Beginning at 7.30pm on 31 December 2014, at The Float @ Marina Bay, the sell-out countdown show featured an impressive 68 artistes which included top K-pop boy band BIGBANG, well-known Malaysian recording artist Siti Nurhaliza and Singapore's favourites Stefanie Sun, Kit Chan, Dick Lee and Taufik Batisah.

As the clock struck 12, audiences were treated to the customary fireworks display above the waterfront. The 8-minutes spectacular was a sight to behold as it lit the night sky, showcasing the surrounding bay area and the distant financial district.

The one-hour BIGBANG performance that followed was clearly the highlight of the night which saw 25,000 people attending to welcome the New 2015 Year.

All 5 boys wore jackets when they first came on stage with the highly danceable track Fantastic Baby. GDragon and TOP in their cool shades, together with the other 3 grooved the audience to their feet. After the 2^nd song Tonight, G Dragon who had taken off his shades, started the ball rolling by asking the audience "how are you feeling tonight?" earning shouts from their thousands of fans (VIP) in the audience.

"Are you ready to go crazy tonight?" TOP's question which set the mood of their mini-concert. Both DaeSung and SeungRi yelled their 'I miss you guys' which were happily lapped up by their screaming fans. TaeYang, visibly reading from a prompter on stage, felt honoured to be part of the celebration of our sunny island's Golden Jubilee, 50^th year of independence.

After their impressive communication with the audience in perfect English, the quintet had a rare moment of sitting on high chairs to belt their only slow-paced song of the night - Haru Haru, while G Dragon continuously wiped his forehead and neck with a towel, still dressed in his camouflage-print jacket. By the time their popular Bad Boy was performed, TaeYang surrendered to the heat and took off his jacket to reveal his well-toned arms and cross-tattooed side profile, in his white singlet.

After their 8^th song Feeling, SeungRi wanted to confirm if the audience are still having fun while TOP, who had long dissed his shades to display his intensely sensual almond shaped eyes topped by immaculately groomed eyebrows, said "this is our 1^st show of 2015, we'll see you many many more times this year" heightening the emotions in the crowd.

DaeSung thanked everyone for celebrating the new year with BIGBANG, with TaeYang confirming that he'll be back in Singapore for his first solo concert tour on 8 Feb 2015. G Dragon, clearly the crowd's favourite, then informed every one of the big plans for 2015 with a new album and a new concert tour in the coming months.

The 8-year old boy band demonstrated their strong stage presence and charisma, charming the crowd with their predominately hip hop style of music. For any VIPs who had attended the event, this should remain as one of their most memorable count-down parties for a long long time.

Setlist

1.       Fantastic Baby

2.       Tonight

3.       Haru Haru

4.       Bad Boy

5.       Garagara Go

6.       Good Boy

7.       Hands Up

8.       Feeling

9.       Lies

10.   Farewell

Watch BIGBANG's "Fantastic Baby" performance captured by the KpopStarz team!

Special thanks to MediaCorp TV Singapore Pte Ltd for inviting KpopStarz.com to cover CELEBRATE SG50 in Singapore.

Writer: Wang | Photo Credits: MediaCorp TV Singapore Pte Ltd | Video Credits: Ong Melin