Blackpink’s Lisa accused of lip-syncing at MTV VMAs, Global Citizen Festival

SEOUL – Lisa of K-pop girl group Blackpink has been accused of lip-syncing at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards and Global Citizen Festival in New York on Sept 11 and 28 respectively.

The criticism intensified during the latter, which featured headliners such as American rappers Post Malone and Doja Cat, with some fans pointing out that the Thai singer-rapper’s lip-syncing was disrespectful for such a major music event.

Lisa debuted her new single Moonlit Floor, which interpolates American pop-rock band Sixpence None The Richer’s 1997 hit Kiss Me. But her performance was panned by netizens, with one of them saying it was “the worst lip-syncing ever”, while another added she did not “even try to hide that she’s lip-syncing”.

Earlier in September, she performed her singles Rockstar and New Woman at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she won the Best K-pop award. Back then, some viewers claimed on X that it was obvious she was lip-syncing, while some fans disagreed and jumped to her defence.

K-pop girl group Le Sserafim were also accused of lip-syncing during their second performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California on April 20.

Harshly criticised by netizens for their underwhelming live vocal showing during their first appearance at the same event a week earlier, the quintet reportedly replaced much of their second performance with AR (All Recorded) tracks.

AR (All Recorded) refers to a pre-recorded track that includes both the instrumental part and the vocals, often used for lip-syncing during performances.

Le Sserafim served up 10 songs, including hits such as Antifragile (2022), Fearless (2022) and Perfect Night (2023), during their 40-minute set.

While fans noted a marked improvement, some griped about the group’s over-reliance on AR tracks and the overall authenticity of the performance.

South Korean pop music critic Kim Do-heon said that lip-syncing performances have been a recurring issue throughout the history of popular music.

“It used to be more prevalent. Compared with the past, there’s more flexibility now,” he said. “Even world-renowned artistes rarely sing live during performances with choreography, as seen at the National Football League Super Bowl half-time shows. The majority of them are entirely lip-synced.”

Most K-pop idols are rumoured to be singing only 10 to 20 per cent of their songs live on-stage, whether it is during pre-recorded music shows, press showcases or even world tour concerts.

“What we perceive as live is often layered with pre-recorded tracks. It’s far from what we would consider a traditional live performance,” South Korean music critic Lim Hee-yun said. “Even at concerts, idols mostly rely on pre-recorded vocals, singing only a small portion live.”

K-pop idols are often said to record special concert tracks in a studio, where they simulate the concert atmosphere by moving around while recording. These pre-recorded tracks are then played during their live performances, and the idols sing along to them.

An official from one of the top K-pop agencies in South Korea acknowledged that K-pop artistes sometimes use performance-specific MR (Music Removed) tracks at concerts, though this varies depending on the artiste and the concert.

“K-pop combines music and performance, and artistes may not sing every line while dancing, as choreography is integral to their performances,” the official said.

Mr Lim added that artistes who perform at multiple events in a single day may not always be in optimal vocal condition, making lip-syncing a practical choice.

“It’s impossible for a singer to maintain pitch stability while performing intense choreography,” he said. “At some regional venues, inadequate sound systems can affect the quality of live performances. The audio quality can be inconsistent if some artistes perform live while others rely on pre-recorded tracks.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK