

Saxophonist and songwriter, Justin Klunk took the stage next and revealed his true talent to the audience. Having performed with well-known artists and at great venues in the past, he took the stage at the Ford Amphitheater with his live band. The audience showed great interest.

Last but not least, competitor EVMB was next to perform on the already tough stage which didn’t seem to stop him. Born in New York and raised in Los Angeles, beatboxer EVMB(Vincent Bantasan) took the stage and wowed the crowd with his fun stage presence. His amazing beatboxing skills were shown on the stage that night as the audience of Kollaboration 2013 participated in the songs as well as cheered. He exited the stage with a smile and the crowed cheering loudly for him.

After the competitors had completed their stages and the judges tallied their scores, special guest performers Run River North took the stage and told their amazing story before going on to perform 3 songs. The members of the band are no strangers to Kollaboration, as they have competed in past shows. Even though they weren’t crowned the winners, we could see they won more then that. They are now formed as Run River North and have recorded their album which is due for release in the fall.

The show ended with everyone returning to the stage for the awards. With dance team EVOKE taking the audience choice awards and John & Daniel taking the grand prize, Kollaboration Los Angeles ended with a satisfied audience who were already reminiscing about the show before they were even out of the building. We’re excited to see how the winners of Kollaboration will do at Kollaboration Star on November 16, 2013.