5 Times “Inkigayo” Attempted Over-The-Top Stage Effects And Turned Them Into Epic Fails

Oh boy… (Looks away)

Inkigayo has been around for years since 1991. Countless K-Pop idols have graced the Inkigayo studio to promote their latest tracks, battle against each other for the #1 spot, and most importantly, interact with their fans who wait weekly to see them on the stage! And while throughout the years, the show tried to create the best stages for idols and their fans, some went a bit over-the-top. Here are 5 epic fails by Inkigayo that tried stage effects that were simply too much for anyone to handle.

1. Trapped BTS

During BTS‘s “Dope” promotion, Inkigayo tried to hype up the charismatic performance with an exciting lighting effect. Unfortunately, it ended up trapping the members behind a layer of visual effects and making it difficult for the fans to watch the stage.

Soon this effect was nicknamed the “Not-So-Dope Effect” for failing all ARMYs from getting the full 20/20 visual on the members.

2. Tossed EXO

During EXO‘s promotion of “Lucky One”, way back in 2016, Inkigayo put a spin on the camera work – literally. Out of nowhere, in the middle of the performance, the camera went into a trance of 360 degrees spins and fans didn’t know what to think… Viewers mocked the TV show for making EXO’s performance look like an ad for a washing machine!

3. Bricked INFINITE

For INFINITE‘s promotion of “Bad”, Inkigayo wanted to boost the bad boy vibe by going extreme with the delinquent behavior. To create such an effect, producers had INFINITE members each carry a piece of brick – an actual brick – on to the stage…

… to throw it at a glass panel. Not only was this effect dangerous for the members, the staff, and the audience, it didn’t have as satisfying of an visual impact as imagined. Fans call this the incident of “Bad Bricks” and have poked fun at it ever since.

4. Lasered VIXX

During VIXX‘s “On and On” promotion, Inkigayo had an idea – to make 200% use of the sexy vampire visuals of the members. So whenever the chance presented itself, Inkigayo added these laser effects – to shoot from the members’ eyes. While in theory, it may have sounded badass AF…

… fans were simply dumbfounded by the ray of green light coming out of the members’ eyes, for no apparent reason.

5. Soaked Highlight

Last, but not least, Inkigayo is also infamous for having done Highlight really dirty during their promotion of “On Rainy Days”. While it makes sense why the producers would have wanted the raining effect on stage as the members sang about rainy days…

… they really messed up thinking through the amount of rain that they were going to pour on the members. Fans remember this as “On Stormy Days” instead – and are still baffled by how extreme, and actually kind of dangerous, this “effect” was for Highlight members.