The Kollaboration Rebirth

By Melanie Chung

Widely popular in Los Angeles, with a fan attendance of up to 6500, it comes as no surprise that the Korean arts focused talent show has chapters popping up all over the continent, from Atlanta, to New York and to its one and only Canadian city, Toronto.

The original Kollaboration spawned many successful dance crews all the while elevating the image for Asian Americans in the mainstream media. Many of the most well known crews from Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew got its start in Kollaboration LA, from season one third place finalists, Kaba Modern to season three’s winners Quest Crew, Asian Americans are now no longer seen as nerdy math geeks, Bruce Lee wannabes or Harajuku girls. We exist in the mainstream youth culture of hip-hop and Californian lifestyle.

But what about those in Toronto? In many ways we are the counter opposite of Californian lifestyle so what would we showcase as a representation of Asian talent? Truth be told, it is no different from the LA chapter.

Dominantly relied on word of mouth, JXM recently attended the fourth annual Kollaboration Toronto in hopes of finding the next Quest Crew or Kaba Modern and we came across a very diverse group of performers as they all they vied to win a prize in the talent show.

The auditorium filled up quickly to a packed house, from family and friends supporting their loved ones, to those supporting Korean arts, and to those simply wanting to see new talent, the John Bassett Theatre was nearly overflowing with attendees. The buzz backstage was no different; all the performers could barely contain themselves, many giddy with excitement, while others deep in concentration on perfecting their performance.

Not knowing what to expect other than knowing its LA reputation, I was bemused by Mike the Scientist, who entertained the audience as they continued to stroll in, with a children’s science centre magic n’ facts type act. He kept audience members on their feet with his educational pranks but the show quickly kicked off with KOREsthetics, a break dancing crew who boasts a 13 member group total with nine performing for the night. For a crew just under a year old, they had a mix of nerves setting the stage for the night. But overall they were all just looking forward to getting the chance to perform. “Some of us are nervous, but mostly we’re just going to have fun,” says Kevin.

This year’s theme of rebirth represents Kollaboration Toronto’s “desire for rebirth in Toronto’s Korean community in and through the show.” With eight acts ranging from breakers, rappers, pop singers, comedians, and a walking one-man band, Kollaboration Toronto indeed showcased an eclectic lineup. Despite its very Korean roots, Kollaboration also embraced performers with a diverse look. The soft-spoken rapper J Reyez had the ethnically diverse dance crew RAW backing his performance, and alternative rock group Missing in Venice showcased talent over tokenism.

Regardless of background, there was definitely a common sentiment of excitement running through all the acts performing. For many of the acts, Kollaboration is their first live performance period, or their first live performance as a group. With a lot of green faces, and groups that have been together only for a couple months to just a couple years, it was exciting to see the birth of a performer.

I happened to walk in on the “first ever Asian boy band” K3 as they practiced their vocals and choreographed moves in the dance rehearsal space behind the stage. Their full performance was a tightly pulled together mid tempo R&B Korean ballad with a mix of English and a verse of rap by K3 member Justice. A surprisingly good performance for a group that has been together for only six months. Joe, the natural leader of the group says they “hope to start a new movement” here on the west, similar to that of the popularity of R&B/pop bands in Asia. With audience members already declaring out their adoration with high-pitched squeals of “I love you Derricks” I’m sure K3 will have no problem establishing a fan base ready to throw bras and panties as a symbol of their devotion.

And then came Jonathan Lu. A lanky shaggy haired guy with a guitar strapped to his back and a violin and bow in hand, he hesitantly approached the microphone. A few stifled their giggles as Jon quietly whispered into the mic, “testing, testing.” Then the violin picking began, he dropped his arms and the picking magically continued. Indebted to the phrase recorder, Jon wowed the audience with his one man band skills creating a bass beat picking the violin, throwing in a dash of melody (actually playing the violin mind you), and tying it all together with his guitar as he sang his original The Antics of Love During an Argument About Jeans. As a result, the multi-talented Jon Lu picked up the award for Best Performance and Best Artist.

However, Jon had to share his awards with aforementioned performers Missing in Venice, who describe their sound as being “indie alternative much like Incubus and Alexisonfire.” Having only formed about a year ago, Missing in Venice had a quick turnaround with members until they found the perfect recipe – just a few weeks before they were due to perform for Kollaboration, vocalist Gabriel met Korean guitarist June at the gym and finally they were complete. Clearly they got the ingredients just right, taking home trophies for Best Performance and Best Artist alongside Lu.

Comedian John Ki, though not competing, stole the show with his, not just Korean focused, but Asian focused comedy routine - the Kollaboration audience the perfect audience for such an act. With his dry wit and amazing but true to life stories, John had everyone in their seats keeling over. It was refreshing to see the self-deprecating/Asian hating attitude that is rampant in the west banished from Ki’s comedy routine. Both relatable and jaw dropping, Ki had the perfect blend to keep everyone laughing.

Though Kollaboration Toronto is still somewhat young, its sure to grow in numbers as its reputation spreads. As talent shows can easily cross that fine line between a talent show and high school amateur hour, Kollaboration Toronto is sure to gain momentum as they push more entertaining and great acts like those featured this past year.