The Top 10 Most-Watched KBS Gayo Performances (& What Made Them So Great)
The annual KBS Song Festival, more commonly known as KBS Gayo Daechukje, is one of the most anticipated end-of-year shows in K-Pop. With a focus on special stages, collaborations, and medleys, the KBS Gayo stages have been blowing fans away for years. Out of all the performances to grace the KBS stage, here are the top 10 most-viewed (along with what made them so great).
10. BTS – 7.82 million views
This BTS Special at the 2017 KBS Song Festival combined four of their biggest songs at the time: “Spring Day”, “LOST”, “Cypher 4”, and “DNA”. One of the best things about this performance was the versatility BTS showed, covering multiple completely different vibes and genres in under 20 minutes. The way they reacted to ARMYs in the opening interview warmed fans’ hearts, too.
9. Zion.T & Jungkook (BTS) – 7.86 million views
The oldest performance on the list is a collaboration between Zion.T and BTS’s Jungkook at the 2015 KBS Song Festival. The stage opened with Zion.T singing his much-loved song “Yanghwa BRDG”. Just after a minute in, Jungkook stepped in too. ARMYs loved getting to hear Jungkook show off more of his vocal talent, and fans of both artists were drawn in by the touching lyrics and backdrop.
8. Youngjae (B.A.P), Minhyuk (BtoB), BamBam (GOT7) & Minhyuk (MONSTA X) – 9.41 million views
No one ever knows what to expect when male artists cover girl group songs, but this performance of Miss A’s “Bad Girl Good Girl” by B.A.P’s Youngjae, BtoB’s Minhyuk, GOT7’s BamBam and MONSTA X’s Minhyuk exceeded everyone’s expectations. All the idols who took part in this 2016 KBS Song Festival stage did justice to the song’s original choreography while putting their own attractive spin on the performance.
7. BTS – 11.01 million views
Two BTS performances from the 2019 KBS Song Festival made it onto this list. The first was “Go Go” from their 2017 album Love Yourself: Her. This updated version of the stage featured the cutest pajama themed-outfits that fans went crazy for, and everyone loved getting to hear this hit return to the screen once again.
6. BTS – 11.46 million views
The second BTS stage from 2019 KBS Song Festival to make it into the top 10 is “Home”, narrowly beating the “Go Go” stage’s views. The members kept the luxury loungewear fits and served fans a casual performance that made everyone feel like they were a personal guest at BTS’s sleepover (completely with pillow throwing!).
5. EXO, Red Velvet, Hyoyeon, NCT Dream & NCT U – 14.16 million views
SM Entertainment fans got a treat at the 2018 KBS Song Festival when 5 of the company’s acts took to the stage for a special collab. Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon opened with her DJ-ing skills, then launched into a performance of “Punk Right Now” with Red Velvet as her backup dances. Fans were then treated to a solo dance from EXO’s Kai and NCT’s Jisung, and more performances from Red Velvet, the rest of EXO, and NCT.
4. BTS – 14.18 million views
Alongside the 2017 BTS Special, the 15-minute stage they showed at the 2018 KBS Song Festival made it into the top 10 too. Given how every member got a chance to show their solo skills, it’s no wonder ARMYs went crazy for this performance. The performance started with J-Hope’s “Just Dance”, followed by Jungkook’s “Euphoria”, Jimin’s “Serendipity”, RM’s “Love”, V’s “Singularity”, Suga’s “Seesaw”, and Jin’s “Epiphany”. Once all the member’s solo stages were complete, the group finished off with a rousing performance of “Fake Love”, complete with a dance break.
3. TWICE, GOT7, DAY6 & Stray Kids – 14.79 million views
First up in the top 3 is this 2018 KBS Song Festival JYP Entertainment special, which boasted numerous covers and collabs. Some of the incredible stages on display included TWICE’s Jihyo singing Park Jiyoon’s “Coming of Age”, Nayeon and Stray Kids’s Bang Chan covering Wonder Girls’s “Nobody”, and GOT7’s JB giving his rendition of G.O.D’s “Lies”.
2. Taemin (SHINee) & Jimin (BTS) – 16.04 million views
In second place is one of the most iconic gayo dance stages ever seen—a collab between SHINee’s Taemin and BTS’s Jimin at the 2016 KBS Song Festival. First, Taemin danced to his song “All About You”. Next, Jimin performed to his own song, “Lie”. Of course, the truly unforgettable part of this stage was when the two came together for their “Showdown” performance, showing off undoubtable skill.
1. GFRIEND, I.O.I, TWICE & Red Velvet – 25.43 million views
Who doesn’t love a top girl group collab? This 2016 KBS Song Festival “Girl’s Present” performance wins first place for most-viewed KBS Gayo stage by a landslide with over 25 million streams. It started with GFRIEND’s “Glass Bead”, I.O.I’s “Pick Me”, TWICE’s “Like Ooh Ahh”, and Red Velvet’s “Dumb Dumb”. Then, all four hit groups came together to perform one of the most iconic girl group songs of all time: Girls’ Generation’s “Into The New World”.
