There has been a lot of talk lately about the live vocal abilities (or alleged lack thereof) of more recently debuted K-Pop groups. One of the most heavily criticized cases lately has been LE SSERAFIM, whose encore performances for “EASY” have been getting a lot of negative reactions due to their underwhelming vocals.
Over the last several years in K-Pop, it seems that performance abilities and visuals have become more important to fans, and thus to K-Pop companies, than stable and outstanding singing abilities. With dances becoming increasingly difficult and idols getting criticized for any tiny “imperfection” they may have, it’s no wonder that so many labels are debuting attractive idols with strong dancing abilities, while seemingly not taking vocal skills into account.
Of course, there are exceptions to this, and this hasn’t always been the standard in the K-Pop industry. Many years ago, it seems like the vocal standard for idols was higher than it is these days, when difficult choreographies didn’t make it that much harder to sound good while singing live. Recently, a video of Girls’ Generation resurfaced because of how good they sound by today’s standards… Except at the time, they were criticized for their abilities.
Girls’ Generation performing “Into the New World” | TV-People/YouTube
The video shows the members practicing their debut song, “Into the New World”, which came out in 2007. The members can clearly be heard singing live while practicing the choreography for the song, which has become a rare type of video for artists to release these days. NMIXX has even gotten praise for releasing such videos.
The person who created the post that this video was shared on claims that, at the time, a lot of people heavily criticized the Girls’ Generation members for their vocals in the video. It’s hard to believe, though, because they all sound very stable and harmonic with each other!
Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation) | SBS
Here’s how netizens are reacting to the video on the post, comparing it to the singing abilities of modern-day K-Pop idols.
Do you think there has been a decline in vocal skill expectations over the years in K-Pop?
