Taeyeon, a member of the globally acclaimed K-Pop group Girls’ Generation, has voiced her dissatisfaction with the Korean music show system. The singer, who has been a dominant force in the industry for over 17 years, both as a member of the iconic girl group and as a solo artist, has never shown any signs of slowing down.

Music shows have long been a significant platform for K-Pop artists to introduce their songs to the public. Despite the global reach of the industry today, domestic music show wins still hold considerable weight in benchmarking an artist’s success. Taeyeon, a veteran in the industry, has participated in numerous music shows and won many of them. However, for her latest song, “To. X,” released in the last quarter of 2023, she chose to opt out of music show promotions.

In a recent YouTube video with Super Junior’s Eunhyuk and Donghae, Taeyeon boldly stated, “I don’t like the music show system.”

While the hosts were taken aback at this statement, Taeyeon further explained that she felt it was inconsiderate to have singers perform at dawn. Even though she understood the reasons behind it, it was not something up her alley.

Eunhyuk agreed, noting that the system is dictated by production costs and other circumstances, leaving many singers with no choice but to pre-record at odd hours. Taeyeon added that it disappoints her when she cannot deliver better performances to fans due to such a system. Therefore, for her latest release, she wanted to present her work in a better way through other types of content.

Despite the lack of music show promotions, “To. X” has enjoyed considerable domestic popularity. It debuted at number three on Korea’s Circle Digital Chart and at number six on the Billboard South Korea charts. The song has shown longevity in its success, climbing the chart positions well into 2024.

You can watch the entire interview below: