Music critic Kim Do Heon‘s critical assessments of BLACKPINK and LE SSERAFIM‘s performances at Coachella have sparked a fiery debate among Korean netizens. His reviews, which took aim at the vocal capabilities and stage presence of both groups, have led to various responses from the public.

| LA Times

Kim’s critique of BLACKPINK’s Coachella performances, especially their 2023 headlining act, suggested that the group failed to harness its influential position to leave a lasting cultural impact.

Compared to the numerous artists who threw themselves into the Coachella stage, Blackpink was absolutely not at the level to be festival headliners. The early parts of their performance, where they added AR and backing vocals, were terrible. They didn’t even dance as passionately as the backup dancers.

Only when considering the size of the audience, the dazzling devices, the drone show adorning the night sky, and the arrangements suited for a large stage, could one realize this performance was a highlight.

— Kim Do Heon

The scathing review was met with incredulity by some netizens. Accusations of bias were also among the online chatter. Some netizens criticized the critic’s approach, alleging Kim was not being objective. One even suggested HYBE — LE SSERAFIM’s parent company — may have “spent money” on Kim’s review of their recent Coachella performance.

“LOL, saying Blackpink can’t sing?” “Does the public have neither eyes nor ears?” “Honestly, even if Blackpink’s performance might feel a bit lacking for a headliner (I’m talking about the stage setup and all that), the members themselves were really talented, but people just left hate comments….” “Critics are so inconsistent, just hating on Blackpink because they can’t stand them LOL” “It’s like they’re all just conspiring like Critic Oh or something…;;;;” “LOL, this is nuts.” “The weak prey on the strong. What kind of critics are these? They’re not funny at all.” “This year, they probably noticed and didn’t even post their thoughts on Twitter, which is hilarious LOL” “Why do they hate Blackpink so much? It’s weird… Every time it seems like they’re just freaking out at Blackpink.” “This critic hardly ever seems objective… just writes reviews based on personal taste, so only fans are happy when he praises their favorite artists….” “Maybe they’re spending more money on other things than on vocal training.”

| TheQoo

You can read Kim’s full reviews of BLACKPINK’s 2019 and 2023 performances, as well as his review of LE SSERAFIM’s 2024 performance, here:

Scathing BLACKPINK And LE SSERAFIM “Coachella” Reviews From Popular Music Critic Become A Hot Topic