At the “2023 MBC Drama Awards,” (G)I-DLE‘s Miyeon performed her original soundtrack, “Painted On The Moonlight,” for the network’s hottest K-Drama, My Dearest.
(G)I-DLE’s Miyeon | @G_I_DLE/Twitter
While the idol gave the live performance her best shot, some viewers found it “underwhelming.” And, so, Miyeon received a spike in malicious and hateful comments, belittling her vocal skills and discouraging her. The more notorious online communities, like theqoo, saw at least three posts related to the performance, each with over 400 to 1,000 comments—all evaluating Miyeon’s vocal skills.
At one point, the performance videos were taken down from NAVER TV and YouTube for a brief period of time, and while the reasons were never made clear, most believe it to be due to the negative reactions that poured out of Korea.
“This video has been deleted or made private.” | NAVER TV
Following the backlash, (G)I-DLE’s Miyeon took to her Instagram and, via Stories, apologized to the viewers for “messing up the performance.”
| @noodle.zip/Instagram
Dear viewers of the MBC Drama Awards… And Nevies…
I had the honor of performing a song tonight. And I was so excited to be able to sing a track that I love so much. But I was so nervous, and so I was off-pitch… I messed up big time. I monitored the performance, and I figured that I must have surprised a lot of people. I’m sorry for disappointing the viewers, especially when I was there to congratulate the celebration.
Going forward, I’ll try even harder. The performance at SBS Entertainment Awards was a blast, too. Thank you all for watching.
— Miyeon
The update has since triggered K-Pop fans worldwide to come to her defense—flooding her Instagram and her performance video with comments of love and support.
| theqoo “Hwaiting! (Also, people. Stop leaving malicious comments. Can’t we all choose to be kind?)” “It wasn’t so bad. Not to the point that people need to be reacting like this.” “She’s a good vocalist, in general, though. So it must have upset her, too. I hope she gets to perform better next time!” “She’s an idol who can sing live while dancing. We all make mistakes. Hwaiting!” “I felt terrible for her because it was obvious that her voice wasn’t working right. She sounded so nervous. But I know how beautiful her voice does sound!” “It was a live performance. Mistakes are bound to happen.” “TBH, I was a little let down. But I’m impressed that she shared this update. Like, being this up front and honest about your mistakes is not easy. She’s awesome, with a healthy mentality. Go Miyeon.” “The vibe at these drama awards are intense, though. Of course, she’s going to get nervous. Haha.” “Aww.” “It was absolutely better than lip syncing. It’s OK, we all get nervous and make mistakes.”
Some excused Miyeon, pointing out how she “looked and sounded nervous from the get-go,” which happens. Others praised the idol for putting on the show 100% live, which is becoming more rare in the business nowadays.
The videos have been restored since. Watch Miyeon’s performance here.
