Every K-pop band or soloist dreams of winning on Korean music shows, which is the first indicator that an artist is successful in the music scene. Numerous K-pop acts have already brought home many trophies for their hits in the past, most of which have been emotional moments, especially the artists’ first wins on music shows.
However, there have been cases where broadcasting stations that organized music programs miscalculated or allegedly manipulated the results and gave the trophy to the wrong artist, resulting in controversy. Here are five such cases.
5 controversial musical victories by K-pop artists: Kep1er, LE SSERAFIM, More
LE SSERAFIM and Lim Young Woong
(Photo: YouTube: KBS WORLD TV)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
One of the controversial music shows winning in 2022 is LE SSERAFIM’s win on KBS’ May 13 episode “Music Bank”. The rookie group won over trot vocalist Lim Young Woong, even though the latter surpassed the group in terms of digital output and album sales. The most “suspect” score that netizens focused on was the broadcast score: Lim Young Woong scored 0, and LE SSERAFIM scored 5,348.
(Photo: Twitter: @le_serafim)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
READ ALSO: 8 K-pop groups that took over 2 years to win on one of the “Big Three” Korean music shows
In fact, the situation became so controversial that one civilian filed a complaint with the police to investigate the suspicious results. Police have since released new information regarding the investigation.
Kep1er and TWICE Nayeon
(Photo: YouTube: KBS WORLD TV)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
Another infamous rookie win this year on the music show is Kep1er against TWICE Nayeon on KBS’s “Music Bank” on July 1st. Netizens criticized the music show’s point system, questioning the point given to Nayeon for SNS which is only 1 point (compared to Kep1er which had 31 points). ONCE pointed out that Nayeon is doing well when it comes to social media influence, especially on YouTube.
(Photo: YouTube: KBS WORLD TV)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
Additionally, netizens expressed suspicions that the TWICE member lost to the rookie girl group when she had higher points in terms of digital and physical sales performance.
BLACKPINK and EXO-SC
(Image: YouTube: Sao Sreyleap)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
In addition to the cases this year, there have been controversial wins on music shows in the past. For example, on the July 24, 2020 episode of “Music Bank”, “How You Like That” BLACKPINK won against “1 Billion Views” by EXO-SC (feat. MOON).
READ MORE: K-pop group’s debut songs with the most wins on music shows
(Photo: Facebook: EXO)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
However, there was an error in counting the points of candidates for the first place. EX-SC initially received 269 points for broadcast performance, but “Music Bank” revealed that it was 1,031 points. As a result, EXO-SC came in first place and BLACKPINK came in second.
GFRIEND and other artists
(Image credit: YouTube: KPOP SNORLAX)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
GFRIEND’s win on “Show Champion” is another music show win to spark controversy in 2020. On July 22, GFRIEND’s “Apple” won with “How You Like That” by BLACKPINK, “1 Billion Views” by EXO-SC (feat. MOON), “Summer Hate” by Zico (feat. Rain) and “Maria” by HWASA.
(Photo: Facebook: FRIEND)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
The group was said to have won a “pathetic victory”, considering their song “Apple” was less successful compared to the other nominees.
TWICE and AOA
(Image credit: YouTube: coco doo)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
The last case on our list involves TWICE and AOA. These two were nominated for first place on the May 27, 2016 KBS episode of “Music Bank”. AOA’s “Good Luck” won against TWICE’s “Cheer Up”. But AOA’s victory became the subject of controversy, with many finding the albums performance problematic.
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(Image credit: YouTube: coco doo)
5 Controversial Show wins by K-pop artists: LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, More
But two days later, the broadcast station revealed that there had been an error in the calculation of the scores, so in the end TWICE was declared the eventual winner. But KBS’s producer Shin Mi Jin said they wouldn’t take the AOA trophy to give to TWICE. Instead, TWICE will receive a new trophy.
Do you know of any other controversial music shows that are winning the K-pop scene? Share with us in the comment box below!
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Written by Maria Scott
