It seems the issue of live vocals vs. lip-syncs has been ongoing for a decade now.
In the wildest time of 2014 in K-Pop land, MBC‘s OG music show, Music Core, tried “banning” 100% lip-sync performances from idol groups.
Park Hyun Seok, the chief producer of the show at the time, criticized “singers who don’t use their voices” and announced that he would not make space for them on his show.
I will not let singers who don’t use their voices at all go on stage…
…I understand that doubling is a necessity sometimes, and that’s fine. And I also understand that live accompaniment isn’t always possible. But I am talking about the performances with 100% pre-recorded songs being played in the background. Not making a single sound on stage is deceitful to the viewers and the producers of the show. That’s cheating.
This shouldn’t be a problem for singers who sing on stage.
— Park Hyun Seok
As expected, Park’s comment sparked some heated reactions. While most fans welcomed the change, some K-Pop artists—including Super Junior‘s Ryeowook—expressed discontent at the CP’s decision.
In fact, Ryeowook took to his social media platform (Twitter at the time) and publicly called out Park for blaming the idols for “real music” when the shows themselves don’t invest much into improving the quality of the sound system to even back up the live vocals.
For singers, the quality of the sound system is as important as fancy stage set and good lighting… So while I agree that it is a problem for singers to completely rely on lip-syncing, it is also a serious case of power-tripping for [music shows] to force idol singers, who are inevitably performance-centric, to sing live while they won’t do anything to resolve their own issues with the sound systems.
— Ryeowook
As reactions continued, Park clarified that he wasn’t “patrolling” lip-syncing idols. He insisted that he wanted to see idols focus on improving their vocal skills as singers, as opposed to “getting plastic surgeries, building muscles, and/or working solely on their dance moves.”
Following the back-and-forth, Super Junior appeared on Music Core the next month to promote “MAMACITA”…
The particular performance from August 30, 2014 remains a “legend” among loyal fans who have been around since this generation of K-Pop for being “the one that slapped CP Park in the face.”
- “I feel like this needs to be explained every time this video goes viral. (1) Music Core said it’s banning idol groups who won’t sing live. (2) Ryeowook dissed Music Core, asking them to work on improving the sound system first. (3) MBC and Super Junior were not on good terms until this performance, where the members gritted their teeth and served the greatest live vocals ever.”
- “Isn’t this the performance that came right after the show producer commenting how idol groups lack vocal skills and Ryeowook got PISSED?”
- “I keep listening to this song over and over again just for Ryeowook’s ad-libs.”
- “This is such a legend performance because Ryeowook (and all the other members, too, actually) were EXTRA good at singing. It’s as if they were mad about something, haha. I bet we could hear Ryeowook even if he didn’t have a mic.”
- “Was Ryeowook upset or something? He sounds so crisp in this performance. Like, I know he’s generally good, but in this particular video, his pitch is extra fine-tuned.”
