it's just interesting to me how in one generation
we went from laughing with our idols to laughing at our idols, suddenly she's a
terrible singer and doesn't deserve to be a kpop idol - hi welcome to an
episode of kpop investigations I'm your super legit journalist Angelina and
basically this is a series where I take a specific subject and do a little bit
of a deep dive into it then at the end I share with you my
super scientifique results, in today's episode we are going to be tackling the
subject of twice's live singing notably these criticisms that have particularly
been targeted to awards Momo. recently on an episode of show champion they did an
encore for their song more and more and no backup track was there to support
them and a lot of people were quick to point out some of the flaws within their
vocals expressing that they sound quite different without a backup track to
support them, so as your favorite annoying second gen Stan slash
professional k-pop boomer, I thought I would be the perfect person
to tackle such a subject so grab some popcorn actually I'm gonna stop you
right there to remind you to subscribe to this channel because quite frankly
it's a little rude to continue consuming my content without at least leaving a
comment, I see the view to comment ratio there is something fishy going on in
this platform but you didn't hear that from me
okay so let's reiterate really what people have been discussing a lot the
past few days so again there is this clip from show champion champion
champion... there is this clip from show champion going around and it really
shows twice's raw live vocals and I'm just going to
add really quickly like I appreciate that I appreciate live vocals whether
they are terrible whether they are not audibly pleasing but anyways this clip
features absolutely zero backup track
and twice are singing on these handheld mics and a lot of people have been
pointing out that a lot of members of twice simply are not strong when it
comes to vocals and this clip kind of solidifies that however a lot of people
are pointing to Momo specifically because really that's the main
conversation point of this topic she's seen doing her part and it does sound a
little bit off and then she almost seemed surprised at the end of her part
she then turns to Nayeon and almost seems as if they're kind of laughing about it
or confused about it it's not 100% clear so let's take a look at this clip
quickly under five seconds to avoid copyright claims because fun fact
YouTube won't give me my play button because I have two unresolved copyright
claims which makes absolutely no sense because I've seen plenty of people with a
play button that have a ton of copyright claims but I was told by YouTube to not
compare myself to other people but it's hard when my channel is held to a different
standard but I don't- what the Frick do I know?
so yes like I'm not gonna sugarcoat it she sounds off, does it sound authentic? a
hundred percent and I appreciate that but of course it does sound off and in
this wonderful world of kpop that demands constant perfection it is you
know a quote unquote issue and that actually is a point that I want to touch
on this video but a little bit later but for now I want to talk about this
phenomenon and kpop that seems to prioritize uniqueness over being
technically good at something, so no, her voice is not perfect however it is
incredibly unique and there is no denying that it is absolutely a very
recognizable voice within twice but of course there are a lot of people who are
saying about after five years that twice's vocals should be up to a
different standard by now and that is not acceptable to have such subpar
vocals, well also I do kind of think that this is the company's intentions
sometimes, sometimes having a technically good voice is just not enough especially
in an industry saturated with people who have trained for years and years and
years with people who are technically good at a lot of different aspects
of their art and their craft so let's illustrate this with some examples
starting with the second gen example so we all know yg is super super guilty of
this if we look at BOMs voice now I think she has an amazing voice but from
a technical point of view I've heard through the grapevine that it's actually
not good she doesn't have enough breath support and that's where I'm gonna stop
with the critiques because I'm actually talking out of my ass, I'm not a vocal
coach but I have seen a lot of videos that kind of criticize her voice or just
talk about where she's lacking when it comes to her vocal technique so though I
think her voice is absolutely stunning from a technical point of view there are
some critiques to be had which brings up the question, if her voice is technically
not good, which is definitely a point I would have fought you to the death ten
years ago on, then how did she make it into this kpop industry? the answer is
it's this distinctive factor when it comes to vocals, her voice is very
distinct it's very unique it's very recognizable when you listen to a 2NE1
song there is no doubt that she's the one singing when it's her part, and
it's it's very recognizable but she also has amazing stage presence and knows how
to bring emotions into that voice but that's a topic for another video but
alas, let's move on to example number two and that is Rosé from blackpink if
you're in the blackpink fandom then you know that her vocals have definitely
changed since pre-debut there's this whole theory about how YG has kind of
forced her to take on this kind of higher pitched voice because it sounds
more unique, it sounds more interesting because if you look at pre debut clips
of her singing her voice is a lot more ''grave'' what's the word? her voice is
a lot deeper now, whether she's technically good or not is something I
can't speak on I've definitely heard a lot of people say that she's ruining her
voice and then a lot of people are like ''well no that's not true like her voice
is fine ''either way there is absolutely no denying that there is this element of
distinctivity when it comes to her vocals
and sometimes that's a really good factor to have within a group because it
effectively helps the group stand out and I believe this is the case for Momo
as well and her vocals because as it's been pointed out by a lot of fans her
voice seems to have change from pre-debut until now as well people have
been claiming that JYP is kind of forcing her to sing and this is more
nasally high-pitched voice because it's sounds cuter it sounds more unique and
if you look at some clips from sixteen which is a reality show that created twice you
will definitely see a difference, you know Momo before had you know a nice
sounding voice but Momo now has a voice that resonates in your ears and I think
that was the goal, so yeah maybe she's not technically good but she definitely
has that unique factor and whether you appreciate that or not there's no
denying that when her part comes on you recognize it and you know that it's her
now the second thing I wanted to touch on in this video is perfectionism when
it comes to kpop so before we get started I did want to point out that you
know criticism towards someone's voice is absolutely valid I'm not knocking
anyone who thinks that improvement is necessary because improvement should
always be welcome, you should always want to improve yourself no matter what in
every single aspect of your life but this is more of a commentary on you know
the more extreme examples of this type of criticism that maybe is not really
criticism anymore, is more hate. this is something that I touch on quite often in
my videos but this is a conversation that we've had before when I uploaded my
video about Lia's quote/unquote lazy dancing, it is of my opinion that this
new generation of kpop is way too obsessed with perfection and it is
through our absolute obsession with perfection that we create these
scenarios for our idols that really aren't the most ideal for them because
the moment an idol messes up and doesn't fit you know our notion of what we
thought perfection was it becomes a huge scandal and again let's illustrate this
with the examples so back in the day you know idols messed up
all the time things were a lot more live, a lot more raw a lot more
potential for mistakes and these days you'll see like we created these very
mistakes but back then they didn't care and if you messed up it would end up in
this fun little compilation compilation of insert Idol here having voice cracks
in their performances because you know it happens and people would like love
and support their idols anyways it would never become such a big thing it would
never be ''this idol isn't talented, this Idol is lazy'' it would never be anything
like that it would just be like a fun thing to look on and laugh at with your
idols, I mean she messed up like she literally messed up she made a mistake
and she looks surprised after she made the mistake and then she turns over to
Nayeon after it looks like they're laughing about it or kind of I don't
even know like it's hard to tell and it could have ended up that it could have
ended up that it was just a mistake ended up in some funny compilation but
no, suddenly she's a terrible singer and doesn't deserve to be a kpop idol. it's
just interesting to me how in one generation
we went from laughing with our idols to laughing at our idols because now it
seems like the minute and Idol messes up it's just game over and for this point
in particular I did want to kind of add that we tend to be a lot harsher on
female idols, I mean when's the last time you saw a male Idol being accused of
lazy dancing or being accused of having a terrible voice and not meriting their
place within the kpop world? I can't think of it but if you can leave it down
in the comments below and I can assure you there are plenty of male idols that
if they were in the same exact situation might have sounded quite similar might
have been off tune or off-key I don't know but you know what if they were we
would still love them and it would still be okay because people make mistakes not
everyone is perfect all the time and you can kind of try to fake this and make
people believe your perfect on time but it's gonna come out
every once in a while and I just don't think we should be so quick to demonize
that and I also don't think we should be so much harsher to demonize our female
idols and it's also like we're acting like twice never use backup vocals like
everyone in kpop doesn't use backup vocals, everyone does! yes even mamamoo
use backup vocals it's just- it's just how kpop is even in second gen they use
backup vocals not to the same extent but they still did, when you're singing and
dancing, and might I add dancing a really difficult choreography, it is absolutely
impossible to expect someone to maintain perfectly stable vocals like I don't
know, I'm no vocal expert but you know I've dived into linguistics a
little bit and it seems there are some similarities and the similarity being
that you need air to make noise and if you want more of my thoughts on
that you can check out my video of kpop lip syncing versus live vocals but only
their performances and that again is also kind of the beauty within kpop you
have groups of people who excel in so many different things, one member might
excel more in vocals, one member might excel more in rapping, one member might
excel more in dancing and from what I know
Momo is the dancer of the group and there are so many different kinds of
k-pop groups, there are Kpop groups that are more vocally based like mamamoo, there are groups that are
more performance based like Ateez, there are groups that are more dance
based like txt or twice I will just add like it's no wonder k-pop idols have
such a loud back up tracks, cuz can you imagine the level of backlash that they
would get if they didn't and you know it does bring up a lot of different
where do we actually draw the line with what is acceptable and what isn't? okay
so I asked you guys on my community tab what your thoughts were for the
criticisms that she's received for her vocals on show champion so let's read
some of the top comments ''Momo had really great vocals during yes or yes fancy and
feel special eras because it was in her range her part in more and more were
constant and phrased c-5 which is high she's actually trying very hard and you
can see that she was disappointed in herself in the second encore it was a
little better but still needs work I was sad because you can see that she was
very worried intense and was practicing before the actual encore
I wish JYP don't give her very hard parts again'' ''it's kind of sad JYP is
insisting on teaching and training this awful technique for her Momo wasn't a
great vocalist during twice early days but she was far superior during sixteen to
cheer up era than anything following TT'' ''if JYP is going to promote her as a
vocalist instead of a rapper he should properly train her we all know she's a
great dancer but she is really lacking in vocals'' ''I don't mind the constructive
criticism on how to improve however some are being extremely rude and turning
into malicious comments about Momo, remember it's these types of comments
that can hurt someone's mental health'' ''look like even she was surprised by the
sound that came out of her mouth we can seem almost standing with her head down
after her line and looking at Nayeon like what did I just do but here's the deal
she trains dance as a main dancer along more than her vocals and after five
years since debut she should sound better mama needs a little more vocal
training and that's it she delivers a choreo like no one else and although
it's her main job singing is also part of the role she's got a play on stage as
a twice member'' so yeah this is basically where we're gonna end the video I would
love to know what you think do you think all idols need to excel in every aspect
of kpop from singing to rapping to dancing because if an idol doesn't know
how to rap it seems like it's a lot more acceptable but then if they're not the
best at singing it doesn't seem to be accepted in the same way do you think
it's okay to be in this industry and have flaws
and lack in certain areas do you think people expect too much from k-pop idols
especially female k-pop idols I mean not something mingi into this again but like
I literally showed a clip of him having like a voice crack and his members
smiled and kind of laughed it off like it was just like a funny little thing
but then when Momo messes up it's like ''oh no she just doesn't deserve a spot in
the kpop world'' so thank you so much for watching and an extra huge thank you to
my channel members who helped sustain this channel in a different way if you
made it this far you might as well click on another one of my videos, I don't know
help my algorithm before I inevitably go down in flames. and I do want to take a
little minute to talk about something so the fight for the black lives matter
movement is not over we still we still need to keep the momentum we still need
to keep the same energy so I have included different links in the
description and I'm also going to pin the same things in the pin comment just
a friendly little reminder that though there have been a lot of changes
implemented a lot of things that have happened that are really good for the
movement that there are still so many more things that need to be accomplished
a lot of structural things that need to change so yes if you have money please
donate it if you have time donate your time but also it's like really important
to educate yourself on the issue like just educate yourself on privilege on
racism on things that make you uncomfortable if you are not
uncomfortable then maybe you're not doing enough introspection I don't know
so yeah that is it for me I will see you guys next time bye