As a Kpop idol, getting attention from the public is definitely the most desirable goal.
However, that also goes hand in hand with the extreme scrutiny, since netizens are always
strict about everything idols do, especially their performances.
These are 4 female idols that are often referred to as “lazy dancers” of Kpop as many people
believe they are doing their job in an expressionless and half-hearted way.
1.
Winter (aespa)
On May 30th 2022, an Internet user on Nate Pann shared a post titled "aespa's Winter
is getting so much hate on YouTube because of her lazy dancing."
The post included several GIFs of aespa during their recent Korea university music festival
performances on 26th the same month.
Some noticed that while Karina and Giselle danced passionately and whipped their hair
all over, Winter did not perform with the same strength and even didn’t rotate her
head all 3 times.
This made many netizens extremely angry as they believed that Winter didn’t respect
them even though they spent tons of money to invite aespa to their university.
A fan also said that even though her bias is Winter, she was so disappointed this time
when watching Winter’s fancam.
Another time, Winter was also said to have repeated the same controversal behavior when
performing with aespa at Hanyang University Festival.
That day, Winter showed up with 2 cute pigtails that made netizens burst with non-stop compliments.
However, maybe in an attemp to prevent that perfect hair from being ruined, Winter didn’t
do the hair-flipping movement like the other members but stood still for a few seconds.
Many people said that even the backup dancers did this move more enthusiastically than she
did.
On the other hand, Winter's fans believed it's unfair to say that she's lazy just because
she didn’t flip her hair.
It can be seen that Winter's hairstyle on both stages was sophisticated thus making
it difficult for her to move her head.
Proof is her performance in this dance practice video when she wasn't given such complicated
hairstyles by stylists.
However, that's not the only time Winter has been criticized for being lazy on stage.
During the “Step Back” performance with G.O.T, she was also bashed for her half-hearted
dance performance.
While the other members synchronously made body waves with intense concentration, creating
a very satisfying moment, Winter just slightly leaned her body backward, creating a lack
of enthusiam, especially when compared to Hyoyeon who was whole-heartedly performing
next to her.
Some noticed that Winter even left the lineup before the choreography even ended.
After the controversy broke out on the Internet, Winter hit the headlines of several national
and international news sites.
On Twitter, the hashtag #Winter_aespa_lazy even attracted almost 7600 tweets, with netizens
regarding her dance movements as stiff and expressionless.
Despite the backlash, many have defended Winter from the accusations.
Some of Winter’s supporters claimed that netizens were just making a mountain out of
a molehill since everybody makes mistakes once in a while, and it is possible that Winter
was tired at that time.
2.
Wonyoung (IVE)
Renowned for her radiant visuals and princess-like aura, Wonyoung is clearly the most popular
girl among IVE members.
However, her reputation was negatively affected by several scandals and rumors, one of which
is the lazy dancing accusations on IVE’s Music Bank stage on December 3rd, 2021.
Netizens pointed out that Wonyoung performed her dance movements perfunctorily.
Not only did she display less power than the other members but she also skipped the hair-flip
in the choreography.
Not only that, Wonyoung was also scrutinized for dancing off beat, forgetting the choreography
and ruining the performance of the whole group.
It is quite clear to the public’s eyes that her dancing was slower and not in sync with
the other members.
As the clip attracted almost 5 million views on Youtube, Wonyoung was mocked for refusing
to perform the choreography properly for fear of having her pretty hair ruined.
Some even said she might be diagnosed with princess sickness for being self-centered
and not paying enough attention to her work.
Nevertheless, many fans said that netizens should sympathize with this 18-year-old idol
instead of harshly pouring scorn on her for a trivial mistake.
They argued that her schedule was extremely packed and she barely even had any time to
rest.
Before performing at Music Bank, she spent 5 hours working as an MC at AAA 2021 on December
2, which ended very late.
Yet, she still had to continue to prepare for the stage at KBS Studio and had only a
few hours of sleep.
Thus, it’s possible that Wonyoung‘s performance was affected by the pressure of time and the
busy schedule, and the fact that she is accused of being lazy is totally baseless as on another
stage, even though her knees and hands were seriously injured, she still managed to endure
the pain and tried her best to finish the performance.
3.
Lia (ITZY)
Albeit being regarded as one of the most talented Kpop Gen4 artists, Lia has been caught up
in the lazy dancing controversies several times.
Back in 2019, when ITZY‘s Relay Dance video to “Dalla Dalla” taken at the 2019 KCON
Thailand was released, Lia received tons of criticism for “being a lazy dancer“.
While the other members all performed the dance moves enthusiatically and decisively,
Lia was said to have only done it superficially as if she was being forced to do so.
Many netizens even commented that she “seems tired” and “doesn’t even try”.
Such online opinions fueled ITZY’s fans to come to Lia’s defense, claiming that
the girls were only having fun, not performing so there was no need to criticize Lia for
enjoying a good time with her group members and fans.
Over time, the criticism died down.
However, once again, the backlash returned on March 12, 2020 on the Idol Radio stage
as the group promoted their new song “WANNABE” with an amazing in-studio dance performance.
As soon as the video was uploaded on Youtube, it stirred up controversy surrounding Lia’s
true dancing ability again.
Netizens noticed that she continuously messed up the iconic arm moves and even danced off-beat.
Her movements were also said to be lackluster and halfhearted, not matching the energy of
the remaining members.
When the criticism circulated online, K-Pop fans found themselves split.
While some agreed that Lia needed to spend more time practicing and improving her dancing
skills, some claim that she delivered satisfying enough performances and that her role in the
group is not emphasized in dancing but in singing.
Lia’s fans believed that as the main vocalist, she needs to focus more on her vocal projection
to ensure the perfect pitch and spend more time with her vocal coach.
Nevertheless, Lia still strives for better and her choreography has been greatly improved
compared to her early days.
Her supporters claimed that for all the efforts she had made, Lia doesn’t deserve that “lazy
dancer” label.
4.
Chaeyoung (TWICE)
Being a respectable senior in the Kpop industry with countless awards and achievements, Chaeyeong
still could not avoid the “lazy dancing” controversy.
Ever since her debut days, Chaeyoung has been criticized for her lackluster choreography,
especially the jumping part of the debut song “Like Ooh Ahh”.
It is noticeable that her jump was not as high as other members’ and she seemed to
be dancing off-beat compared to the rest.
Her performance was also said to not match up with the youthful and fresh energy from
other members of TWICE.
Additionally, considering this was their debut song, Chaeyoung’s supporters from the show
“Sixteen” were quite let down since they did their best to help her debut yet her performance
in the group was somehow disappointing.
At that time, netizens constantly criticized the female idol for being unprofessional and
self-absorb as Twice’s reputation was on the rise.
However, Chaeyoung's fans believed that people shouldn’t label her as a "lazy dancer" just
because her jumps are not high enough because she is most likely not a good balancer, so
if she jumps high, she will easily fall.
Proof is that in one stage when Chaeyoung tried to jump as high as the other members,
she immediately staggered and nearly fell when her feet hit the ground.
So, do you find netizens' lazy accusations against these idols reasonable or baseless?