South Korean girl group LE SSERAFIM is once again facing controversy over its live performances. A concert video recently resurfaced on social media, quickly gaining traction and fueling questions from netizens about the group's use of Live AR (pre-recorded vocals accompanied by live performance).
LE SSERAFIM previously faced a "fully pre-recorded" controversy at Japan's Summer Sonic 2026 festival in Tokyo. At the time, videos circulated online showing members Huh Yunjin (허윤진) and Miyawaki Sakura (宮脇咲良) turning their microphones to the audience, yet their vocals continued at nearly the same volume. This led to accusations that the entire performance was pre-recorded. However, many fans refuted these claims, sharing their own concert footage to argue that the situation was not as straightforward as portrayed online.
Now, a similar debate has reignited. A concert video, reportedly from LE SSERAFIM's 'PUREFLOW' world tour last month, has resurfaced on social media. In the footage, the members are seen sitting on stage performing the ballad "Sonder," a song that does not involve intense choreography.
In the video, each member's vocals sound distinctly "live." However, when Sakura (사쿠라) seemingly misses her singing cue, her voice continues at its original volume, complete with the same live effects. This has led netizens to suspect that the vocals might be pre-recorded Live AR.
Kim Chaewon (김채원) and Hong Eunchae (홍은채), who were sitting next to Sakura at the time, also appeared to show some signs of panic, but the performance continued.
The video has now garnered over 9 million views, reigniting discussions about whether LE SSERAFIM relies too heavily on Live AR. Some netizens find it unacceptable that pre-recorded vocals are used even for songs without high-intensity choreography, or when members are simply sitting and singing on stage.
One netizen directly stated, "Why has it become normalized in K-pop to lip-sync even when sitting down to sing? Now LE SSERAFIM is one of them."
Others believe that instead of solely blaming the members, their agency, HYBE, should be scrutinized. They argue that the company has not provided sufficient vocal training for the artists, leading them into repeated live performance controversies.
However, some netizens also believe the members themselves bear some responsibility, criticizing them for presenting what appears to be a live performance to fans during a world tour, only to be questioned for allegedly using a significant amount of pre-recorded vocals.
The comment section saw sharp criticisms, including remarks like, "Why don't they take vocal lessons?" and "The most embarrassing part is still trying to make everyone believe they're singing live."
Another group of netizens defended the members, suggesting that if there is indeed an issue with Live AR usage, accountability should lie with the overall stage production and agency arrangements, rather than placing all the blame on the members.
As the video surpasses 9 million views, LE SSERAFIM's live vocal abilities have once again become a hot topic online, fueling ongoing debate about how much pre-recorded vocals idols should use in their performances.
