K-Pop Idol-Turned-Soloist Bursts Into Tears While Explaining Botched Performance

JAMIE (or Park Jimin), best known to K-Pop fans for winning K-Pop Star Season 1 and debuting as 15& alongside fellow soloist Baek Yerin, revealed that she was unable to sing for a long period of time while explaining her recent performance.

In the March 8, 2026 (KST) episode of MBC‘s First Place, JAMIE confronted head-on the criticism she received after performing WOODZ‘s “Drowning.” The performance drew backlash after airing, as JAMIE was heard singing off-pitch. The episode also left her fans, who knew her as a powerhouse vocalist, wondering if something was wrong with the idol.

• It seems like there were probably circumstances we didn’t know about all this time… Still, it’s admirable to see her doing her best.
• The moment she sang the first line, she probably realized herself that something was wrong. Those three minutes must have felt like hell.
• They’re all looking at her and feeling terrible. This sucks.
• Maybe it’s because we know how good she usually is, but it’s really unfortunate. Her vocal condition must be pretty bad right now. I hope she recovers well.
• There’s no way she didn’t know what condition she was in, so the fact that she still came out here must have taken a lot of courage… If you don’t try, nothing happens. That’s really admirable. I’m rooting for her!!
• She’s still so young. Life is long. She can still go much further.

JAMIE admitted, “I was angry at myself. It felt like everything I had built up until now was being ruined by that one performance,” expressing her disappointment about the stage, too. Then, she explained that her hiatus from the spotlight was due to health complications:

It had been about three years since I last sang. I developed hypothyroidism. I would suddenly collapse, feel constantly sleepy and swollen, and I also had insomnia. A lot of health problems came all at once.

— JAMIE

She also revealed that she had suffered from vocal cord nodules multiple times. While talking about her struggle through such complications, JAMIE burst into tears, noting she even thought about quitting singing all together.

It wasn’t just once or twice. It happened many times. When I tried to make a sound, my vocal cords wouldn’t come together properly. Notes I normally wouldn’t miss sounded unstable, and my pitch kept slipping, which was really frustrating…

…While taking a long break from singing, I thought about many things. There was even a time when I wondered, ‘Maybe music isn’t my path.’

— JAMIE

Though the performance sparked criticism, JAMIE’s candid confession revealed the difficult health battle she had been quietly facing—one that made her eventual return to the stage all the more meaningful.

Read more about JAMIE here:

Jamie Gains Attention For Her Healthy Transformation Following Hiatus