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Aespa slammed for lip-syncing on ‘The Nick Cannon Show' as they win MAMA performance award

Fans blame SM for not trusting aespa and letting them sing live on American talk shows

‘Monster rookies’ aespa are on a roll with the release of their first mini-album ‘Savage’. They got all-kills (topping all major South Korean charts) even in the second week of its release, got back-to-back Daesangs (grand prizes) at 2021 Asia Artist Awards and MelOn Music Awards, and two awards at MAMA 2021 including the ‘Best Dance Performance - Female Group’. With 500k sales for ‘Savage’, they became the first girl group to get a double-platinum for their debut album. Unfortunately, their lip-syncing on ‘The Nick Cannon Show’ has not gone over well with viewers.

Ever since their debut, aespa has continued to break records and get several firsts from being the first K-pop brand ambassador for Givenchy to the first K-pop group at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. They also charted high on Billboard and became the fourth girl group to have a single album chart for two weeks on Billboard 200. Their US press junket was lined with popular talk shows like ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’, ‘The Nick Cannon Show’ and ‘The Trevor Noah Show’.

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Viewers notice aespa lip-syncing

However, viewers have noticed that for the last few performances including MAMA 2021, aespa have been lip-syncing instead of singing live over the MR (recorded music). Knetizens pointed out that aespa were brazenly lip-syncing on ‘The Nick Cannon Show’ as well as ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ without even bothering to hide that they were not singing live. They also commented that while it is normal for K-pop groups to lip-sync since they have difficult choreography that may not lead to stable vocals, it is not the norm in the West.

Netizens explained that this would mar aespa’s reputation in the US since the normal viewer would think that they’re lip-syncing because they can’t sing. Other viewers believe that SM probably doesn't trust aespa's live vocals and hence does not let them perform live.

Watch their performance on 'The Nick Cannon Show' below.

'That's your job'

Fans and viewers were divided as some said it was okay to lip-sync while others shared that SM was being hasty with aespa who had yet to develop their live vocals. One fan commented, “It’s not a crime to lip synch in my opinion . They are humans too they need to breath . In exchange for hard choreography which would definitely leave the artist breathless. It would naturally be an option for the artist . Also it depends on the decision of the production/company.”

Another tweeted, “Other group also do it so why only notice Aespa is not the main thing here..the Main thing is they entered US market on a wrong note..the people there don't like lip syncing and look for artists raw talent , this will only harm their future reputation..and Sm also acted hastily.” One shared, “And people can argue that "singing and dancing is difficult and blah blah blah" but like, that's your job? That's what you trained for? Like that argument could hold water if they only lip synced occasionally, but I literally cannot recall a single time they sang live.”

'Aespa can sing live'

A fan added, “Their real voice is still good even if they might be lip synch. Isn't it natural to be lip synch when there's an obstacle? So what's your problem?” A user explained why Knetizens were debating this, “It's not normal in the U.S. That's the point. The netizens are wondering why they would enter the U.S. market on the wrong foot since lip-syncing is frowned upon.” One fan blamed SM for not letting aespa sing live, “I really hope u do something abt this, let them sing live next time. im tired hearing the girls always getting hate just bcs of this.”

To prove their point, netizens also brought back American viewers laughing at aespa's performance at the Macy's parade where they were not even moving their mouths, "Yoooo I’m dyiiinngggg 😂 this group #aespa not even trying to lip sync lmaoooooo pure comedy bwhahahahahahahaahahahahha love it." One fan explained that it wasn't their choice, "The fact that aespa CAN sing live but don’t kind of makes it obvious it’s not their choice to lipsync idk." Another added, "They've been singing live multiple times, they are fully capable of doing it the blame honestly falls on sm they seems very determine to hold aespa back."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.