On November 27, the MAMA 2025 awards ceremony took place in Hong Kong. On that day, Curtis achieved their first win just five months after their debut, taking home the “Best New Artist” award. However, controversy erupted after a video surfaced showing James from the group looking surprised at Ahyeon’s note during Baby Monster’s performance of DRIP and GO UP.
Baby Monster, performing at MAMA without former member Rami, delivered a remarkable stage performance that received widespread praise for the members’ vocal skills and charismatic presence. Yet, Ahyeon’s high note sparked renewed debate, with some describing it as sounding like screaming and annoying.
On this day, James from Curtis was seen watching the performance and looked surprised at the part with Ahyeon’s high note. Some internet users interpreted James’ facial expressions as a negative reaction, which sparked heated discussions on social media.
One user wrote:
“At first, Kyuhyun was making faces when Aespa won, and now James is doing all this in response to Ahyeon’s high note. When does this become outright disrespect?”
Many internet users supported the above post, pointing out the double standards in K-Pop between female and male idols:
- “People defend him because he’s a guy, but if a female idol did that, she’d be dragged through hell and back.”
- “You can have opinions about idols’ singing as much as you want, but this is outright rude… and if someone did this to your bias, you’d flip out.”
- “It’s interesting how male idols can be openly rude to their peers, while female idols are almost roasted for something as simple as eating strawberries.”
- “I hate K-Pop fans, especially Hip-Hop stans, when they give guys free rein just because they’re men.”
- “These boys don’t know respect, they only know how to act with money and new iPhones, plus cursing their fans.”
- “Cortis will always do this because they got BangPig’s support.”
On the other hand, James’ fans defended him, noting that it was a natural reaction to loud sounds, especially since James was standing close to the speakers. Some also pointed out that even Baby Monster members struggle with Ahyeon’s high note. Read the comments:
- “How is this on James when even Ahyeon’s members can’t handle her screaming?”
- “Are we supposed to act like we feel no discomfort when she’s on the mic?”
- “Am I the only one who thinks this is a totally natural reaction, like this guy standing next to huge speakers, while the members behind him literally stan her and think she’s amazing? So what’s the problem here?”
- “And the weird K-Pop fans ask why idols don’t react during award shows—because of things like this. How do you take a 5-second clip and hate someone’s reaction? It’s not like his reaction is gross.”
- “Okay, he’s right… Ahyeon’s note ruins all Baby Monster songs. We need Rami.”
- “Notice, her group member thinks she sounds bad, and also you don’t know if his reaction was negative or positive, you’re just assuming to make yourself upset.”
- “Did you really expect him to stand there stone-faced while his ears were being tortured?!”
