Laboum Causes Controversy After 1st Music Show Win
Laboum's first ever music show win is supposed to be met with celebration and joy, but instead, it is met with controversy and debate. On this week's Music Bank, Laboum won first place for their comeback track, 'Hwi Hwi' against nation's darling IU.
The girls of Laboum were seen tearing up and smiling as they accepted their first win onstage on Friday. Laboum fans present during the show expressed excitement while the girls delivered their thank you speech. However, netizens were doubtful and took to Korean forums to explain why Laboum's win was unjust.
The online community argued that Laboum's single failed to even enter the top 100 in music charts. As a matter of fact, they only landed in 347th place. Meanwhile, IU's latest single 'Palette', topped most, if not all music charts and achieved all-kill. Netizens further added that the view counts on Laboum's MV for 'Hwi Hwi' is significantly lower compared to IU's. While Laboum's MV generated only over 800,000 views, IU's had more than 11,000,000 views.
Even Laboum's total album sales weren't as impressive, as it only ranks 63rd in real time charts. Though fans pointed out that Laboum achieved a #1 spot in the Gaon sales chart for physical album sales, naysayers were quick to refute that this wasn't relevant to the girls' Music Bank win.
Thousands of harsh comments regarding Laboum's victory flooded popular Korean forums, saying, "It's a song that didn't even enter the top 100 and I've never heard of it but why did it get #1." and "Music Bank is making stuff up. This is nonsense."
Skeptical IU fans are up in arms, demanding Music Bank to respond and clear up the issue by explaining their criteria for giving the trophy to Laboum. However, no statement from the music program has been released so far. There's been no comment from Laboum's camp regarding the controversy either.