K-pop group BLACKPINK’s member Jennie took the stage at Summer Sonic 2026 in Tokyo, Japan on the 14th, delivering a performance of about 1 hour and 18 songs in total. Unexpectedly, while performing her new song “Less than a Lover,” a clip began circulating online showing her obviously out of breath, nearly unable to complete a breath as she sang. This immediately sparked controversy over her vocal abilities. Some netizens harshly criticized, saying, “She clearly just can’t sing!” while others tried to defend her, saying, “She simply couldn’t breathe.” Fans stood up for Jennie, pointing out that before singing this song, she had already sang nine songs in a row without a break; if the controversial clip is viewed alone, it may be taken out of context, since after singing nine songs in a row it’s quite normal to be breathless or not in the best shape.
Jennie started off the performance with “Filter,” then followed up with “Damn Right,” “Mantra,” “Start a War,” “Handlebars,” “One of the Girls,” “Love Hangover,” “Dracula,” and “Seoul City.” After singing through the first nine songs with only a brief break, she immediately went into the 10th song, “Less than a Lover,” during which she was repeatedly seen struggling to keep up with her breath and had to take big gasps during pauses.
After the related clip was shared, some netizens directly criticized Jennie’s live singing, leaving harsh comments like “What she needs this summer is clearly more than a few vocal lessons,” “She ruined all those songs,” and “She simply can’t sing.” However, others who watched the video insisted, “She just couldn’t breathe.” Some fans argued that only looking at this small section of “Less than a Lover” isn’t fair, since Jennie had already performed nine songs in a row before that, and the entire concert involved a lot of dancing and moving around as well. It’s not surprising that by the 10th song she was out of breath.