8 Times K-Pop Idols Flawlessly Recovered From On-Stage Mishaps

K-pop stars are perfect and incapable of making mistakes. Well, most of the time. Most live performances bring to mind images of synchronized dancing, harmonized vocals, and eye-catching outfits. But sometimes things go wrong on stage. The list below will have you going from “nonononono” to a resounding “YAASSSS!” with the way these idols flawlessly handled on-stage mishaps.

Irene is known among Red Velvet fans to be somewhat forgetful. At this basketball court performance, the members of Red Velvet got in position and began to perform “Ice Cream Cake,” but there was one problem: Irene. The leader and main rapper forgot to grab her microphone before going on stage. Irene smiles when she first realizes she doesn’t have a mic with her, then tries to signal the other members for help. Luckily, a coordinator runs onto the stage and hands her a microphone just a few seconds before her rap verse begins. Such perfect timing!

Unfortunately, not all on-stage accidents are painless. During a BTS performance of “No More Dream,” Jimin learned this the hard way. While attempting a move where he runs and jumps over the heads of the other members, he ended up flipping and falling hard onstage. Luckily, he was unfazed by the accident, and immediately stood back up to begin dancing again.

Jimin had previously executed the move flawlessly during a dance practice video to prepare for this exact concert, so at least we know how awesome it was supposed to look.

BIGBANG has been in the industry for nearly a decade and has had their fair share of onstage mishaps. At a 2008 concert in Japan, shortly after their debut, the prerecorded track suddenly stopped playing while they were performing “Always.” Displaying their phenomenal teamwork and professionalism, the members continued the song by singing acapella and beatboxing for two minutes until the backing track came back on.

GFRIEND made headlines around the world last September when a fancam of member Yuju slipping and falling eight times on a wet stage during a single performance went viral, with even non-K-pop news sites reporting on the incident. Even after so many falls, she still had the determination and endurance to get back up and continue the performance. At the end of the video, the audience can be heard chanting, “It’s okay! It’s okay!” in a heartfelt attempt make Yuju feel better.

At a recent fanmeet in Manila,  GOT7 was singing along to “A” while interacting with the audience. Member Youngjae was at the edge of the stage, innocently making a heart with his hands, when a stage firework exploded directly beneath him. He ran to the back of the stage hunched over, and Mark quickly followed to check if Youngjae was injured or not. Less than 20 seconds after he was hit, Youngjae runs back to the front of the stage and starts singing again.

But don’t worry! Youngjae later posted a video on his Instagram with the caption, “It’s not me… I’m okay,” letting fans know that he was uninjured.

Falling off a stage is no joke. While SISTAR was performing “Loving You,” Bora begins walking backwards dangerously close to the edge of the platform. Luckily, Hyorin spots Bora and quickly pulls her to safety. Without those fast reflexes, Bora avoided what could have been a catastrophe. Hyorin deserves a round of applause for saving Bora and rewarding the audience with the next dance move: body rolls.

In a stunning display of professionalism and SM magic, SHINee manage to clear an entire microphone stand off the stage after Minho accidentally breaks it into multiple pieces. The most amazing part is they actually incorporated their dance moves to move the broken pieces off the stage, making it nearly impossible to tell something went wrong.

On the surface, it looks like the entire performance went smoothly, but this series of GIFs shows exactly what happened.

Minor wardrobe malfunctions are quite common in the K-pop world. In this incident, MAMAMOO was performing live when Hwasa’s dress strap suddenly popped off during a dance move. Unable to tie up the loose bands herself, she gives the other members subtle glances to get their attention. When the 4 members are lined up during one of the dance moves, Whee In ties up Hwasa’s dress with lightning speed. Teamwork saves the day again!

Which recovery do you think was the most spectacular?

kafox is a K-pop addict and avid viewer and subtitler of Korean dramas on Viki.