"Someday I definitely want to win, but honestly, getting first place on a music show is also scary."
Recently, among K-pop idols, there's been a noticeable trend: winning first place on a music show is becoming more of a burden than a joy. This is because the encore stage that follows the award moment is no longer simply a time to share joy with fans, but a kind of "test" to prove their live singing abilities.
In the past, the encore stage of music shows was more like fan service. Idols would entertain fans with costume play or switching parts while singing, offering a fun and unique performance. However, the atmosphere has changed significantly in recent times.
Encore videos, broadcast live right after the stage, are quickly spread across communities and social media. Clips with the MR (music removed) or edits highlighting vocal mistakes go viral. A single mistake is often treated as evidence to discredit the artist’s capabilities. As a result, even a brief pitch error can be used as an excuse to undermine an entire group's talent.
According to pop culture critic Park Song-ah, this shift is due to changes in fan culture and media consumption. She explained, "Fans record and consume every moment of an idol's career. Whereas encore stages used to be strongly characterized by fan service, now they’ve evolved into content that demands perfection."
This change in fan expectations around encore performances goes beyond mere discussions about vocal skills. For rookie idols especially, the encore stage can be a make-or-break moment. Critic Park pointed out, "In the K-pop market, a group’s survival can be determined by just a few performances," adding, "Ultimately, a single mistake is treated as a risk to the entire brand."
The industry atmosphere reflects this tension. A representative from a music agency shared, "We used to plan encore performances like a celebration for winning first place, but now we worry first about whether the idols can even sing it live properly." They added, "With rising expectations for idols to be good at their main job, there's increasing pressure on vocal ability. In K-pop, where performance and concept are key, judging everything based on a single encore stage is excessive."
Critic Park also emphasized, "These days, if you're a rookie, it's hard to survive unless you debut as a 'fully completed' group. From an investor’s perspective, they prefer teams with lower risk, quicker returns, and stable activities—so the completeness of a stage directly translates to assets."
Despite all this, winning first place on a music show—especially on terrestrial TV—remains a major turning point in an idol’s career. Its symbolic meaning still holds value. The issue is that this trophy can sometimes come with overwhelming pressure and risk for the artists.
The common sentiment among industry insiders is: “When an album that took years to prepare finally wins first place, instead of being a joyful celebration with fans, the encore stage becomes a moment where everyone’s watching closely to see how well the song is sung, and that creates pressure.”
A moment that should be celebrated has instead become something to fear. The encore stage is no longer a festive time, but another moment where idols must prove themselves. The first place trophy on music shows has quietly turned into a “poisoned chalice.” And today, once again, idols must prove their abilities in a fleeting moment
THE COMMENTS:
- If a singer is afraid of singing, then they’re not a singer. They should practice and look forward to performing. Being afraid of an encore stage doesn’t make sense. Everyone knows about lip-syncing now, so please, just practice singing. If you can’t sing and still gain popularity, how is that not fraud?
- If a singer is scared of singing, how do they even record songs?
- In the past, they didn’t struggle with live performances like now, so they’d just perform normally, make pledges for fan service, and try new things. Blaming the shift in fan culture is just irresponsible. No one asked them to be bad at live singing.
- How bad must the singing be...
- You're a singer LOL
- Even encores are sung standing still without dancing. If you're scared to sing even then, what are you doing?
- Is Korea turning into Japan with these idol trends? Are we talking about "growth-type" idols now? If you can’t sing standing still, then what?
- Please just practice. A singer being phobic of encore songs?
- Is this a joke or what? LOL
- A singer being scared of singing?
- If someone like that were my fave, it’d be horrifying.
- If you performed live regularly, your skills would improve. But if you lip-sync every day and only try live during encores, of course it’s scary LOL
- Good singers can make a mistake and just laugh it off. But if you’re scared, maybe you’re just bad at it.
- During an encore, while greeting fans, you might miss a line or go off-key a bit, but even if you sing the rest well, people still complain. Too strict, honestly.
- It’s not even a super hard song. Each member has about 20 seconds on average. If you can’t sing one line live, what kind of singer is that?
- If a singer is afraid of singing, are they even a singer?
- So embarrassing, this is the level of K-pop?
- They’re singers... and most songs nowadays are 2 minutes 30 seconds, with intros and outros. So they only sing like 1 minute 40 seconds total? Split that between multiple members and each person has 10–20 seconds. If they can’t manage their own part, then what are they?
- That’s not a singer, that’s a goldfish.
- They call it live, but it’s all heavily edited or they use live AR (pre-recorded track). No wonder no one improves. If you’re that tone-deaf even after trying, maybe you shouldn’t have debuted.
- Back then, both the stage and encore were live. That’s why encores became fan service. Now no one sings live, so of course encores are scary LOL
- Scared? You’re not a singer? You need to sing to be a singer.
- Then stop using fake live (live AR) on the main stage. If the only time we can judge your real skill is during encore, that’s ridiculous.
- Maybe they used AI images instead of clips of specific idols to avoid controversy LOL
- What do you want people to do... It’s your job?? Why are you whining like the public owes you something?
- That’s an article...? Expecting vocal ability from a singer is normal.
- If you don’t want to sing, then don’t be a singer.
- You need to be good at live singing to be a real singer. If you're scared of encore live, then you should quit.
- You're a singer...
- What nonsense.
- If you're scared of singing, then don't be an idol. No one forced you to.
- (Doing open mic with live AR)
- But still, you’re singers… that’s why people started liking you LOL
- Even if you're an idol, you're still a singer. If you can't sing, then are you really a singer? LOL It’s your job — either quit or train hard.
- If you can’t sing even one line, then just don’t be a singer…
- Why is singing stressful for a singer?
- It’s not just one mistake — they’re just really bad at singing. All of them. People can tell the difference between a fluke and genuinely lacking skill.
- I haven’t seen people get dragged over one note or timing mistake. Usually it’s because they can’t hold a tune at all or are goofing off instead of singing.
- It’s like a surgeon being scared of performing surgery LOL
- A singer should at least be able to sing their own songs.
- You are a singer.
- You can’t even do that much?
- Even when their voices cracked, second-gen idols still powered through live stages. We need to go back to those music shows.
- It’s not about being good but having an off day. It’s that their true skill is being exposed.
- Encores don’t even have choreo. You just stand and sing...
- You’re a singer, right? You should at least handle your part.
- If that’s too scary, then stop being a singer...
- No one throws a fit over one small mistake...
- What’s funny is no one ever demanded perfection. If someone is usually good and makes one mistake, no one cares… But when they lip-sync on music shows and their real voices are exposed in encores, it becomes a thing. Even people who are tone-deaf can sing decently with a month of practice. Why are they scared of their own songs? They only practice dancing and pretend they worked hard — then act like the victims...
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