Music Core Producer Describes Changed Attitudes by Idols After Lip-sync Ban

[miuratenshi.livejournal.com]

In the beginning of July, MBC announced that it would ban lip-syncing on its weekly music show, “Music Core,” with the show’s chief producer (CP), Park Hyun Suk, stating, “Those who do not sing on stage do not possess the basic qualities of a singer. We will thoroughly check the MR provided by each agency and get rid of the singers who only open their mouths.”

He had commented, “Out of the idol singers, there are times when only 10-20% of them actually sing live. In many cases, they perform to a recorded live version, which deceives the public into believing they are actually singing.”

The decision was made, reportedly, so that K-pop could keep up with global standards. While focusing on creating a powerful performance is important, so is the quality of the singing.

Following the announcement, fans of K-pop were divided in their response. Some applauded MBC’s decision and some thought it was unfair of the show to completely place the burden on the singers without consideration of the show’sown sound system. Many fans declared that this change would not faze their bias while others pointed out that K-pop was about the whole package- singing AND dancing.

Super Junior’s Ryeowook also responded to the ban through his Twitter: “To singers, the sound system is just as important as fancy stage production and lighting. Idol singers who are performance-focused and just open their mouths may be a problem, but to flat-out insist on live performances without room for improvement seems like tyranny.”

Despite some voices of dissent like Ryeowook’s, Music Core went ahead with the ban. In a recent interview with Star News, Park Hyun Suk opened up about the effects of the ban on the show’s singers, giving it a positive light. He said, “After banning total lip-syncing, the atmosphere of the studio has changed. There is more of a lively stage presence. After declaring that singers who don’t sing won’t be allowed on stage, they have been singing more and showing a more lively stage presence.”

On one part, Park Hyun Suk’s answer seems vague and hyperbolic, but if you take it at face value, the lip-sync ban may really be giving a more realistic picture of K-pop. What do you guys think? Do you notice any difference from before? Has the lip-sync ban changed your perception of K-pop? ? Do you think the ban will lift the standard of K-pop as it was intended to?

Source: Soompi

Comments

[waves-of-light.livejournal.com]

Some men just want to watch the world burn. I'll totes be watching.

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

"The decision was made, reportedly, so that K-pop could keep up with global standards." on what planet do singers from other countries sing live that often though

tbh the more i think about it the more ridiculous this is considering it's not like MuCore has ever invited more indie artists/solo artists who are literally solos bc they are known to be good at singing. and ryeowook has a point that if the show isn't going to try and make idols' lives easier while still imposing this rule, it's extremely unfair and just another exercise of power they have over them.

[slowitdownbaby.livejournal.com]

+1

[charlotterhys.livejournal.com]

When did this kick in? I haven't been keeping up with music shows lately. I wanna go back and watch some. XD

[shintotchi.livejournal.com]

This article seems to be based off of three people's opinions, so all legitimacy kind of flies out the window.

[petecarl.livejournal.com]

I like hearing people sing live, but it' definitely true that MuCore should improve their sound system if they want more idols to sing live, cause I've watched videos on youtube of what seemed like meh singing that led me to not want to see a band live, only to catch them at a festival and realize that they're actually really good, but that the sound system/recording sucked.

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Which band are you talking about?

[awsteven.livejournal.com]

i've enjoyed the lip sync ban so far lol. it's fun to compare how a group sounds live vs how they sound on record. they might not sound as gold but I like seeing that effort. also b4 ppl argue that idols are performers not singers thus lip sync ban is unfair, you gotta remember that idols are performers promoting a product that encompasses their voices. i think it's reasonable to want to hear their actual voices live.

it'd be fun to see the other music programs do this. i def think soumd systems need to improve cause they suck half the time. companies also need to make more feasible choreography for groups with less stamina or better yet train their groups to get better stamina. finally music programs shouldn't make groups do a billion rehearsals before recording so that way they have energy to perform

[mangomuffins.livejournal.com]

honestly i'd rather a group/artist sing live and sound horrible than to watch them lipsync over a heavy backtrack. it starts to get real boring watching perfs after the first week

[mya13.livejournal.com]

yup, like even if i LOVE the group, the moment i see that the perf is mostly lip synced i close the tab. why waste my time? i feel sorry for fans who buy $100+ tickets just to see their faves lip sync and dance.

[devilseoul.livejournal.com]

some people just can't do it all

but anyway, some music programs shouLD GET NEW MICS
like c'mon its crap..all I hear is them singing face down on a pillow

[anonymous-loljk.livejournal.com]

whoops sorry didn't mean to reply to your comment.

[cxxl.livejournal.com]

If the change has happened, I don't see it (granted I only watched for my favorites). No one is running to go take them mythic voice lessons that were supposedly a part of their training. If you want better quality performance, it is going to take a lot more than banning lip syncing. You're basically going to have to change many things in how k pop runs, but no one really wants to go through all that.
We know many of these people were not chosen to carry a tune, all this does is remind us that some people can't sing.
And yeah the sound systems are trash.
It's a "noble" effort, and I honestly don't care because the weak ones tend to get like five lines anyway, but if they are serious about this, than it is going to have to extend further than no lipping.

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

them mythic voice lessons that were supposedly a part of their training. [...] but if they are serious about this, than it is going to have to extend further than no lipping.

This is something that frustrates me about kpop. Why not give them vocal lessons? Like real vocal lessons. I think the only idol group I've seen do something that makes sense is 100%. I'm all for kpop being more into vocals, but like you said it's going to take a lot more than this.

[anonymous-loljk.livejournal.com]

it's kinda OT but mucore and music shows esp in non-cable channel tends to cut the perf of lesser known group because of the limited airtime. i wonder if this rules somehow created so that they'd have less performance slots and therefore reducing those annoying cuts. i mean, imagine putting all that effort to sing live and doing vigorous dance at the same time only to find out that their airtime got chopped just because they're a lesser known group, it must be devastating.

[la-geni.livejournal.com]

That's why it's up to the fans how much air time a group gets. I know a lot of foreign kpop fans get butthurt, but ultimately what matters is the size of their fandom in korea and that they are showing up to these shows to actually watch them. That's gonna determine how much time they get, and if they get the staring slots at the end of the show. It happens to even bigger bands like Big Bang. One time when GD was doing his solo promos for Crayon, while there, the fans were told that 1k people had to show up in order for GD to sing a second song. My feed went nuts with people retweeting and passing on the message. I mean it was KBS and we all know what the situation is with them and YG, but I mean, it happens to the best of them and the fans basically have /that/ power.

[ababobaby.livejournal.com]

my problem was always about the mic's volume. there are times when the bg song is so loud u can see the singer getting a bit agitated making sure their voices are heard lol (altho some use it for their advantages i guess)

but i usually see this problem outdoors when i saw snsd girls pointing to their mics and making the motion of moving up the volume or no sound's coming from the mic at all

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

I think it's harder to do sound well for outdoor performances because they can't take advantage of acoustics like you can in a building, so they just have to blast the speakers to make sure things get heard. It's got to be annoying for the performers though.

[iigoru.livejournal.com]

am I the only one who didn't notice any difference? it sounds the same to me lol
and f(x) sang live in their mucore comeback? wasn't it a pre-recorded live audio?
music programs should ban these pre-recorded audios, instead. taking away all the fun from mr removed videos :(

[vizallati.livejournal.com]

nah it's not just you. i don't hear a difference either lol.

[amandaplan.livejournal.com]

this happened? should be fun to watch

[mya13.livejournal.com]

if the flawfree 36 year old queen in my icon can sing & dance live throughout her tours, your faves should be able to sing their 6 second parts. altho IA the sound system needs to be on par with this rule.

[magicpineapple.livejournal.com]

hahahaha my favs is one of those who has 6 second parts if she's lucky but you are absolutely correct!

[lazmy.livejournal.com]

"to flat-out insist on live performances without room for improvement seems like tyranny.”

tell them wookie

[bebita19.livejournal.com]

Like some have said, if they're implementing this rule then they need to spend money to get decent equipment cuz good god does it suck. Their audio systems suck donkey balls! And while we're at it, spend money on the necessary equipment for bands to play live on these shows.

[hearttaek.livejournal.com]

Can someone agree or correct me on this?
Wasnt music bank the music show that demanded all live performances in the past?
Probably around the time snsd made their debut. I remember bec their was whack about how snsd lipsynced in mb.
It used to be easy to tell which groups were singing live and not too. I remember snsd would have in ear mic for lipsync, and when they sang live, they held mics. And tiff always mess up cause she's forget to transfer the mic to the other hand.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

For a country with great technology, why does all the music show equipment suck so bad?

I honestly would prefer to see artists live but the shows have to pull their weight too

[bomsnose.livejournal.com]

It's not their priority I guess? It's probably going to change very soon, at the moment most of the best sound technology companies are still US/EU based. Also when buy proper equipment, they have to fork out more money to train their engineers, and then to treat them properly.

[uguukawaii.livejournal.com]

I prefer to hear them live but at the same time sometimes circumstances don't allow it, eg choa didn't sing live for a few weeks of shirt hair when the other did, because she was too sick..... Should she just not show up? Idk I get it but there needs to be wiggle room

[aaalove.livejournal.com]

Said it before and I'll say it again! I rather have a group sing live and suck than lip sync. With the way these idols are worked there are really no such circumstances that would allow them not to sing live, cancel the live all together if one member can't sing properly. I'm too spoiled with AAA, just saw them live..twice...2 and a half hours and not a second were they lip syncing, it was incredible.

The kpop artists I've seen in the US have had a mixture of lip syncing and singing live, never a whole concert was sung live, and to me that's disappointing. I'm not paying for just dancing, I'm paying for the performance. And most of the time it's an arm and a leg.

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

I don't care how bad you sound live, try singing. It's only a couple lines and if you can't even do that then go to a different profession.

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

"The decision was made, reportedly, so that K-pop could keep up with global standards."

Lol really? Haven't they seen AKB48 concerts? Those girls use lipsync as they can't sing to save their lives yet seem to be lively anyway. Not to mention artists like Britney Spears who use lip syncs in EVERY performance of hers.

Anyway, hopefully this will bring out more talent instead of repressing it.

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

That was my thought exactly; Britney Spears and Katy Perry especially get a lot of shit for lipsyncing during their live performances, and I'm sure there a ton of other artists who still do it too, so it's ridiculous for them to act like there's some sort of ~global standard for pop singers to never lipsync when everybody knows it's a common practice.

[marsinblue.livejournal.com]

If they really wanted to reach 'global standards' in music they should rather invest into making live instrument playing possible for groups like Nell, CNB, FTI, LEDApple and so on. Because lbr, lipsynching isn't that uncommon in the west, whilst handsynching....

Also, sorting out equipment for live instrument playing would probably mean also a better sound system in general, singing included.

[doren-e.livejournal.com]

''Those who do not sing on stage do not possess the basic qualities of a singer.''

I aplaude this guy. Singers were meant to sing, DONE. Ofc, there's the whole problem with the sound system and all, but he got a point. A pretty obvious point.

p.s: i'm excited to see how hyuna is going to come out at mucore. lol

[evilvalenstrife.livejournal.com]

I agree with this but, MuCore is one of the last shows that should be talking about sing "live". I've seen too many performances where the groups are screaming into the mics because they weren't working properly. Or constantly having to hold the things to their faces because it's not picking up sound.
If you're gonna request A+ material, get your stuff together too. Nonetheless, his point is valid.