On 17 August, aespa members appeared on the Marine Stage at the Summer Sonic 2025 festival, held from August 16 to 17 in Tokyo. The performance, which was expected to receive widespread acclaim from netizens, came under scrutiny due to allegations of lip-syncing.
On the Korean forum PAN, a netizen sparked a heated debate after sharing footage of the members’ performance and accusing them of lip-syncing. But the issue didn’t stop there. Op criticized the members’ fake acting, trying to make it look like a live performance.
He wrote: “Aespa is putting on a show again. Why are they doing these lip-syncing stunts? Seriously, what’s the point?” ㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
This post quickly turned into a heated discussion topic, with many netizens asserting that Summer Sonic 2025 was a live performance, praising the members’ vocal skills. Some defended the criticism, arguing that the criticism was unfounded, given the fancam footage that clearly showed the members performing live.
Korean netizens react
Fans shared fancams documenting the members performing some of their hits “Supernove,” “Next Level,” “Armageddon,” “Whiplash,” and their latest, “Dirty Work,” which supported the defenders’ position that the performance was live.
- Yes, yesterday was virtually AR-free and a live broadcast, so what’s with this nonsense? Winter and Ningeng have tremendous vocal power, and it was clearly a live performance. Can’t you watch the stage a little before you speak?
- On what basis are you saying it’s lip sync? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ, if you Even if you insist that a live performance is a lipsync, that means you also think aespa’s skill is good, right?
- Without having seen the group in person even once, or even watched proper videos, you insist that aespa always performs with a lipsync. What kind of nonsense is this? Even if everyone in the venue said it was a live performance, you’d still insist that aespa never sang live and that all their performances were lipsyncs. Even if they sang right next to your ear, you’d still say it was a lipsync.
- The fancams were all live performances, yes, so do some research before you write.
- But since everyone knows aespa has the skill, even if they lipsync, it doesn’t change much…
- You watched a live performance and falsely claimed it was a lipsync, and when you were exposed, you started talking nonsense about SM and the like. LOL. Fans, is it your unnies’ inability to sing? Is it ASPAA’s fault? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.
Some netizens supported the OP above , criticizing the performance of the aespa members, with one netizen pointing to Karina’s singing: “I admit that Karina sings really badly. But look at her figure, so slim and yet so sexy…” Another added about the synchronization of the dances on stage: “If they’re going to do a lip sync, shouldn’t they at least match the dance properly?”, while another wrote: “When will these guys sing live, I wonder?”
