HYBE Girl Group’s Encore Stage Sparks Massively Divided Reactions
HYBE girl group ILLIT is yet again at the center of a heated online debate for their live vocals.
On November 5, KST, the group claimed their first music show win for their recent comeback with “Not Cute Anymore” on KBS2’s Music Bank.
For the encore performance at the end of the episode, all five members sang the song with no backing track and minimal choreography. As the clip made its way to social media, it sparked hugely divided reactions.
ILLIT NOT CUTE ANYMORE FIRST WIN ENCORE 😭 CONGRATULATIONS 🫳 pic.twitter.com/2Cd9HXb3aH
— ILLIT PICS (@picsillit) December 5, 2025
On the one hand, fans praised the girls for their vocals, noting that their stability had improved significantly…
.@ILLIT_official First Encore for "NOT CUTE ANYMORE", they sound exactly the same as the studio version. pic.twitter.com/71jj60pQtu
— ILLIT CRAVE (@illit_crave) December 5, 2025
illit’s improvement is insane….. they’re easily one of the best 5th gen groups in terms of vocals now 😭
— 𐙚⋆.˚ (@mokabratzz) December 5, 2025
…on the other, netizens flamed ILLIT as they perceived the live vocals as below average and even started comparing them with their contemporary girl groups.
this is the group whose fandom was coming for ahyeon’s vocals in the golden cover… the jokes write themselves https://t.co/VVUfzFJQ9M pic.twitter.com/Kkv46h4fUs
— 💕🐿️🇵🇸 (@DAYEONITGIRL) December 5, 2025
This has to be setup cause they sound like literal goats https://t.co/QIyLUWSNMI
— yeon (@tokkiiikiii) December 5, 2025
Sooo what happened?! 5 words can’t be that hard?! https://t.co/BzSst8lPAZ pic.twitter.com/PwdHxwiuz5
— ayyyy (@ay_haruhaxing) December 5, 2025
Some also criticized HYBE as they claimed HYBE debuted the members without proper vocal training and subjecting such young artists to hate and criticism.
Y'all blaming the girls, but its hybe's fault for debuting them without proper training, knowing it will bring hate. They just dgaf if their idols are criticised for their real vocals and it affects their mental state. They just want them to market their music and gain some $$$ https://t.co/tjoZGIicNb pic.twitter.com/mj7ewrtxg1
— Lulu•𐦍.𖥔 ݁ ˖ SAW SKZ ࿊ (@luzie_1804) December 5, 2025
hybe is actually selling a illusion of success and talent… good for girls tho… get your bread https://t.co/OKOUMXJfKA pic.twitter.com/3IXW8pvior
— DJ (@DJ_ot4) December 5, 2025
